What does a UK plug look like? Equipment in the USA. Adapters and possible electronics surprises. Power parameters for electrical appliances
Dear students! I have long wanted to write about one little thing, but very important when traveling to Ireland to study. As you might have guessed from the title of the article, we will talk about electrical outlets in Ireland. This element is of utmost importance in modern world all kinds of electronic gadgets. Especially considering the ever-increasing productivity of our devices with a proportional increase in appetite for electricity consumption. And with an eye on the flight time to Ireland from countries of Eastern Europe, especially in light of possible transfers with a wait of several hours, the issue of recharging smartphones, tablets and laptops becomes more relevant than ever. And if you are likely to find sockets at transfer airports European type(unless you are flying through London), then upon arrival in Ireland you will immediately be faced with the need to look for an adapter to connect your wearable device.
In Ireland, they use sockets that are classified according to connection type G. Such sockets have the main difference from the Euro plugs we use in the form of the presence of a third contact. In terms of current frequency and other indicators, electrical outlets in Ireland are no different from those in the countries of the former Soviet Union - the same 230 volts (220 volt devices work here without problems) and a current frequency of 50 hertz. Therefore, before traveling to Ireland to study English courses, I advise you to purchase an adapter in advance. And you can connect a small tee extension cord to this adapter to ensure simultaneous charging of your phone, laptop and MP3 player.
There are 12 types in the world electrical plugs and sockets.
Letter classification - from A to X.
Before traveling abroad, especially to less visited countries, I check the information below.
Type A: North America, Japan
Countries: Canada, USA, Mexico, part of South America, Japan
Two flat parallel contacts without grounding.
In addition to the USA, this standard has been adopted in 38 other countries. Most common in North America and on the east coast South America. In 1962, the use of Type A sockets was prohibited by law. A Type B standard was developed to replace it. However, many older homes still have similar sockets because they are compatible with the new Type B plugs.
The Japanese standard is identical to American sockets, but has stricter requirements for the size of plug and socket housings.
Type B: Same as Type A, except Japan
Countries: Canada, USA, Mexico, Central America, Caribbean Islands, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, part of Brazil, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia
Two flat parallel contacts and one round for grounding.
Additional contact longer, so when connected, the device is grounded before it is connected to the network.
In the socket, the neutral contact is on the left side, the phase is on the right, and the ground is at the bottom. On this type of plug, the neutral pin is made wider to prevent reverse polarity when connected in a non-standard manner.
Type C: Europe
Countries: all of Europe, Russia and the CIS, the Middle East, part of South America, Indonesia, South Korea
Two round contacts.
This is the European socket we are used to. There is no ground connection and the plug can fit into any socket that accepts 4mm diameter pins with 19mm spacing between them.
Type C is used throughout continental Europe, the Middle East, many African countries, as well as Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Bangladesh, Indonesia. Well, and of course, in all the republics of the former Soviet Union.
German and French plugs (type E) are very similar to this standard, but their contact diameter is increased to 4.8 mm, and the body is made in such a way as to prevent connection to European sockets. The same forks are used in South Korea for all devices that do not require grounding and are found in Italy.
In the UK and Ireland, showers and bathrooms are sometimes fitted with special sockets compatible with type C plugs. They are designed to connect electric shavers. Therefore, the voltage in them is often reduced to 115 V.
Type D: India, Africa, Middle East
Three large round contacts arranged in a triangle.
This old English standard is supported mainly in India. It is also found in Africa (Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria), the Middle East (Kuwait, Qatar) and in those parts of Asia and the Far East where the British were involved in electrification.
Compatible sockets are used in Nepal, Sri Lanka and Namibia. In Israel, Singapore and Malaysia, this type of socket is used to connect air conditioners and electric clothes dryers.
Type E: France
Two round prongs and a ground prong protruding from the top of the socket.
This type of connection is used in France, Belgium, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Denmark.
The diameter of the contacts is 4.8 mm, they are located at a distance of 19 mm from each other. The right contact is neutral, the left is phase.
Just like the German standard described below, sockets of this type allow the connection of type C plugs and some others. Sometimes the connection requires using force in such a way that you can damage the outlet.
Type F: Germany
Two round pins and two grounding clips at the top and bottom of the socket.
