סוגי שקעי חשמל ומתאמי חשמל לכל מדינה

Used in: North and Central America, Japan

The Type A electrical plug (or flat blade attachment plug) is an ungrounded plug with two flat parallel pins. Although the American and Japanese plugs appear identical, the neutral pin on the American plug is wider than the live pin, whereas on the Japanese plug both pins are the same size. As a result, Japanese plugs can be used in the US but often not the other way around.

The pins on Type A and Type B plugs have a hole near the tip that fits into ‘bumps’ found on the contact wipers of some sockets, so that the pins are gripped more tightly allowing for better contact and also to prevent the plug from slipping out of the socket. Some sockets have spring-action blades that grip the sides of the pins, making the holes obsolete.

Used in: North and Central America, Japan

The Type B electrical plug has two flat parallel pins and a round grounding (or earth) pin. The earth pin is longer than the other two so that the device is grounded before the power is connected. As with the type A plugs, the American and Japanese versions vary slightly.

Type B plugs are rated at 15 amps.

Used in: Europe, with the exception of the UK, Ireland, Cyprus and Malta

The Type C electrical plug (or Europlug) is a two-wire plug that has two round pins. It fits into any socket that accepts 4.0 – 4.8 mm round contacts on 19 mm centres. They are being replaced by E, F, J, K or N sockets which work perfectly with Type C plugs.

Type C plugs are generally limited for use in appliances that require 2.5 amps or less.

Used in: India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Namibia

The Type D electrical plug has three large round pins in a triangular pattern. Type M plugs are often used alongside Type D plugs for larger appliances and as a result, some sockets work with both Type D and Type M plugs.

Type D plugs are rated 5 amps.

Used in: France, Belgium, Slovakia and Tunisia among others

The Type E electrical plug has two 4.8 mm round pins spaced 19 mm apart and a hole for the socket's male earthing pin. The Type E plug has a rounded shape and the Type E socket has a round recess. Type E plugs are rated 16 amps.

Note: The CEE 7/7 plug was developed to work with Type E and Type F sockets with a female contact (to accept the earthing pin of the Type E socket) and has earthing clips on both sides (to work with Type F sockets).

Used in: Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Spain among others

The Type F electrical plug (also known as a Schuko plug) has two 4.8 mm round pins spaced 19 mm apart. It is similar to the Type E plug but has two earth clips on the side rather than a female earth contact. The CEE 7/7 plug was developed to work with sockets E and F and has grounding clips on both sides (to work with Type F sockets) and a female contact (to accept the grounding pin of the type E socket).

Type F plugs are rated 16 amps.

Used in: UK, Ireland, Cyprus, Malta, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong

The Type G electrical plug has three rectangular blades in a triangular pattern and has an incorporated fuse (usually a 3 amps fuse for smaller appliances such as a computer and a 13 amps one for heavy duty appliances such as heaters). British sockets have shutters on the live and neutral contacts so that foreign objects can’t be introduced into them.

Used in: Israel

The Type H plug is unique to Israel and has two flat pins in a V-shape as well as a grounding pin. It is however currently being phased out in favour of a round-pinned version. The holes in Type H sockets are wide in the middle so as to accommodate the round-pinned version of the Type H plug as well as Type C plugs.

Used in: Switzerland and Lichtenstein

The Type J plug has two round pins as well as a grounding pin. Although the Type J plug looks a lot like the Brazilian Type N plug it is incompatible with the Type N socket as the earth pin is further away from the centre line than on Type N. However, Type C plugs are perfectly compatible with Type J sockets.

Type J plugs are rated 10 amps.

Used in: UK, Ireland, Cyprus, Malta, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong

The Type G electrical plug has three rectangular blades in a triangular pattern and has an incorporated fuse (usually a 3 amps fuse for smaller appliances such as a computer and a 13 amps one for heavy duty appliances such as heaters). British sockets have shutters on the live and neutral contacts so that foreign objects can’t be introduced into them.

Used in: Denmark and Greenland

The Type K plug has two round pins as well as a grounding pin. It is similar to Type F, the difference being that Type F has grounding clips instead of a grounding pin. Type C plugs are perfectly compatible with Type F sockets. Type E plugs and sockets are also used in Denmark.

Used in: Italy

There are two variations of the Type L plug, one rated at 10 amps, and one at 16 amps. The 10 amp version has two round pins that are 4 mm thick and spaced 5.5 mm apart, with a grounding pin in the middle. The 16 amp version has two round pins that are 5 mm thick, spaced 8mm apart, as well as a grounding pin. Italy has a kind of “universal” socket that comprises a “schuko” socket for C, E, F and L plugs and a “bipasso” socket for L and C plugs.

Used in: South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho

The Type M plug has three round pins in a triangular pattern and looks similar to the Indian Type D plug, but its pins are much larger. Type M plugs are sometimes used for bigger appliances in countries that make use of Type D plugs, as well as in Israel (Type H). Therefore, sockets in these countries sometimes work with Type M plugs.

Used in: Brazil

There are two variations of the Type N plug, one rated at 10 amps, and one at 20 amps. The 10 amp version has two round pins that are 4 mm thick, and a grounding pin. The 20 amp version, used for heavier appliances, has two round pins 4.8 mm in diameter, and a grounding pin. The Type N socket was designed to work with Type C plugs as well.

Brazil is one of the few countries that uses two types of voltage. While most states use 127 V, some of them use 220 V. It is therefore important to find out the local voltage before plugging in your appliance (note: wrong voltage can destroy your appliance). Many appliances sold in Brazil are dual voltage.

Type O is used exclusively in Thailand.

The type O socket and plug, rated at 16 amps, are the official standard in Thailand. The plug system was designed in 2006, but its use is not widespread as yet. It is currently gradually being phased in. The standard is described in TIS 166-2549.

Type O consists of two power pins and an earth pin, which are round and have a 4.8 mm diameter. The power pins measure 19 mm in length, they have 10 mm long insulated sleeves and their centers are spaced 19 mm apart.