When visiting other countries like Hungary, it will be helpful to know some basic information about the country like the standard voltage, electrical outlet, and plug used in there. Similar to most countries in Europe, the standard electrical outlet and plug in Hungary are the Type C European CEE 7/16 Europlug, Type E CEE 7/4, and the Type F CEE 7/5 Schuko. For the voltage, the standard in Hungary is 220-240 V. When a tourist would want to use an appliance or electronic gadget with 110-120 V in Hungary, he or she would need a plug adapter and a step-down transformer.

When the shape of the plug does not match the electrical outlet in Hungary, the best way to solve this is by using an adapter. This is widely available in hardware or electronic shops and could be easily bought in Hungary. In terms of incompatibility in voltage, there are also voltage converters that a tourist in Hungary could use like the combination voltage converter, transformer, and network-resistor 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, only slightly smaller, to the CEE 7/17 and it is one of the most commonly used electrical outlet and plug types in Hungary. 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 Hungary, 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 in Hungary is also non-polarized and non-grounded.

Type C adapter

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 Hungary. 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.  In most developing countries where modern electrical structure is lacking, the usual electrical outlet used is the Type C Europlug. Aside from Hungary, 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 E CEE 7/4 French 2-Pin Electrical Adapter Plug and Electrical Outlet

Type E plug and outlet

The Type E electrical outlet and plug is the standard in France, Denmark, Poland, Belgium, and other European countries including Hungary. However, the Type E is not compatible with the Type F of Germany, the Netherlands, and other continental countries of Europe because of the round male pin in the socket.

Type E adapter

For the electrical outlet and plug of the Type E, the male pin is installed upwards in the electrical outlet, with the live connection on the left and neutral connection on the right. The specifications of this Type E plugs used in Hungary are two round pins spaced 19mm apart with a hole for the male grounding pin in the electrical socket. The Type E electrical outlet could also be used with Type C plugs while the Type E plugs will work along with Type F electrical outlet in Hungary.

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

Type F Schuko plug and outlet

This electrical outlet in Hungary 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 Type F CEE 7/7 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. 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 7/7 Schuko. On the other hand, the plug end of Type F CEE 7/7 Schuko is compatible with the variations of the Schuko electrical outlet for France and Germany. The pins of this adapter 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 Schuko sockets of France.

Type F adapter

Commonly known as the Schuko plug, the Type F Schuko plug and electrical outlet was derived from the German word “Schukostecker” which means “protective contact plug.” This Schuko plug and receptacle in Hungary also has side grounding contacts which allow symmetrical connection system for live and neutral to be reversed. If the appliance or electronic gadget to be used in Hungary is already a Schuko, there is no need to use the Type F CEE 7/7 Schuko adapter for the electrical outlet. The Type F CEE 7/7 Schuko is the standard in countries part of the European Union as well as those which adhere to CENELEC (Comité Européen de Normalisation Electrotechnique) standards. Most European countries including Hungary use the Type F CEE 7/7 Schuko except Denmark, Italy, England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Malta, and Cyprus that have their own standard electrical outlet.

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