It’s Electric! by Tom T, on Flickr
If you are a frequent traveler, then there are times that you bring your own electrical appliances with you. Normally, these would be your hair dryer, shaver, curling iron or hair straightener. You might also bring some gadgets along like your mobile phone, mp3 player, a portable video game console or laptop. Were there instances when you did not get to use these items at all because the power sockets in your place of destination did not match your plugs? That would have been extremely frustrating, especially if you needed to get some work done straight away. Your gadgets would have just become dead weight on your luggage!
Sure, it is easy to just buy a local adapter to fix this problem. But what if you are in a remote place? At times when you have had the good sense of bringing your own travel adapter, isn’t it even more frustrating to find out that you have brought the wrong one? How unlucky!
Then there is also the opposite situation. Have you ever brought home an American or Japanese appliance and without checking the manual in your excitement, plugged it straight into the wall socket? Now, unless your wall sockets only run on 120 volts, then that must have been an awesome fireworks display – complete with smoke and electrical sparks.
Most people have experienced either of the above at one point or another and it is definitely a big hassle, if you are not familiar with the places you are going to.
The reason why these things happen is because there is no global standard when it comes to line voltage and frequency. Some areas have adapted the standards of their neighboring countries, such as several countries in Europe.
So what should you keep in mind in order to use your appliances when going abroad? Here are a few tips and tricks.
The first thing you need to do before you leave for the airport is to check the voltage capacity of your device or appliance. If it covers “100-240V, 50/60 Hz,” then you are pretty much covered. All you will need then is to bring a travel adapter, to match the wall sockets with your plug at your destination.
There are mainly three widely used plugs in the world. These are the Type A or American plug with two vertical pins, the Type G or British plug with 3 rectangular pins and the Type C or European plug with two round pins. There are also Type I or Australian plug with 2 flat pins formed like upside down V-shape sometime with ground pin, sometime without. Unfortunately, there are many more types of plugs used in various types of the world, so it is best to double check this before leaving.
Type A or American pin
Type G or British pin
Type C or European pin
Type I or Australian pin
What if your device is not flexible enough to take in “100-240V,50/60Hz?” Then it is advisable to check what sort of electrical system is used in the country you are going. As a general rule, Western Japan, North and Central America use the 110-120V, 60Hz system. Meanwhile, the rest of the world generally use the 220-240V, 50Hz system. There are some exceptions, however. In Tokyo, you will encounter the 110-120V, 50Hz frequency. In some parts of Brazil, as well as the Philippines, make sure to equip your device for a 220-240 V, 60Hz system.
