One of the countries commonly visited in Europe is Austria. If a tourist would want to spend some time there, he or she must know some information about Austria like the standard voltage used by the appliances and electronic gadgets as well as the primary type of electrical outlet and plug.

In Austria, the standard voltage is 220-240 volts with a frequency of 50Hz. For the primary type of electrical outlet and plug, it is the Type F CEE 7/5 Schuko, which is fairly common in European countries along with the Type C. Although the Type C is also found in Austria, it is rather rare.

Aside from knowing the standard voltage and the primary type of electrical outlet and plug, a tourist in Austria must also prepare adapters and voltage converters. Adapters are used to alter the shape of the plug when it is not compatible with the shape of the electrical outlet in Austria. On the other hand, voltage converters are used to adjust the voltage in cases wherein the voltage of the electronic gadget or appliance is different with the voltage used by the electrical outlet in Austria. Examples of voltage converters are the network-resistor converter, step-up and step-down transformer, and travel combination voltage converter.

Type F CEE 7/5 Schuko Electrical Adapter Plug and Electrical Outlet

Type F plug and outlet

The Type F CEE 7/5 Schuko is used for the “Type F” CEE 7/4 Schuko style electrical socket of Germany or to a “Type E” CEE 7/5 socket of France. Commonly known as the Schuko plug, the Type F CEE 7/5 plug and electrical outlet was derived from the German word “Schukostecker” which means “protective contact plug.” This electrical outlet in Austria is also similar to the Type E with the difference being its two earth clips on the side instead of the female earth contact. The receptacle end of Type F CEE 7/7 Schuko is compatible with most sockets except the “Type M” South African SABS1661 (Old British BS-546) plug and the non-grounded CEE 7/16 Europlug Socket because of its 4.0mm pin receptacles that are too small for the 4.8mm pins of the Type F CEE 7/5 Schuko. This Schuko plug and receptacle in Austria also has side grounding contacts which allow symmetrical connection system for live and neutral to be reversed.

Type F adapter

Most European countries including Austria use the Type F CEE 7/5 Schuko except Denmark, Italy, England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Malta, and Cyprus that have their own standard electrical outlet. On the other hand, the plug end of Type F CEE 7/5 Schuko is compatible with the variations of the Schuko electrical outlet for France and Germany. The pins of this adapter in Austria are 4.8mm in diameter, 19mm long, and spaced 19mm apart. They have both side-grounding clips and a receptacle for the male grounding pin which is found in French Schuko sockets. If the appliance or electronic gadget to be used in Austria is already a Schuko, there is no need to use the Type F CEE 7/5 Schuko adapter for the electrical outlet.

Voltage Converters

Combination voltage converter

There are three kinds of voltage converters available: the transformer, the network-resistor converter, and the combination of these two. For laptop computers, cameras, mp3 players, and charging of batteries in Austria, the recommended voltage converter to be used is the transformer as it has a lower maximum watt rating of 50 to 100 watts and it could be used continuously although it could be heavy because of the large iron rods and copper wires inside. The resistor-network converter could support 50-1600 watts and are often used for a short period of time and in light-weight electrical appliances like hair dryers and irons. In a tourist’s trip to Austria, if the the wrong plug is inserted in the wrong electrical outlet or the voltage does not match, there could be some real damage to the appliance or electronic gadget. 

Transformer

In worse cases, this might even cause electrocution. If the voltage of the appliance or electronic gadget to be used in Austria does not match its 220-240 volts requirement, like most American products that only use 110-120 volts, a tourist in Austria would need a voltage converter. It is important to know the proper voltage, electrical outlet, plugs, and adapters to use when visiting Austria and other countries because using electronic gadgets or appliances in other country might require a particular voltage or type of electrical outlet.