Often this type is called Schuko/Schuko, from the German schutzkontakt, which means “protected or grounded” contact. Sockets and plugs of this standard are symmetrical; the position of the contacts when connecting does not matter.
Despite the fact that the standard requires the use of contacts with a diameter of 4.8 mm, domestic plugs easily fit German sockets.
Many countries in Eastern Europe are gradually moving from the old Soviet standard to type F.
Often there are hybrid plugs that combine side clips of type F and a grounding contact of type E. Such plugs connect equally well to both “French” sockets and German Schuko.
Type G: Great Britain and former colonies
Countries: UK, Ireland, Malaysia, Singapore, Cyprus, Malta
Three large flat contacts arranged in a triangle.
The massiveness of this type of fork is surprising. The reason lies not only in large contacts, but also that there is a fuse inside the plug. It is necessary because British standards allow higher current levels in household appliances. electrical circuit. Pay attention to this! The adapter for the Euro plug must also be equipped with a fuse.
In addition to Great Britain, plugs and sockets of this type are also common in a number of former British colonies.
Type H: Israel
Three contacts arranged in a Y shape.
This type of connection is unique, found only in Israel and is incompatible with all other sockets and plugs.
Until 1989, the contacts were flat, then they decided to replace them with round ones, 4 mm in diameter, located in the same way. All modern sockets support the connection of plugs with both old flat and new round contacts.
Type I: Australia
Countries: Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Fiji
Two flat contacts located “house”, and the third is a ground contact.
Almost all sockets in Australia have a switch for added safety.
Similar connections are found in China, only in comparison with the Australian ones they are turned upside down.
Argentina and Uruguay use sockets that are Type I compatible in shape but with reversed polarity.
Type J: Switzerland
Three round contacts.
Exclusive Swiss standard. Very similar to type C, only there is a third, grounding contact, which is located slightly to the side.
European plugs fit without adapters.
A similar connection is found in parts of Brazil.
Type K: Denmark and Greenland
Three round contacts.
The Danish standard is very similar to the French Type E, except that the protruding ground pin is in the plug rather than the socket.
From July 1, 2008, type E sockets will be installed in Denmark, but for now the most common European standard C plugs can be connected to existing sockets without any problems.
Type L: Italy and Chile
Three round contacts in a row.
European standard C plugs (ours) fit Italian sockets without any problems.
If you really want, you can plug E/F type plugs (France-Germany), which we have in chargers for MacBooks, into Italian sockets. In 50% of cases, Italian sockets break during the process of pulling out such a plug: the plug is removed from the wall along with the Italian socket strung on it.
Type X: Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia
A hybrid of type A and C sockets. Both American and European plugs are suitable for sockets of this type.
5 /5 (12 )If you order different electrical devices and devices through foreign online stores like Aliexpress or Ebay, then in the order parameters you often find a selection option - US plug, UK plug, EU plug or AU plug. What is this and what does this designation mean?!
You probably know what is used in the world different types electrical outlets. So, to indicate the type of connector used on the device for connecting to electrical network are used special designations. What is their difference? Here are the four main types of plugs:
1. UK Plug- English or British socket, type G (three flat pins). Used in the UK, Singapore, Malta and Cyprus. Operating voltage 220-240 Volts.
2.AU Plug- Australian socket, type I. Used in Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa, China. Operating voltage 220-240 Volts.
3. EU Plug- the so-called “Euro” connector of the socket, type C and F (additionally 2 ground contacts). Regular european socket, used in Russia, CIS countries, the European Union, as well as in many other countries (Turkey, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, etc.). The voltage used is 220-240 Volts at a frequency of 50 Hz.
4.US Plug — american outlet, Type A (two vertical flat pins) and B (with a third hole for grounding). Used in the USA, as well as in the countries of South America and Japan. The voltage used is 100-127 Volts at a frequency of 60 Hz.
In addition, there are a number of less common types of electrical outlet plugs:
There are a total of 12 types of sockets in the world. Among them are Italian, Thai, African, Swiss, Israeli, etc. They are used much less frequently, but nevertheless they also have a place.
