WORLD ELECTRICITY

First, you need to find the electrical information for all appliances being taken to a foreign country. Before any appliance can receive a UL certification, it must have this information permanently attached to the appliance somewhere. Exactly where you will find this information can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. If you have trouble finding this info, you should contact the manufacturer.

MULTI-VOLTAGE APPLIANCES (100V – 240V, 50 – 60 Hz): The images above are examples of the electrical information labels found on some chargers. These images indicate that these two appliances are what is known as multi-voltage, that is, they say (among other things) “input 100 – 240V, 50 – 50 Hz”. A multi-voltage appliance usually is usually “self-sensing” (meaning it automatically switches the appliance depending on the input voltage) and usually only requires plug adapters for each country visited (be sure to verify this with the owner's manual or with the manufacturer). These labels also indicate the amps (A) or watts (w). The watts or amps information is more important to you if the appliance is not multi-voltage or dual voltage.

DUAL VOLTAGE APPLIANCES (110/120V – 220/240V, 50 – 60 Hz): A dual voltage appliance is similar to multi-voltage in that both usually only require plug adapters for each country visited. The dual voltage appliance usually has an electrical information label that refers to two voltage ranges, a high voltage range and a low voltage range. This is often expressed on the label as “110/120V – 220/240V, 50 – 60 Hz” but it could be some variation of this. They will also often show the amps (A) or watts (w) but again this probably will only be important if the appliance is not dual or multi-voltage. These dual voltage appliances often have small switches for changing from a low voltage range to a high voltage range and visa-versa but many of them are “self-sensing”. Self-sensing means that they will electronically sense the input voltage and adjust the appliance accordingly

NOT DUAL OR MULTI-VOLTAGE APPLIANCES (120V, 60 Hz.): If an appliance is neither dual or mult-voltage its label will usually just state the voltage as 110V, 115V, or 120V, the frequency as either 50 – 60Hz or just 60 Hz, and either the amps or watts required for the appliance. These appliances will require either a voltage converter (usually solid state, lightweight, and relatively inexpensive) or a transformer. You will need to know the watts or amps (volts X amps = watts) shown on the appliance label in order to choose the correct size transformer or voltage converter.

If an appliance contains any electronic components or is grounded (3 pin plug) it will need a step down transformer in most foreign countries. The transformer will converter the 220V, 230V, and 240V electricity to 110V, 115V, or 120V. Most US appliances are designed to operate comfortably with input voltages from 110V to 120V. The nominal voltage in the US and Canada is actually 117 volts.

If an appliance is non-electronic (even the “auto off” feature, such as found on some curling irons and other appliances, is electronic) and ungrounded