Know Your Global Plugs and Sockets

May 19, 2009 at 2:40 PM | by Omri | Comments (0)

Carrying around a bevy of electronics internationally can be frustrating. Carrying around a bevy of electronics internationally, only to discover that you can't plug them into the local walls sockets, is liable to push a weary traveler over the edge. In an effort to avoid any international incidents, computer maker EUROCOM has put together this wonderfully clean map of worldwide plugs and sockets, which we're dutifully passing on to you.

Of course you could just buy a universal plug adapter - this one's currently selling for $2 - and never worry about plugs or sockets again. We prefer the all-in-one devices to alternative multi-piece plug sets, even if the all-in-ones are a little bigger. A bit more bulk just seems preferable to having lots of small parts floating around.

Even with a plug adapter, of course, you'll still have to worry about converting voltage. But every decent laptop power supply is rated at least 110-220 so that shouldn't be a problem in most parts of the world. If you're taking our advice and charging all your travel peripherals through USB, that should take care of most of your electronics.

Though speaking of voltage - and if you're looking for something a little more comprehensive than EUROCOM's page - Conrad McGregor has put together one of the most complete global electricity guides in existence. The World Standards page contains just about everything you could ever want to know about plugs, sockets, voltages, converters, etc. Did you know that in Brazil there's no standard voltage, that in Saudi Arabia they go up to 380 V, and that in Japan voltage is the same everywhere but the frequency differs from region to region? All true.

[Photo: EUROCOM]

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