In terms of time and energy, a kettle is faster and more efficient.
I guess a kettle is a single-purpose tool, and if a microwave oven is available, and you don't mind waiting while large volumes (1+ litres) are boiled, and have suitable receptacles to hold and contain that much water while boiling inside a microwave oven, this makes some sense.
(In contrast, I don't own a microwave oven.)
Or did you mean. 230 volts?. Every time I accidentally come in contact with mains (only twice in my life, but that is more than enough) I'm glad we are lower, and wish it was less.
In any case, regardless of geographical location, voltage doesn't kill you -- current does.
In Australia most household circuits are ~230V AC at 50Hz at 10 Amp, though 15 Amp circuits are not uncommon (the earth pin - we have three pins in a frowny-face configuration, earth being the lower / vertical one) on those are much larger, so you can't accidentally put that into a standard 10A (female) socket.
We have three-phase options too, which is ~ 415V AC - not something that's commonly used in residential environments.
In any case, 230V @ 10A is less dangerous than 110V at 15A.
I will note that 0.2A is enough to stop your heart, and 2A will almost definitely kill you (with enough damage that you're probably not coming back).
Consequently I'm not sure how a 15A (USA) circuit could be considered safe even in the relative sense.
High voltages are dangerous because they can overcome the resistance of human skin, which then enables current to flow.
Does that hypothesis actually align with the data?
I'm struggling to find good figures that spell this out on a region by region basis.
The data are often muddied, f.e. by including lightning strikes, ladders or trucks hitting overhead high-voltage power lines, self-harm / suicide attempts, etc.
For example, some Australian data for a 2-year period [1]
> 55 deaths involving electrical injury - 50 male, 5 female
> 8 were lightning strikes
> 17 were intentional self-harm
> 18 were were due to exposure to other specified electric current
In the USA I'm finding:
> Electrocution is the fifth leading cause of occupational injury death
> 41% of cases involved overhead power lines
> Electrocution is sixth among causes of workplace deaths
> Electrical hazards cause more than 300 deaths
[1] https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/injury/electrical-injuries-d...
I was including lightning strikes in the AU numbers, but the US numbers were electrical (lines, domestic, construction, etc) only.
So fatality ratios skew higher in the USA than AU, at least. The numbers are quite low in both cases, so the ostensible safety benefits of 110V at 15-20A may not be terribly compelling in practice.
OTOH, in my workshop, I just got done running a 60A circuit at 220v for a welder. I wish I could have the same for a kettle.
Also, on safety, I don't know the statistics, but subjectively, electricity feels much more dangerous in the US because of the plug and socket design.
F.e. standard USA circuits are 15A, IIRC. In Australia, in contrast, it's typically 10A.
Hence, Australia's safer than USA - though realistically any amount of current is fairly unpleasant.
The current is determined by the voltage divided the resistance.
The current that flows during a shock would not be limited by breaker size in any country -- you'll be long dead by the time 1 amp flows.
/0.5jk
I just have a big 12L boiler on the counter, it's always hot and usually full, and I never have to wait very long for a hot drink. It's amazing. I couldn't live without it now.