Travelers who are going to Greenland must know the standard voltage, electrical outlet, plug, and adapters used in this country in order to avoid unnecessary problems in their trip, especially in relation to their use of electronic gadgets and appliances.

In Greenland, the standard voltage used is 220-240 V while the primary electrical outlet types are the Type K Danish SRAF 1962/DB and the Type C European CEE 7/16 Europlug. When the plug of the electronic gadget or appliance is not compatible with the electrical outlet present in Greenland, there are various adapters that could be used to alter the shape of the plug and make it compatible with the electrical outlet.

There are certain adapters that would fit particular plugs and these could be bought in hardware stores or electrical outlets in Greenland or before heading there. Another is that there are also universal adapters that could be used with any type of plug and electrical outlet, may it be in Greenland or another country. In terms of voltage, there are voltage converters that could make the 110-120 V of other electronic gadgets and appliances compatible with the 220-240 V used in Greenland. Examples of these voltage converters are network-resistor converter, step-up and step-down transformer, and travel voltage converter.

Type C European CEE 7/16 Europlug, Electrical Outlet and Adapter

Type C plug and outlet

The Type C Europlug is also known as the CEE 7/16 (Europlug 2.5 A/250 V unearthed), which is a bit similar, but slightly smaller, to the CEE 7/17. It is one of the most commonly used electrical outlet and plug types in Greenland. The Type C Europlug alters the shape of the appliance’s plug so that it could be used into a “Type C” European CEE 7/16 Class II non-grounded Europlug socket or a Soviet-era Russian GOST 7396 Class II non-grounded socket often used in Greenland. Also, the receptacle end of the adapter is usually compatible with any standard electronic household plug from any country, aside from the “Type M” South African SABS1661 (Old British BS-546 Large) plug.

Type C adapter

Moreover, the plug end of the Type C Europlug is compatible as well with the other types of sockets used in Europe, like that of the grounded “Type F” German and “Type E” French Schuko socket, “Type L” Italian socket, “Type H” Israeli socket, “Type J” Swiss socket, and “Type K” Danish socket, although connections to some of these sockets are non-grounded. The pins of this Type C Europlug are 4.0mm in diameter, 19mm long and are spaced apart by 19mm. In using appliances and gadgets in the Greenland, the Type C Europlug could also be safely used along with the Type C, Type E, Type F, and some Type L electrical outlets. This plug is also non-polarized and non-grounded. In most developing countries where modern electrical structure is lacking, the usual electrical outlet used is the Type C Europlug. Aside from Greenland, there are also countries in Middle East, Southeast Asia, Pacific Rim region, Central and South America, and the Caribbean that use this kind of adapter.

Type K Danish SRAF 1962/DB Plug, Electrical Outlet, and Adapter

Type K electrical outlet

The Type K Danish SRAF 1962/DB is the standard electrical outlet in Greenland and the receptacle end of this plug is compatible with any standard household plug in Greenland except the Type M South African SABS1661 (Old British BS-546 Large) plug. This Type K also has pins that are 4.8mm in diameter, similar to the Schuko plug of Germany and France. However, the difference of the Type K Danish plug from the German and French schuko is that the standard plug of Greenland has a 6.0mm half-cylinder grounding pin that is uniquely shaped and positioned. This kind of plug from Greenland is also polarized and grounded. Although Europlugs and Schuko plugs are compatible with the Swiss electrical outlet, the connection might be grounded. In addition, this plug from Greenland could only be plugged into a Danish electrical outlet. In particular, the specifications of the Type K Danish plug and electrical outlet are two round pins and a spade grounding pin.

Type K plug and outlet

This Type K plug from Greenland is also known as Danish 10 A/250 V and it is not compatible with appliances that need to be earthed. Another variation of the Type K plug is the DK 2-5a which is solely used for surge-protected computer circuits. For the electrical outlet, the Type K electrical outlet from Greenland is equipped with a switch to prevent the live pins from touching when connecting or disconnecting the plug. There are also some electrical outlets that do not have a switch, but these are required to have a cavity that prevents the pins from touching.

Type K adapter

Also, the electrical outlet was designed in such a way that the pins will not come in contact with each other. There are new electronic installations in Greenland as well that require grounded electrical outlet while older versions must be protected by RCD/GFCI (HFI in Denmark).  In 2008, because of the huge amount of E and F Shucko plugs in Greenland, the government had decided to make it legal to install the Type E electrical outlet in homes and buildings instead of the Type K, but installation of the Type F Schuko is still considered illegal. And although the Type K electrical outlet and plug is the standard in Greenland, there are also some countries that use this electrical outlet and plug like Bangladesh, Faeroe Islands, Denmark, Senegal, Tunisia, Madagascar, Maldives, and Guinea.

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