There are more than a hundred ways to connect electrical appliances to the network in the world. There are a huge number of plugs and sockets. It is also necessary to take into account that each country has a special voltage, frequency and current strength. This can turn into a serious problem for tourists. But this question is relevant today not only for those who like to travel. Some, when making repairs in an apartment or house, intentionally install sockets of the standard of other countries. One of these is the American outlet. It has its own characteristics, disadvantages and advantages. Today there are only 13 standards for sockets and plugs that are used in different countries of the world. Let's take a look at some of them.
Two frequency and voltage standards
It would seem, why do we need so many standards and types of electrical components? But keep in mind that there are different voltage standards in the network. Many do not know that the household electrical network in North America uses not traditional 220 V, as in Russia and the CIS, but 120 V. But this was far from always the case. Until the 60s, throughout the territory of the Soviet Union, householdthe voltage was 127 volts. Many will ask why. As you know, the amount of electrical energy consumed is constantly growing. Previously, apart from light bulbs in apartments and houses, there were simply no other consumers.
Everything that each of us plugs into the outlet every day - computers, TVs, microwaves, boilers - did not exist then and appeared much later. As the power increases, the voltage must be increased. Higher current entails overheating of the wires, and with them certain losses for this heating. This is serious. In order to avoid these unnecessary losses of precious energy, it was necessary to increase the cross section of the wire. But it is very difficult, long and expensive. Therefore, it was decided to increase the voltage in the networks.
The Times of Edison and Tesla
Edison was a supporter of direct current. He believed that just such a current was convenient for work. Tesla believed in the benefits of variable frequency. In the end, the two scientists began to practically go to war with each other. By the way, this war ended only in 2007, when the United States switched to alternating current in household networks. But back to Edison. He created the production of incandescent light bulbs with charcoal-based filament. The voltage for the optimal operation of these lamps was 100 V. He added another 10 V for losses in the conductors and at his power plants took 110 V as the operating voltage. That is why the American outlet was designed for 110 V for a long time. Further in the States, and then in other countries that have worked closely with the United States have adopted asthe standard voltage was 120 V. The current frequency was 60 Hz. But electrical networks were created in such a way that two phases and a "neutral" were connected to the houses. This made it possible to obtain 120 V when using phase voltages or 240 in the case of line voltages.
Why two phases?
It's all about the generators that generated electricity for all of America.
They were two-phase until the end of the 20th century. Weak consumers were connected to the phase voltage, and more powerful ones were transferred to linear voltages.
60Hz
This is entirely Tesla's merit. It happened back in 1888. He worked closely with J. Westinghouse, including the development of generators. They argued for a long time about the optimal frequency - the opponent insisted on choosing one of the frequencies in the range from 25 to 133 Hz, but Tesla stood firm on his idea and the figure of 60 Hz fit into the system as much as possible.
Benefits
Among the advantages of this frequency are lower costs in the manufacturing process of the electromagnetic system for transformers and generators. Therefore, equipment for this frequency has a much smaller size and weight. By the way, the lamps practically do not flicker. An American socket in the States is much better suited for powering computers and other equipment that needs good power.
Sockets and standards
There are two major frequency and voltage standards around the world.
Oneof which is American. This is the voltage in the network 110-127 V at a frequency of 60 Hz. And as a plug and socket, standard A and B are used. The second type is European. Here the voltage is 220-240 V, the frequency is 50 Hz. The European socket is predominantly S-M.
Type A
These species are widespread only in North and Central America. They can also be found in Japan. However, there are some differences between them. The Japanese have two pins parallel to each other and flat with the same dimensions. The American outlet is a little different. And the fork to it, respectively, too. Here one pin is wider than the second. This is done taking into account that the correct polarity is always observed when connecting electrical appliances. After all, earlier the current in American networks was constant. These outlets were also called Class II. Tourists say that plugs from Japanese technology work without problems with American and Canadian sockets. But connecting these elements the other way around (if the American plug) will not work. A suitable socket adapter is required. But usually people just file a wide pin.
Type B
These types of devices are only used in Canada, USA and Japan. And if devices of type "A" were intended for low-power equipment, then such sockets include mainly powerful household appliances with consumption currents up to 15 amperes.
In some catalogs, such an American plug or socket may be referred to as Class I or NEMA 5-15 (this is already an international designation). Now theyalmost completely replaced the type "A". In the US, only "B" is used. But in old buildings you can still find the old American socket. It does not have a contact responsible for connecting the ground. In addition, the US industry has long been producing appliances with modern plugs. But this does not prevent the use of new electrical appliances in old houses. Resourceful Americans in this case simply cut down or destroy the grounding contact so that it does not interfere and can be connected to an old-style outlet.
About appearance and differences
Whoever bought an iPhone from the USA knows perfectly well what an American socket looks like. It has its own characteristics. The socket consists of two flat holes or slots. In devices of a new type, there is an additional grounding contact at the bottom.
Also, in order to avoid errors, one pin of the plug is made wider than the other. The Americans decided not to change this approach, and left everything the same in the new outlets. The pins on the plug are not pins like a European socket. It's more like plates. They may have holes at the ends.
How to operate American equipment in the CIS countries
It happens that people bring equipment from the States and want to use it in Europe or Russia. And they are faced with a problem - the socket does not fit the plug. And what to do? You can replace the cord with a standard European one, but this option is far from being for everyone. For those who are not versed in technology and have never held a soldering iron in their hands, it is recommended to purchasesocket adapter. There are quite a few of them - they are all different in quality and price. If you are planning a trip to the USA, then you should stock up on adapters in advance. There they can cost five or more dollars. If you order online, you can save up to half the cost. It should also be noted that even in US hotels, all outlets are American standard - and it does not matter that most of the people who stay are foreign tourists.
Therefore, before the trip, you must definitely buy and take an adapter with you. But it also happens the other way around - an American comes, say, to France. And now he wants to go to his Facebook in the evening, share photos and impressions with friends and family. He plugs his Macbook power supply into the socket, but of course it doesn't work.
In this case, an adapter from an American socket to a European one could help him. The same applies to equipment purchased in the United States. If you don’t feel like soldering, you can purchase an inexpensive Chinese-made adapter and fully use electrical appliances, charge your phone or tablet on a non-standard outlet. There are no other options here.
CV
They say that it is impossible to understand Russia with the mind, but in the US, too, everything is not so simple. You can't just come and use American-style sockets with European or any other plugs. Therefore, you should take adapters on the road, and you need to order them in advance. This saves a lot of time andmoney.
