MAKE: Blog: Electricity around the world: everything about plugs, sockets, voltages, converters, etc.

Electricity around the world: everything about plugs, sockets, voltages, converters, etc.

Voltages Around The World
Everything you need to know about electricity around the world... -

"There is no standard mains voltage throughout the world and also the frequency, i.e. the number of times the current changes direction per second, is not everywhere the same. Moreover, plug shapes, plug holes, plug sizes and sockets are also different in many countries. Those seemingly unimportant differences, however, have some unpleasant consequences.

Most appliances bought overseas simply cannot be connected to the wall outlets at home. There are only two ways to solve this problem: you just cut off the original plug and replace it with the one that is standard in your country, or you buy an unhandy and ugly adapter.

While it is easy to buy a plug adapter or a new "local" plug for your "foreign" appliances, in many cases this only solves half the problem, because it doesn't help with the possible voltage disparity. A 120-volt electrical appliance designed for use in North America or Japan will provide a nice fireworks display - complete with sparks and smoke - if plugged into a European socket." - Link.

Posted by Phillip Torrone | Nov 16, 2006 02:43 PM
Electronics | Permalink | Comments (2)

Comments

Oldest comments listed first.

Looking at the map I'd say there IS a standard for mains voltage and frequency throughout the world, but only the USA, Brazil and some other minor places do not comply...

Posted by: fizzix on November 17, 2006 at 4:30 AM

For a detailed list of voltage you can also look here: World Voltages and Supplies

Posted by: Binbin on November 26, 2007 at 5:22 PM

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