5 Must-Know Rules for Expats about Electric Voltage

Let this serve as a warning to other U.S. expats.  If you plan on taking any of your electronic equipment with you, you absolutely need to know about voltage, converters, and plugs.  After seven years abroad, I’ve developed some good tips about how to enjoy your electronics without the fuss, muss, and burned equipment.  Take note of these tried and tested rules below—and send me any you have!

A few years ago I moved to beautiful Buenos Aires with my Sony stereo, HP laptop, HP scanner, HP printer, Fellows paper shredder, not to mention a Mr. Coffee, Sony digital camera, and probably a few other things that escape my memory. 

After I got here, I discovered how hard it was to get things to work.  First, I zapped the scanner by accidentally plugging it into a 220-volt outlet.  That’s usually hard to do because the plugs for 110 volts don’t fit into the 220 voltage outlets here, as a rule. 

But at a local store I had just recently purchased an extension cord with a power strip with outlets adapted to either 220-volt or 110-volt type plugs.  All it took was being in too much of a hurry to notice, and hsszzap!  The minute the acrid smell hit my nostrils, I knew the poor scanner adapter cord would need replacing!

 Rule #1:  Label your outlets with the voltage as necessary.  One of mine is now plugged into one of those voltage converters that steps the 220-volt current down to 110, so it is labeled “110.”  Treat yourself and get adeluxe automatic voltage regulator.

Rule #2: Label your electronics as necessary.  I’ve had to drop my computer and stereo off at the local repair shop, and I’m taking no chances.  I’ve labeled each clearly with warning tags that these are 110-volt items.  I also mention it clearly.  So far, so good.  Maybe this really isn’t necessary, but it costs me nothing and gives me piece of mind.

 Rule #3:  Get at least two high quality voltage converters for convenience sake.  My stereo, in the living room of course, is plugged into a converter hidden from view.  That is a little too far for recharging my toothbrush and running my KitchenAid mixer, so I installed a second voltage regulator on the kitchen counter for the mixer and other appliances.  Frankly, I’d like to hide it in a counter and run the wires out of sight, but well, you can’t have everything!

 Rule #4:  Know what you can plug in safely.  I took my lamps into a local electric shop to change them to 220-volts, and guess what?  It turns out that my U.S. lamps are so well made, with good thick electric cords, that they easily support the higher voltage.  All I needed to do was insert a 220-volt bulb, and voila!  Alas, when I plugged in my Christmas tree lights, they went fizzle and emitted that tell-tale burnt odor.  I went out and bought 220-volt strings.  Problem solved! 

Rule #5:  Forgive yourself if you make a mistake.  Part of the adventure of expat living is learning, so figure a few mishaps are bound to happen on the journey.  Learn to laugh at it and move on.

 

Travelers: Get Plugged in Abroad at the Right Voltage

 We often take things for granted—until we travel.  In fact, researchers claim that one of the biggest benefits of travel and particularly extended stays abroad is that we become more open-minded and more creative.  Having to deal with other cultures, from language to geography, keeps us on our mental toes! 

 We just “assume” so much in everyday life given our particular socialization.  We just assume that the world eats what we do, gets up or goes to bed when we do, etc.  Lots of travelers assume that electricity, including cords and plugs and outlets, are pretty much the same the world over.  And they are surprised to discover that different regions of the world may differ in voltage and in the kinds of plugs and outlets used to connect electric devices.

 For example, my Brazilian foreign exchange student years ago just “assumed” that she could plug in the pretty alabaster angel night light that a friend gave her as a going-away present.  She did get a shock, though a cultural not electrical one, when she discovered that the plug unit of her nightlight had prongs that did not match the configuration in her New York bedroom.  Second, she discovered that the wiring and bulb voltage did not match either, as they were 220 volts instead of the North American standard of 110 volts, so we did not try a foreign plug adapter.  The recommendation was to keep it in her suitcase until she got back to Sao Paolo, and make do with one that we offered her.

Meanwhile, my daughter had the opposite experience going to Argentina, where her 110 equipment did not fit the 220 voltage electricity there.  Even odder, she discovered that there was no standardization of plugs at all!  In just one house she found three different kinds of outlets to match the three different kinds of plugs.  The family by necessity kept an assortment of adaptors and extension cords throughout the house in order to make things run!  Some plugs had two round prongs, others had two flat prongs in a V-shape, and others had the V-shape configuration with a grounding prong as well.   When she plugged in a set of 110-lights, using an adapter, the 220 volts surged right through those little bulbs and burnt them to a crisp with a little "pop"!  Luckily they did not explode!

Of course travelers, exchange students, expats, and others don’t need to suffer any of these mishaps or disappointments.  These days it is easy to get both voltage converters as well as international adapters plugs to work around the globe.  If you shop around, you can find the complete sets, or you can get just what you need for a single country. 

TIP:  Check your charging cables for cameras, laptops, and other items.  They may indicate that they already work fine with both voltages, and so all you need is the right foreign plug adapters for your stuff.  If you forget, you can buy what you need at an international airport shop or in cities in hardware stores and electric supply houses.  I’ve found some hotels will lend them to me as well.  Buen viaje!