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A universal plug socket... at last?
BBC: A universal plug socket... at last?
I am sure many of us find frustration in the variety of electical plugs out there! :) ...expressing my delight the other day when I found in my bedrooms in two new hotels in China a simple all-purpose wall socket that took the plugs of many nations - including those of the UK. I have not previously encountered such a thing in years of travel. It is wonderful not to have to struggle any longer with those converters that never exactly fit, or fail to have a vital hole or pin. It is normally discovered only when a shave is vital or a flat battery urgently needs a recharge to enable recordings to continue. Oh, what pleasure to plug in my three-pin British plug the other evening in Inner Mongolia, so very far from home. |
But one still needs to be careful about 110V vs 220V! (50Hz vs 60Hz is usually less of an issue....)
The author should be clear... converters convert voltages; it is the convenience of not needing to carry adapters which makes this receptor useful. Also, the Italian plug will not fit in the receptor pictured.... Lastly, it would be ideal if the next generation light bulbs (using LEDs) did not use the bulb shape. Heat dissipation is a severe problem for these sockets and is one of the biggest problems with replacing current technology light bulbs with more efficient fluorescents or LEDs. |
Originally Posted by choijw
(Post 18678744)
Also, the Italian plug will not fit in the receptor pictured....
I used an Italian plug recently at a Crowne Plaza in China which was a newbuild and had these type of sockets- no problem what-so-ever (and yes, it was a joy not to need to pull out my mega-adapter pack which is half my carry on). |
Originally Posted by TRAVELSIG
(Post 18678899)
Italian plug would work just fine in that receptor.
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/image...socket_bbc.jpg Take a look at the following image: http://www.world-import.com/product-...883U_small.jpg There is an additional hole for the ground in an Italian plug. |
Originally Posted by choijw
(Post 18678988)
The image in the BBC article is missing a hole for the ground plug.
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/image...socket_bbc.jpg Take a look at the following image: http://www.world-import.com/product-...883U_small.jpg There is an additional hole for the ground in an Italian plug. |
And the writer obviously is not that well travelled as such plugs have been in existence in hotels, especially in Asia for over a decade.
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The "universal" adapters I've owned (Kensington, Conair, various no-names) don't have a plug suitable for India or South Africa. Given the growing importance of those countries and the increase in international travel to and from, I always felt like this was a startling oversight. Checking Amazon just now, however, it seems the "150 countries"-compatible adapters are still the standard.
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Universal sockets have been around for several years.
They are not widely adopted unfortunately, but some hotels have them. I still carry a Y adapter and a plug adapter. -David |
In many areas they would probably violate local building codes that require the use of a standard socket.
For wide acceptance they would have to overcome that, and get hotels to replace every socket (or it looks like they are big enough that one of them replaces two regular sockets here in the US), which I just don't see current buildings doing. Maybe new construction where you have to put in every socket anyways, but it just won't be worth the expense for them to do it. |
Won Pro has made one for years. I have one installed in our guest room.
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And most hotels in the Us have no need for this, while hotels throughout Europe, Asia and the middle east definately have a need for this. Brazil has had this issue for years as half the country has run on 110 and the other half on 220 and with different types of plugs.
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Originally Posted by cordelli
(Post 18680279)
In many areas they would probably violate local building codes that require the use of a standard socket.
For wide acceptance they would have to overcome that, and get hotels to replace every socket (or it looks like they are big enough that one of them replaces two regular sockets here in the US), which I just don't see current buildings doing. Maybe new construction where you have to put in every socket anyways, but it just won't be worth the expense for them to do it. I suggested this as part of the 5 years retrofit project for properties in the portfolio that we manage back in 2005 and we did not get approval in 10 major North American cities. The manufacturer need to obtain UL certification and that is a costly process as well as provision of many testing units. |
I've seen plugs like this in Thailand for years.
And I agree about electrical codes, I think you'd hit roadblocks in the EU/UK as well as ANZ. It's certainly nice to stay in a hotel with the multi-socket but as you can't rely on it so you still need to bring your adapters... I'm not sure that will change in my lifetime! |
This looks like what was installed in my firm's offices in Mumbai when I visited last month.
The Kensington adapter I bought for my trip had no issues with India or UAE hotel plugs. |
Originally Posted by choijw
(Post 18678744)
But one still needs to be careful about 110V vs 220V! (50Hz vs 60Hz is usually less of an issue....)
The author should be clear... converters convert voltages; it is the convenience of not needing to carry adapters which makes this receptor useful. Also, the Italian plug will not fit in the receptor pictured.... Lastly, it would be ideal if the next generation light bulbs (using LEDs) did not use the bulb shape. Heat dissipation is a severe problem for these sockets and is one of the biggest problems with replacing current technology light bulbs with more efficient fluorescents or LEDs. |
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