To make the most of one’s trip to Ireland, a tourist must be prepared with various things standard in the country like the type of electrical outlet, plug, and voltage used. Knowing these things would not only maximize one’s trip and avoid unnecessary delays, but this basic information will also help a tourist avoid accidents and not cause damage to his electronic gadgets and appliances.

In Ireland, the standard electrical outlet is Type G British BS-1363 and the voltage used is 220-240 V. Tourists who want to use their appliances and electronic gadgets that have a 110-120 V must use a voltage converter for the voltage and an adapter to match the shape of the plug to the electrical outlet.

Type G British BS-1363 3-pin Plug, Electrical Outlet, and Adapter

Type G plug

Type G Adapter

The Type G electrical plug is a British BS-1363 3-pin rectangular blade used widely in Ireland. It has a protective fuse inside to protect cords from high-current circuits and, most of the time, the Type G electrical outlet includes a safety switch. The Type G British BS-1363 3-pin  also has a receptacle end that is compatible with most household plug types in Ireland, except the Type M South African SABS1661 (Old British BS-546 Large) plug. The plug end is a British BS-1363 13-amp type. For the adapter, the live and neutral pins are 4 x 6 x 18 mm apart, with the grounding pin measuring 4 x 8 x 23mm. The plug of this Type G British BS-1363 3-pin is polarized and grounded but not fused. In terms of compatibility, the Type G British 3-pin electrical outlet will work together with the Type G British 3-pin plug and adapter in Ireland. For the electrical outlet, the Type G British 3-pin sockets are not compatible with other types of electrical outlet. With all the safety measures and features of this plug and outlet, it is considered as one of the safest in Ireland, even the world. However, with all its features, this type of plug is bulky and cumbersome. Some people claim that the Type G British BS-1363 3-pin plug in Ireland is mostly bigger than the appliances they are connected to but if tourists would want to use their electronic gadget or appliance in Ireland, then they must have a Type G British BS-1363 3-pin adapter. Although the adapter would not change the voltage used in Ireland, it will enable the plug of the appliance or electronic gadget to be inserted to the electrical outlet used in Ireland.

Type G electrical outlet

Also, through the Type G British BS-1363 3-pin adapter, a tourist could use his or her appliance or electronic gadget in Ireland. Another name for the Type G British BS-1363 3-pin plug is the 13-amp plug and for safety reasons the Ireland requires electrical outlets in households that use the Type G British BS-1363 3-pin to have shutters over the live and neutral connections of the electrical outlet. In the insertion of the longer earth pin from the plug, the safety shutters of the Type G British BS-1363 3-pin are opened. The shutters are also present to prevent the use of incompatible plugs made to other standards. However, there are cases when the safety shutters of this electrical outlet could be opened through a screwdriver in order to insert Type C plugs. But then, the usage of Type G British BS-1363 3-pin outlet along with another kind of plug is not recommended because these plugs do not have a fuse. The regulation about the safety shutters and fuse is followed in Ireland and all the other countries that use the type G British BS-1363 3-pin electrical outlet and plug like the United Kingdom, Ghana, Grenada, Macau, Malta, Malaysia, Qatar, Saint Vincent, Saudi Arabia, Scotland and Hong Kong.

Voltage Converters

Voltage Converter

These voltage converters and adapters will be very handy if a tourist plans a trip to Germany and intends to bring along some gadgets that require a particular voltage. In using an electronic gadget or appliance that has a different voltage requirement than the 220-240 volts of Ireland, the best way is by using voltage converters such as resistor-network converters, transformers, and in some cases the combination of both. The resistor-network converters to be used in Ireland are usually advertised to support as much as 50-1600 Watts and are just ideal to use for short periods of time. The resistor-network converter is also not recommended for digital devices like laptop computers however it is great for lightweight electronics like hair dryers and irons.

Transformer

If a tourist would want to use a laptop computer or charge batteries for camera, mp3 players, camcorders, and radios in Ireland, the ideal voltage converter would be a transformer which lowers maximum watt rating. It could be used for long periods of time but is a little bit heavy because of the large iron rods and copper wires. The last kind of voltage converter in order to use electronics in Ireland that are not compatible with the electrical outlet present in Ireland is the combination of a resistor-network converter and transformer. Most of the time, there is a switch that enables the changing of modes from resistor-network converter to transformer, depending on the tourist’s needs in Ireland. Most appliances and electronic gadgets made in the United States of America (USA) have a voltage of 110-120 and using it directly on a 220-240 electrical outlet in Ireland would cause damage to the appliance or electronic gadget, to the extent that it might get totally fried or might even cause a fire.

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