European Electricity

Learning the Hard Way

During the occasion of a volunteer archeology project in Sardinia, one of the volunteers accidentally plugged one of those 27 zillion watt, 100 volt hair dryers into the standard 220 line which made us spend the whole day without lights. When we asked her if she was aware of the difference in voltages, she responded that she knew the difference but wanted to see if it worked.

Learning through experiments is a good thing. The result of such an experiment was a slightly smoldered and distorted lump of smelly and cheap plastic and overheated parts due to overpower caused by 220 volts. We had a dinner in the candlelight without power supply..

Hair dryers are considered to consume extensive amounts of power. In case you are unable to do without it, then you have the option to buy one in Europe to ensure its requirements coincides with those of the countries where the device is used.

Tips to avoid mishaps

* When you travel in Europe, just ensure that you have stock of your electrical requirements

* Decide upon the countries you are likely to travel.

* Make a choice of the plug adapt ors that will be needed in those particular countries

* List the appliances that require power converters.

Most of the modern laptops have the ability to automatically sense the changes in voltages and adapt themselves. Only a plug adaptor is required and the details can be checked with the help of a owner's manual.

A voltage converter that is sometimes called as a transformer is readily available and is still required for electrically frugal and thrifty items that are small like shavers. The requirement of power by hair dryers are enormous and these are considered to be a special case. It is better to leave the electrical appliances at home to project yourselves as good neighbors to the Europeans. Otherwise you may buy a heavy duty converter that has the ability to handle as much as 2000 watts (2 kilowatts).

In case you are taking along a recharger for your digital camera batteries, it will at least require a plug converter.

How to determine if you need just a Plug Adapter or a Voltage Converter??

There is a picture found to the left which is the back of a Sony power brick that needs 120 volts of AC electricity at 60 Hz or cycles per second. You will require a voltage converter that this attaches to run the device. The wattage is very low. It is only 6 watts and doesn't need a big .and expensive converter.

Plug Adapter - It is an interface that attaches between the American two-pronged plug and a particular European socket. Hence as a result the American appliance will be connected to European 220 volts 50 cycle electrical power.

Power Converter (or transformer) - This converts the European 220 volts to 110 volts so that American appliances will function on European Current. Ensure that the Power rating (in watts) exceeds the rating of all appliances you are about to plug in at one time.