Can i use european plug in south africa

Sockets will continue to accommodate them, particularly in kitchens, where the plugs come attached to most appliances. Sign up to the Quartz Africa Weekly Brief here for news and analysis on African business, tech, and innovation in your inbox.

By providing your email, you agree to the Quartz Privacy Policy. Skip to navigation Skip to content. Discover Membership. Editions Quartz. In older buildings, however, type D sockets can still be found. Due to the large volume of imported appliances equipped with incompatible types of plugs, virtually everybody has started using plug adapters in order to fit type M sockets. The process, however, has been painfully slow. Moreover, the country still does not seem to be in much of a hurry to encourage the quick adoption of this new standard.

Since , all new buildings in South Africa must incorporate at least one type N socket outlet. Erm, come again? Only one?

This is absolutely mind-boggling! Why would a government deliberately opt for an excruciatingly slow adoption of a more modern and safer standard? This is utterly absurd…. Click here for a global map showing the spread of the different plug types used around the world. First select your country of residence, so we can give you more specific information. This socket only works with plug D.

Type M: looks like plug D, but with larger pins. This socket only works with plug M. Type N: used in Brazil and South Africa. This socket also works with plug C. Where are you going? For example, a 50Hz clock may run faster on a 60Hz electricity supply.

Most voltage converters and transformers come supplied with plug adaptors, so you may not need to buy a separate travel adaptor. This means that you will not need a converter or transformer but just a travel adaptor, because South Africa operates on a V supply voltage, which is within the V range that the dual voltage appliance operates on.

In South Africa the supply voltage is V. If the appliance is a single voltage rated appliance, it will need to operate at the same voltage as the supply voltage of the country i. If this is not the case it should be used alongside a voltage transformer or converter to allow the appliance to work safely and properly.