VOLTAGE CONVERTERS
VOLTAGE ACCESSORIES
COMPANY INFORMATION
VOLTAGE CONVERSION GUIDE
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Understanding Voltage Conversion, Voltage Converters and Plug Adaptors
If you are travelling to another country, you may need to consider what type of voltage converter or voltage transformer, and plug adapters you will need for your electrical appliances. Items such as electric shavers, hair dryers, irons, TVs, VCRs and DVD players all require electric power to work. However, different countries can have different power voltage available which is not necessarily what the appliance needs. If this is the case, you may need to convert an 110V appliance to 240V or you may need to convert a 240V appliance to 110V.
Types of Voltage Converters
There are two main types of voltage converters:
1. step-up, or
2. step-down.
A step-up converter will convert the electric power to a higher voltage that what the item is rated. For example, a hair dryer made in the US is designed to operate with a standard 110V outlet. A step-up converter can be used to operate the hair dryer in a country that has a 220V standard power supply.
Step-down converters perform the opposite function to step-up converters. If an appliance is designed to operate using a 240V power supply, a step-down converter can be used to operate the item in a country which has 110V power outlets.
Wattage and Voltage Converters
In terms of power, the type of voltage converter which is needed for an electrical appliance is defined by the wattage. For smaller, non-heating items such as electric shavers, a 50W converter will work fine. For larger, heated items such as hair dryers, curling irons and irons, a 1600W converter is required.
If the quality of the power supply is in question, it's advisable to also use a universal surge protector as well as the voltage converter.
A TV causes a power surge when it is first turned on. Therefore, for a TV a more powerful voltage converter is required than what is shown on the back of the set.
Many newer appliances are designed to work with different voltage supplies. Some appliances have a switch which easily adjusts the appliance to the input voltage. The switch needs to be set to the correct voltage before the appliance is plugged in.
Plug Adaptors
Not only can different countries have different voltage supplies, they can also have different types of outlets for accessing the power. Therefore when visiting another country, it is necessary to not only be aware on the voltage conversion requirements, but also the need for any plug adaptors to enable appliances to be plugged in to the local power supply outlets.
Some adaptors types are flat blade, flat blade with grounding pin, round pin, round pin with grounding, round pin plug and receptacle with male grounding pin, "Schuko" plug, rectangular blade plug, oblique flat blades, round pins with spade ground, "South African" plug with oversized pin.
Adapters allow plugs to fit properly into different outlets, however, they do not convert the voltage in any way.
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