The UK uses a 3-prong outlet for its power plugs which is in a different formation than the US. Also, it uses 240V power, whereas most US standard plugs are 120v (volt); in addition, we use 50 Megaherz (Hz) frequency and UK uses 60Hz.
What does that mean? Well, all of the appliances and electronics from the US can't be directly just plugged into the wall socket without some "conversion".
1. If you have a laptop/pc, cell phone/PDA, electric shaver, etc., you will notice on the power charger that it says allowable 240-120v/60-50Hz, so it has been configured to handle the different voltage and frequency. However, because it has a different plug, you need to buy a little $3-4 plug adapter that goes on the end of the US plug to fit into the wall socket. (By the way, the rest of Continental Europe uses 2 different types of power plugs!)
You can usually find these on-line at Best Buy or at travel stores (Rand McNally, etc.). Also try on-line at www.magellons.com but I have found them in most tourist areas/airports. In Bournemouth, they have them at Maplin's electronics stores and are typically US/OZ to UK adapters.
2. If the power cord/charger/appliance does not denote this range of power, you must buy a voltage converter with "step-down" functionality. Basically it takes the UK 240V, goes thru conversion and delivers 120v to the plug that you plug your US appliance into. You have to get a converter with sufficient wattage capacity for what you will plug into it. So you have to tally up the total wattage (e.g., if you have 3 things plugged in that add up to 400 watts), then make sure the converter has the capacity and then some. When you turn on most electronic appliances (especially TV's and pc's), there is an initial surge of power above what the base wattage needed. I purchased a converter with 1500 watts, which can easily handle a decent-sized tv, vcr, wii, sterio and pc all at the same time, if necessary. These converters are heavy (35lbs), bulky (twice the size of a toaster), and buzz while they are turned on. Not to mention they are $250 for the 1500 watts version.
If you need to purchase one in the UK, go to www.maplins.co.uk or try a search on the web for "voltage converters".
3. Now, if you have an appliance with an internal motor (uses AC/DC power), you also have to pay special attention to the megaherz (Hz) power frequency, as it can ruin the motor if the frequency is not compatible. I have not gotten that far, haven't tried any motor items, so do not know what this entails yet.
Probably a boring post, but a pain in the *** to deal with. When traveling to Europe/UK, best to get 1 multi-adapter. And don't buy any power electronics there to bring back to the US to use, you'll have to get an adapter to do the "step-up" from 120v to 240v to accommodate!! Not to mention it's probably going to be cheaper for the appliance/electronics in the US.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment