[HN Gopher] Plug and socket types around the world
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Plug and socket types around the world
Author : thunderbong
Score : 49 points
Date : 2023-09-19 14:56 UTC (8 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.worldstandards.eu)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.worldstandards.eu)
| Titan2189 wrote:
| Who made this list of just naming them A - O? Why not use the
| established standard names?
|
| Probably a case of https://xkcd.com/927/
| zdimension wrote:
| The lettered naming convention is common and not new ([see](htt
| ps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC_power_plugs_and_sockets#Typ...))
|
| In France, Switzerland and Germany I've heard the terms "type
| C/E/F" (sometimes "Schuko"), but never CEE 7/3 or CEE 7/7.
| pm215 wrote:
| The one on this list that surprised me is type O, because it's
| specific to Thailand and only standardised in 2006, which means
| that in the 21st century somebody decided it was better to invent
| a completely new plug-and-socket spec, rather than adopting any
| of the pre-existing standards...
| ilyt wrote:
| Governments be like that
| msy wrote:
| One weird quirk I've discovered is 2-pin Swiss plugs appear to
| have smaller diamater pins than EU ones, which means some EU-
| compatiable plugs will not fit in CH sockets. Apple's BRA
| adaptors work in CH sockets, KOR ones do not.
| wppick wrote:
| Interestingly and semi-related: in Japan, the electrical grid is
| divided into two frequency standards: 50 Hz in the eastern part
| of the country (including Tokyo), and 60 Hz in the western part
| (including Osaka). Which was due to influence by German tech in
| the east and American tech in the west. Electrical appliances
| have to be labeled to indicate their compatible frequency to warn
| customers
| RetroTechie wrote:
| On a side note: anyone know equipment that works on 60 Hz but
| not 50 Hz, or vice versa? I don't mean what's specified on the
| label, but actual operation. And ignoring efficiency
| considerations. Just "works" or not.
|
| There's clocks that use AC mains frequency as timebase.
| Anything else?
| jmwilson wrote:
| Motors, wall warts with line-frequency transformers, or other
| things that are an inductive load. Magnetic materials
| designed for 60 Hz may saturate at 50 Hz, though usually
| things designed for 50 Hz will at least sort of work at 60
| Hz.
| bluGill wrote:
| Other than clocks almost everything is designed for 50 or
| 60hz. it doesn't cost much more to design for either
| frequency, and typically you don't care about the RPM
| difference that much. By handling both you can just sell
| your things around the world. A lot of money has been lost
| because someone shipped something to a country it wasn't
| designed for. Making a motor that can handle different
| frequencies and voltages tends to be easier than the
| logistics of getting the right thing to the right place
| (most of the world is 100-120V, 200-240V, or 400-480V - and
| those variations are easy to handle if you design for it).
| sq_ wrote:
| While traveling in Europe recently, I noticed that my adapter
| from the US plug to the European one didn't always quite fit into
| the sockets. I wonder now if I was seeing some small
| incompatibility between Type E and F...
| jeltz wrote:
| F (and E) has partial and unsafe compatibility with G that they
| fail to mention. I have seen people use that way too often in
| Malta.
| nonethewiser wrote:
| I noticed Japan was only associated with one plug (type A). Does
| this mean they don't have a grounded plug? Or just an omission?
| mixmastamyk wrote:
| Yes, no grounded plug that I've seen. Trying to find an adapter
| to plug your grounded power supply in is a challenge.
| hexmiles wrote:
| In another table they also mention type B that has a grounded
| plug:
|
| https://www.worldstandards.eu/electricity/plug-voltage-by-co...
|
| https://www.worldstandards.eu/electricity/plugs-and-sockets/...
| MenhirMike wrote:
| Moving from Europe to the US really made me appreciate recessed
| power sockets - the standard US Power Socket is a crime against
| engineering (and don't get me started on 120 vs 240V).
|
| If I was Emperor of the Universe, I'd make the Type G plug the
| only standard: Longer ground contact that makes contact first,
| plastic cover on the plug-facing side of the hot/neutral
| contacts, polarized because there's only one direction to plug
| it, built-in fuse. Make it recessed, and it's perfect. And since
| it's rated for 250V/13A, it's great for any household device that
| doesn't need three-phase power.
|
| Yes, it's chonky, but the more I learn about power plugs and
| sockets, the more I see how well designed it is. Unless someone
| from the UK knows if there are actual issues with it :)
| petre wrote:
| The G standard plug should be classified as a cold weapon as
| it's so big and heavy and flat that it could be used as a mace
| or as a booby trap for burglars.
| gottorf wrote:
| > the standard US Power Socket is a crime against engineering
| (and don't get me started on 120 vs 240V)
|
| What's so bad about a NEMA 5-15? I grant you it's not as fancy
| as the Type G, but I've certainly never been shocked by it, so
| I'm not sure if it's criminal.
|
| US households have access to 240V if they want it (and most
| homes have at least a clothes dryer outlet wired for this).
| About the only thing I would really prefer to have 240V for is
| an electric kettle.
| MenhirMike wrote:
| I've seen so many sockets that were worn down over time from
| the weight of the plug just hanging out from it, usually
| straight since most aren't angled. (because there's no strain
| relief either, which a recessed socket would provide). So you
| have plugs that are usually exposing parts of the plug thanks
| to gravity.
|
| Yes, it can be fixed by replacing the socket, but it's just
| such a terrible design. (The 240V socket isn't much better -
| if I was wiring my house for 240V, I guess I'd have to use
| that one to be up to code, but I'd really consider importing
| some Schuko sockets instead)
| rndmio wrote:
| The biggest issue with the UK plug is when it's been left
| unplugged, lying pin up, in the dark. It's got to be the most
| painful one to stand on.
| stevekemp wrote:
| It is true they can sting a little, but that aside I have a
| strong preference for them too - almost certainly because i
| grew up with them!
|
| There's the obligatory Tom Scott video here, which always
| gets shared, deservedly so, whenever the topic of plugs and
| sockets comes up:
|
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEfP1OKKz_Q
| ilyt wrote:
| The man haven't seen good plug in his life
| andyjohnson0 wrote:
| Can confirm. 2.4 times worse than lego.
| esturk wrote:
| After the whole lightning to USB-C plug fiasco for the iPhone, I
| wonder if the EU will ever throw their weight to force certain
| smaller countries to adopt more popular socket standards. It
| might even be done in the name of "reducing e-waste".
|
| Just looking over the list above, it seems like Type-J (Swiss &
| Liechtenstein only) and Type-K (Denmark & Greenland only) are
| prime candidates. I'm only looking at sockets within the EU
| border btw.
| Svip wrote:
| Switzerland and Liechtenstein are outside the EU. As for the
| type K, type F sockets are already permissible in Denmark, and
| are not uncommon in newer installations. The page on type K
| mentions that the expectation is that type K will be phased out
| eventually, as newer installations use type F, but I haven't
| really seen a lot of type F sockets, and there are no mandates
| to change existing installations.
| jeltz wrote:
| Malta and Ireland use type G.
| kyriakos wrote:
| and Cyprus
| [deleted]
| Lukas_Skywalker wrote:
| You need to take Type-J from my cold dead hands. The image
| shows a quite important safety feature (and misses one):
|
| The socket is recessed into the wall, and only the frontmost
| part of the plug is conducting. That means that while you are
| plugging it in, there is never any metal exposed. Contact can
| only be made when the plug is already quite far in the socket.
|
| The second feature would be to mount the socket upside down, so
| the center hole (the ground contact) is on the top. Metal
| objects falling down on the plug are prevented from making
| contact with the two current-carrying contacts and usually
| bounce right off the center contact.
| ilyt wrote:
| > The socket is recessed into the wall, and only the
| frontmost part of the plug is conducting. That means that
| while you are plugging it in, there is never any metal
| exposed. Contact can only be made when the plug is already
| quite far in the socket.
|
| Same thing for E/F... the actual metal connectors for power
| are recessed in socket so when socket is in you can't touch
| anything before it even connects power, because plug itself
| covers the socket
|
| But yeah, type J is more compact one, althought only 10 amps
| is laughable
|
| I'd rather have C13/C14 than any of those tbh
| Cockbrand wrote:
| While the compact-ness of Type J is very convincing, I
| personally like Types E and F best. This is because the
| ground is exposed, so you can quickly touch it to remove any
| static charges from yourself. I do this f.e. before handling
| circuit boards.
| ilyt wrote:
| Also only 10 amps
| dist-epoch wrote:
| That's not how the EU works.
|
| All rules and regulations are really optional. If a country
| flat out refuses to implement one of them nothing happens.
|
| This is why all those complaining that "countries lost their
| sovereignty to the EU" are hilarious because no such thing
| happened.
| petre wrote:
| Type J is a good design, the Danish one is quite unique. Too
| big. Schuko is too big as well. I installed Italian Type L/Type
| C sockets for 10 amp type C plugs where I had half a module
| left.
|
| The EU has no jurisdiction over Switzerland and Lichtenstein.
| tristor wrote:
| While Type F is clearly (mostly) superior to all alternatives, I
| wish Type K was the winner in Europe because it looks like a
| smiley face.
| jeltz wrote:
| Personally I prefer type E despite growing up in a country with
| type F. They are less prone to being annoying when build
| quality is poor.
| Svip wrote:
| If you like that, you should see the hospital version:
| https://www.avxperten.dk/stikkontakt/lk-fuga-stikkontakt-jor...
| tristor wrote:
| Ooh, I like that. Winky face is definitely even better than
| smiley face. Also beats hospital plugs in the US, which are
| identical visually to other plug types, except for a green
| dot.
| ilyt wrote:
| I actually prefer E coz I can just connect to ground via
| alligator clip if I need to
| Cockbrand wrote:
| Fans of the Scream movie franchise may prefer Type I.
| dvh wrote:
| This is one of the reasons aliens still didn't land here.
| gizajob wrote:
| "The good thing about standards is that there are so many to
| choose from."
|
| I'll never get bored of posting this nugget
| kevincox wrote:
| > Type N [...] 100 - 240 V
|
| I was surprised to learn this. My Brazilian friend said you just
| had to know what outlets in the house where 110 and which were
| 220. If you got it wrong then the magic smoke came out.
|
| Nothing wrong with the socket itself but the use for different
| voltages is terrifying.
| marcosdumay wrote:
| Almost all of Brazil uses exclusively 220V. But the exception
| is Sao Paulo, so it has to be supported.
| matheusmoreira wrote:
| 110-127 V is common in most of the brazilian southeast. Minas
| Gerais, for example.
| zzo38computer wrote:
| I should expect that they ought to mark each one with the
| voltage label to know what it is, if they do something like
| that.
|
| (Using a different shape might be even better, to avoid
| plugging it wrong by accident or if it is dark and the label
| cannot be read or it is faded and cannot be read, etc, and you
| can more easily tell which device works with which plug because
| the shape matches the devices being plugged too.)
| RetroTechie wrote:
| No, that still relies on users not being stupid.
|
| Multiple AC standards in 1 building is just dumb, period.
| bluGill wrote:
| Multiple AC standards is just fine, so long as all the
| sockets are physically different so you can't screw up.
| Electricians are expected to know all the weird rules and
| get things right, but normal people can't make a mistake so
| it works.
|
| Almost all US houses have two voltages, but since the
| sockets are obviously incompatible it all works. I've seen
| industrial buildings that have more than one grid
| connection (and in one case they paid extra to ensure the
| grid connections went to different sub stations)
| bluGill wrote:
| Not pictured, but the US also has a socket that looks like type
| B, but it is for 220-240v (mostly used for window air
| conditioners, or tools). It is not compatible with the normal
| type A/B socket/plugs though because one of the pins is
| sideways.
|
| I once saw a house in the US which had outlets that would
| accept either type, and you had to know if it was 120V or 240V.