In the USA and Canada, the voltage in the electrical network is 120 volts at a frequency alternating current 60 hertz. In Europe and Russia, and accordingly in Moldova, the voltage in the network is 230 volts at a current frequency of 50 hertz. It is believed that lower voltage and higher frequency are less dangerous to human health and life, but higher voltage and lower frequency are less expensive to implement and easier to implement technically. It may seem that America has taken the path of security, and Europe has taken the path of ease of implementation, but this is not so.
A little history
Electricity pioneers were Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla. Edison is Native American. Tesla was born and raised in Austria-Hungary, Serbian by nationality, but received US citizenship in 1891. All modern parameters of the power grid in the USA and Canada are the result of the struggle of these two scientists. For example, 120 volts is the contribution of Edison, and 60 hertz, respectively, of Tesla. In the USSR, electrification of the entire country took place in the 20s of the last century. Initially, an alternating current of 127 volts with a frequency of 50 hertz was used, but in the early 60s this was no longer enough and they gradually switched to 220 volts. In Europe, electrification occurred later than everyone else and therefore many mistakes of the American continent and the USSR were taken into account. Now the majority of countries in the world, including Russia, are electrified at 230 volts and 50 hertz. In America, for some reason, they decided not to increase the voltage, but took the path of doubling the number of 120-volt cables, each of which has a phase.Types of electrical outlets and their plugs in the USA and Canada
Regular plug sockets in the USA and Canada there are two types - type A (without grounding) and type B (with grounding). If you see a type A socket in a house, you should know that this house was built before man’s flight into space, since the installation of such sockets in new buildings has been prohibited since 1962. Plugs for type A sockets will fit into type B sockets, but vice versa they will also work if you saw off the U-shaped ground pin on the type B plug, many people do this. An electrical appliance with a European plug, which is designed for Canadian electricity at 120 volts and 60 hertz, can be connected to any type of Canadian outlet through an appropriate adapter, but only if the appliance is capable of being powered by a US power source.Now in many Canadian homes, special large and round sockets that supply 240 volts are used to connect large household appliances (stoves, ovens, dryers, air conditioners, electric radiators). Physically, electricity is supplied to the house by three wires, one of which is simply grounding, and the second two are simultaneously an alternating current phase with a voltage of 120 volts and a frequency of 60 hertz. All large Appliances and heating batteries are connected linearly to two phases and operate on 240 volts. Everything low-power is connected to only one of two phases, no matter which. Typically, double sockets are installed in the house, each of which is powered by its own phase. Sometimes sockets are equipped with a switch.
Power parameters for electrical appliances
Today, manufacturers mainly equip their equipment with universal power supplies so that it works all over the world. Just look at the information sticker (usually the INPUT line) to find out in what voltage range and at what frequency your electrical appliance operates. The photo shows an electrical appliance sticker which says that this electrical appliance operates only in the voltage range from 220 to 240 volts and with frequencies of 50 and 60 hertz (see the line beginning with the word INPUT and which is one line above the red line), that is, it is not suitable for Canada:
Photo of a typical iPhone charging sticker:
The photo shows that this phone charger operates in a voltage range from 100 volts to 240 volts and with frequencies of 50 and 60 hertz, and is therefore suitable for Canada. There are stickers on Chinese, but you can still figure it out by analyzing the numbers and units of measurement (V - volts, Hz - hertz) and comparing them with possible voltages and frequencies:
Power supply for charging AA batteries Turkish origin. It is clearly visible that this electrical appliance operates only on a voltage of 230 volts and a frequency of 50 hertz:
Thus, when analyzing the way you power your electrical appliances, it is not difficult to understand what you can take to Canada and what you can give to relatives and friends or sell before leaving. Many people are interested in whether they will work home computer or laptop in Canada. Almost every laptop comes with a universal power supply. If you plan to transport your computer to Canada, there may be problems with the power supply. High quality power supplies modern computers are equipped with a red switch that allows you to indicate the supplied voltage of 230 volts for Europe or 115 volts for the USA and Canada.
If there is no such switch, your power supply will most likely not be useful in Canada. In any case, think about whether it’s worth taking your computer overseas at all. It cannot be carried out in a hand bag due to its size, but in luggage, only with complete dismantling of all components and subsequent assembly in Canada. This is an adventure for the specialist.
