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Electricity
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Traveling to other
countries will make you personally aware that the planet operates on
basically two different electrical systems. All electrical devices are
usually designed to operate on one or the other system. Besides
the world having two different electrical systems, there are multiple
plug types that have been devised to go with each system. The human
mind is never idle!
The resources below will take you directly to
worldwide electricity guides that will tell you the system and plug
types for each country of the world.
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Resources |
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Five Golden Electricity
Rules |
There are five golden
electricity rules
related to electricity when traveling:
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The Five Golden
Electricity Rules |
- Know
the voltage, hertz and amps of all your electrical
devices you're taking.
- Make
sure you have switched it to the proper voltage if it
has a switch for that. (Most hairdryers have a switch
you twist with a coin to go between 110v and 220v.)
- Know
the voltage, hertz and plug types for all the places you
will be visiting. No we don't mean the country you are
visiting. We mean the city or part of the country you
will be visiting. On rare occasions you will find that
one city or part of a country is on a different system
than another. The exceptions will be noted in the
Worldwide Electricity Guides. Don't get ambushed!
- Always
take along a set of adapter plugs or a universal adapter
plug.
- Take
an extension cord. Don't laugh. It may come in
handy. More about that later.
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Electrical Systems
The two main electrical systems in the world are:
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- North America
(U.S.A,, Canada, Mexico), Central America and the Western Japan use
110-120v at 50 Hz. (yes, it is true that some major appliances and
other equipment run on 220v and houses or apartments are wired for
that. But we are talking your basic WALL OUTLET that the maid plus
her vacuum into.
- The rest of the
world (with a few exceptions) uses 220-240v at 60 Hz.
There is some good news. Laptops,
cellphones and digital camera adapters that let you plug your device
into a wall outlet to power it and recharge the batteries are almost all
electricity-smart and will automatically convert the electricity to the
correct voltage and hertz. Hairdryers and some other portable
devices have a little switch you
turn, usually with a coin, to set it to the 110 or 220 setting.
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Some Tips
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It is better to use a dual voltage appliance than to carry along an
electrical converter. Especially if it is just a hair dryer or travel iron.
You really don't want to have to lug a portable transformer
around like in the old travel days.
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Even
with a dual-voltage appliance, you will probably still need an adapter plug. Buy
a set of them to take along. Before you go always, try out your
appliance cord plugs with any adapters or extension cords to
make sure everything is compatible.
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Use your hair dryer on the low setting if you are not sure the hotel
electrical system can handle the amps on the high setting.
Extension
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About That
extension cord
Take a
15-ft extension cord. Even if you stay in the best hotel in some
countries you will at some time in your travels encounter one of the
following conditions. The bathroom does not have an electrical outlet
at all. The bathroom has an electrical outlet but it is only for
electric shavers. If you plug your hair dryer in you will probably
overload the system and then lights out! The only mirror is not
in the bathroom but in another part of your hotel room. The electrical
outlet that you can use is in another part of the room from where the
mirror is. Maybe the mirror is in the bathroom that has no electrical
outlet you can use. So that is where the extension cord comes
in. But don't forget your adapter plugs and make sure they fit your
extension cord plug
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