| IIRC this was a type A socket, but it would accept either
| voltage.
| mrgriscom wrote:
| I think you're confusing a NEMA 5-20 (120V, 20A) and NEMA
| 6-20 (240V, 20A). Each has one blade sideways but they're
| mirror images of each other. T-slot varieties of both outlets
| are common, which can accept both 15A and 20A versions of
| their respective voltages. You won't find outlets that can
| accept both a 120V and 240V plug.
|
| (The standard US outlet "type B" is a NEMA 5-15)
| LinAGKar wrote:
| I'm guessing you read XKCD?
| mixmastamyk wrote:
| What about DC plugs for the home? Maybe the kitchen appliances
| are the last that use AC natively?
| bluGill wrote:
| AC is strictly better for home use. You can just throw a
| transformer at AC and you get a different voltage, and then a
| couple diodes and capacitors give you the DC voltage you want.
| DC is more complex (generally you turn DC into AC and throw it
| into a transformer then back to DC - the only advantage of DC
| is you can turn it into high frequency AC which allows for a
| tiny transformer). Most things that want DC want very low
| voltage DC, which doesn't travel long distances well, and there
| are a number of different DC voltages things that want DC might
| want.
| mixmastamyk wrote:
| USB Power Delivery handles these issues. I suppose if the
| house is large there'd unfortunately need to be multiple
| transformers, maybe one per room instead of per device.
| danielhep wrote:
| Almost all DC power supplies are switching power supplies
| these days, which convert AC to DC first, then use DC-DC
| converters to get to the final voltage. I would think AC
| transformers are quite rare in homes these days. Maybeeee
| some microwaves? But the majority of power consumption is
| happening after rectifiers.
|
| Edit: another thought, most chargers and other low power DC
| power supplies will actually work just fine if you feed them
| sufficiently high voltage DC rather than AC. The recifier
| just doesn't do anything! I used to power my laptop charger
| directly from a lithium battery at about 100 volts DC with no
| trouble.
| ianburrell wrote:
| I got the impression there is one place for medium voltage DC
| in the home. Solar panels have inverters to make AC from DC,
| and batteries also need to convert DC to AC. It would be more
| efficient if the solar panels and batteries were connected
| directly with DC, and if there was a single, efficient
| inverter. It makes the most sense to use the battery DC
| voltage, and then solar panels have variable DC converter.
|
| It would make sense for off-grid home to distribute DC. DC
| appliances could be more efficient but they don't exist.
| Everyone will use inverter and AC wiring.
| ianburrell wrote:
| AFAIK, there aren't any. There isn't any standard for voltage.
| There isn't much demand or advantage for DC in the home. There
| might be slight efficiency gain but have to replace all of your
| appliances. Appliances which don't exist.
|
| There are a bunch of DC power connectors but they are mainly
| for connecting cables and for low voltage. Powerpole is my
| favorite since genderless and maintains polarity, but can pull
| out.
|
| Boats, RVs, and off grid homes mostly use 12V DC. There are
| some that are using 48V for efficiency and higher power
| appliances. My understanding is that everything is hardwired.
| Lots have inverters and AC plugs.
| mixmastamyk wrote:
| I exempted kitchen appliances, and suppose laundry too.
| Sometimes these are on 220 which is a different circuit
| already, right? Everything else in our place needs to be
| converted to DC.
|
| Edit: can't reply, so added below:
|
| Our lighting has been LED for a decade. USB PD up to 240W
| handles most of the other issues you mention. I have a USB
| Fan at my desk. I think the issues are solvable if one is
| motivated. ;-)
| ianburrell wrote:
| Why? Which DC voltage? The low voltage that use now is too
| low voltage for running in the walls. You're going to need
| converter boxes; DC-DC converters are more efficient but
| you are going to have wall warts everywhere. Also, USB-C is
| not enough power for things like TVs.
|
| Plus, I have a bunch of things like fans and lamps that
| need AC. So now going to have converter boxes from AC toDC.
