Yes, 208/230 volt will work just fine. What people call "220 volts" is in fact 230 volts. Commercial and industrial buildings often have 208 volts instead of 230, hence the double voltage listing.

Yes, there's an outlet in the right spot. No, this outlet specifically requires the different kind of plug - it's not a 115 volt outlet. So although your're right, a 115 volt appliance would probably suffice for the relatively small space, it couldn't be plugged in here. Installing a new 115 outlet isn't really an option (building probably wouldn't allow it) and not worth my time. What I was getting confused about originally is how come when I specifically searched for "220 volt" a/cs, the search results would mostly show "208/230".

You call it a "115" volt outlet - others would call it 110, 117, or 120. I think today the "official" designation is 120 volt.

The same is true for 220 volt - some will call it 220, 230, or 240 - all the same thing.

But 208 volt is something entirely different.

There are NEMA 6-15 (240 volt, 15 amp) and 6-20 (240 volt, 20 amp) outlets for air conditioners.

The plug looks just like the NEMA 6-15 image below. Thanks for posting that.

@ wdccruise - Wouldn't those NEMA "outlets" also be used for single phase 208 volts?

No. According to this chart NEMA 6-xx outlets are three-wire, 240-volt outlets while NEMA 18-xx are four-wire, 208-volt outlets.

Actually, Nema 18-xx plugs and receptacles are used on 3-phase systems. One phase 208 volts, often present in commercial and multiple dwelling buildings, uses NEMA 6-xx plugs and receptacles. Which is why many appliances share the double 208/240 volt compatibility.

Thanks. I looked at this "backwards" and looked at several 208/230 volt appliances. They all came with NEMA 6 plugs on them. So to work with 208 volts they would plug in to a NEMA 6 208 volt receptacle. Note that the chart reference above does not say they are 240 volts - the 250 volts listed is just the maximum rated voltage - just as the NEMA 5 receptacles are rated 125 volts even though they are used for standard 110/115/117/120 volt service.

Google AI says:

A NEMA 6 receptacle is specifically designed for 208/240V circuits and can be used with a 208-volt power supply, provided the supply is single-phase and has two hot wires and a ground connection. NEMA 6 connectors are used for 208-240V applications and are not compatible with 120V circuits or devices that require a neutral wire.

Not that I always believe what AI says :-) .