|
| Also, appliances are where all the efficiency gains are
| because that is where all the power goes.
| vilunov wrote:
| Pretty sure the standard DC plug is USB.
| Gabrys1 wrote:
| Note: type E looks like it could be polarized, but it's not. It's
| also annoying to use when you have a big plug as it often blocks
| two outlets.
| dfox wrote:
| The solution for right-angle plugs blocking adjacent sockets
| are angled sockets.
|
| For a correctly designed appliance the polarization should not
| matter and as today most appliances have CEE E/F plugs which
| are compatible with inherently not polarized Schuko there is
| not much space for designing it wrong.
|
| Across the EU there is a bunch of various normative and ad-hoc
| standards about which pin should be the live one in Type E
| socket. And well, one would expect that there are only three
| ways how that can be standardized including don't care, but no,
| there also exist standards that say "always on left, even if
| the socket is upside down" (the reasoning is something along
| the lines that if a child sticks a 100mm nail into the socket
| it is going to be into the right hole)
| Svip wrote:
| Type E and F's plug are shown in their combined version (the
| Schuko), which is the standard today. I have two old appliances
| (an egg cooker from the 1980s and a sauce machine from the early
| 1990s), which have the type F and type E plugs, respectively,
| i.e. not the combined form. Living in Denmark, the usual K to
| Schuko plug is using the E socket (i.e. "French ground"), which
| makes it hard for me to find a grounded socket for my egg cooker
| (which I believe is German). (Though, because this converter
| takes up a bit of space, on some appliances, I have removed the
| Schuko plug and replaced it with a type K plug to reduce space
| required. I have been thinking of doing the same for the egg
| cooker, but there is something quaint about an actual type F
| plug.)
| beAbU wrote:
| What on earth is a sauce machine?
| bloopernova wrote:
| I know people make fun of the UK plug for being too chunky, but I
| really like its solidity. It feels like it will actually survive
| a few years in a home. Plus assembling them at school was always
| fun.
| mixmastamyk wrote:
| Ok at home... for a fridge? But traveling with them is another
| story.
| RetroTechie wrote:
| And supporting a fuse in the plug!
|
| Not to everyone's liking, but there's something to be said for
| that.
| MeteorMarc wrote:
| Now I become curious how many types of converter plugs between
| type A-O do actually exist!
| gizajob wrote:
| Best - Type G Worst - Type I
| pathartl wrote:
| I know type L is not great because it's not polarized, but I
| think it's the best looking socket out of any of the ones listed.
| nrr wrote:
| Somewhat paradoxically, it's actually safer from a consumer
| safety perspective to assume that you don't have a polarized
| connector. The big reason is that the consumer can see fit to
| make modifications to meet their circumstances.
|
| If the culture here in the US of filing down the wider blade on
| polarized plugs so they'll mate with an unpolarized receptacle
| is anything to go by, people just want to use their stuff,
| safety be damned.
| pathartl wrote:
| Of course. Ideally we'd be able to have all appliances be
| polarizing agnostic and write that into any standards, and
| then be able to enforce those standards.
| bluGill wrote:
| Polarization is only safer in the case of a screw in light
| plug (ie light bulb) where the design makes it likely you
| will touch one of the live wires - if that wire is the one
| connected to ground you can safely touch it.
| ilyt wrote:
| Oh you funny man, thinking we have polarized ones!
|
| Brits do I think, but most of the eu has unpolarized ones.
|
| One of the common 2 socket wall sockets for example have just
| straight bars connecting 2 sockets being 180 degrees rotated,
| so each socket have line and neutral on different connector.
|
| So if you say put a tester in it, one socket will read
| "correct" while other will read "L/N reversed"
| slategruen wrote:
| Saves a lot of space too. One thing that's bothered me with
| most popular socket variants is how wide their power strips
| usually become.
|
| I think the Italian one is the most practical variant that
| unfortunately isn't as ubiquitous. It (1) occupies less space,
| (2) reversible, (3) sticks to the wall more firmly unlike the
| flat-pronged ones in North America.
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