Laos is a country located in Southeast Asia and if a tourist would want to visit it, there are things he or she must know beforehand. Some of these things are the standard voltage and primary types of electrical outlet and plug used by appliances and electronic gadgets.

Most tourists bring with them their electronic gadgets and there are various appliances that are necessary for everyday life, especially on trips. Knowing these information would be very helpful and would enable tourists in Laos to use their appliances and electronic gadgets with less delays and hassles. In Laos, the standard voltage used is 220-240 volts with a frequency of 50Hz and for the primary types of electrical outlet and plug in Laos, these are the–Type A NEMA 1-15 / JIS C 8303 North American, Type B NEMA 5-15 North American, Type C CEE 7/16 Europlug, Type E European CEE 7/4, and Type F CEE 7/5 Schuko.

In addition to the information about standard voltage and primary types of electrical outlet and plug, a tourist in Laos would also need to bring adapters and voltage converters. Adapters are used when the shape of the plug of the appliance or electronic gadget is not compatible with the shape of the electrical outlet in Laos while the voltage converter is ideal when the voltages of the appliance or electronic gadget do not match with the electrical outlet.

Type A NEMA 1-15 / JIS C 8303 North American (Non-grounded and Non-polarized) Plug, Electrical Outlet, and Adapter

Type A plug and outlet

The NEMA 1-15 is mostly found in North America and in the east coast of South America as well as in other countries like Laos. This is used for smaller devices that do not really need a ground connection. Also, the NEMA 1-15 is a flat blade attachment plug that uses two flat parallel pins or blades. Older designs allow the blades to be inserted either way; however, contemporary  NEMA 1-15 plugs in Laos are designed with the neutral blade wider than the live blade allowing just one way of plugging and ensuring that the polarized plug is inserted appropriately into the electrical outlet.

The NEMA 1-15 is also known as the Type A North American/Japanese 2-blade Electrical adapter plug and electrical outlet. It also has the technical name North American 15 A/125 V ungrounded. The new design of NEMA 1-15 changed so much that it will not fit in the old type of NEMA 1-15 electrical outlet in Laos. With the NEMA 1-15 adapter, the receptacle end will accept any standard household plug in Laos, aside from the Type M South African SABS1661 plug, which is also known as the Old British BS-546 Large plug. The blades of this adapter are 6.4mm long, 1.5mm thick, and are spaced 12.7mm apart. The NEMA 1-15 plug is also non-polarized and non-grounded which is very important.

Type A adapter

Although the NEMA 1-15 looks similar to the plugs of the U.S. and Canada and the appliance and electronic gadgets might be manufactured in the said countries, an adapter might still be needed because of the grounding and polarization requirements in Laos. In the NEMA 1-15 plug and electrical outlet, grounding is done by the third, round pin located beneath the two vertical blades on the plug. On the other hand, polarization is done by the left vertical blade being taller than the right one. If the plug does have grounding or polarization and the electrical socket does not have one, it would be physically impossible to insert the plug into the electrical socket in Laos. If this happens to a tourist in Laos and there is also no adapter present, that person might not be able to use his or her electronic gadgets and appliances. There is also another electrical outlet that is commonly used in Japan, the JIS X 8303 Class II (Japanese 15 A/100 V ungrounded) which is similar to the NEMA 1-15, the only difference from Laos is the stricter dimensional requirements for the plug housing, marking, and mandatory testing and approval.

Type B NEMA 5-15 (North American Grounded) Plug, Electrical Outlet, and Adapter

Type B plug and outlet

The Type B NEMA 5-15 is often used in North and Central America as well as Japan, and it is also what is used in Laos. Also, the Type B NEMA 5-15 is a class I plug that has two flat parallel prongs and a grounding pin, rated at 15 amps. The Type B NEMA 5-15 has blade contacts 6.4mm tall, 15mm thick, and are spaced 12.7mm apart. The grounding pin, on the other hand, is 4.8mm in diameter. The Type B NEMA 5-15 is also compatible with any standard household plug in Laos, except the Type M South African SABS1661 (Old British BS-546 Large) plug. Although the Type B NEMA 5-15 is grounded, it is not polarized. In Japan, this kind of plug and electrical outlet is the standard. Similar to Type A NEMA 1-15 plugs, the NEMA 5-15 is also one of the most dangerous plugs in Laos and even in the world because the prongs are not insulated. The black covering that is supposed to cover the plug body is lacking hence if the plug is pulled halfway and the prongs are still inserted in the electrical outlet, there might be some accidents in Laos like electrocution or a minor electrical shock.

Type C 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 in Laos. The Type C CEE 7/16 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 used in Laos.

Type C Adapter

Also, the receptacle end of the adapter is usually compatible with any standard electronic household plug in Laos and from any country, aside from the “Type M” South African SABS1661 (Old British BS-546 Large) plug. The pins of the Type C CEE 7/16 Europlug are 4.0mm in diameter, 19mm long and are spaced 19mm apart. In using appliances and gadgets in Cuba, the Type C CEE 7/16 Europlug could also be safely used with the Type C, Type E, Type F, and some Type L electrical outlets. In addition, the Type C CEE 7/16 Europlug is also the most widely used electrical outlet all over continental Europe, island nations in the Caribbean, in Asia like Laos and in the former Soviet Republics. This plug in Laos is also non-polarized and non-grounded. Aside from Laos, there are also countries in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Pacific Rim region, Central and South America, and Caribbean that use this kind of adapter.

Type E European CEE 7/4 Electrical Adapter Plug and Electrical Outlet

Type E plug and outlet

The Type E electrical outlet could also be used with Type C CEE 7/16 plugs while the Type E European CEE 7/4 plugs will work along with Type F Schuko outlets in Laos. The Type E electrical outlet and plug is the standard in France, Denmark, Poland, Belgium, and other European countries as well as those located in Africa like Niger, in Asia like Laos, and in the Pacific and Caribbean area like Saint Vincent and the Grenadines among others. For the electrical outlet and plug of the Type E European CEE 7/4, the male pin is installed upwards in the electrical outlet, with the live connection in the left and neutral connection in the right. The specifications of this Type E European CEE 7/4 plugs used in Laos are two round pins spaced 19mm apart with a hole for the male grounding pin of the electrical socket. However, the Type E European CEE 7/4 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 F CEE 7/5 Schuko Electrical Adapter Plug and Electrical Outlet

Type F plug and outlet

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 Laos 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 7/5 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. 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 Laos also has side grounding contacts which allow symmetrical connection system for live and neutral to be reversed.

Type F adapter

Most European countries including Laos 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 Laos are 4.8mm in diameter, 19mm long, and spaced 19mm apart. They have side-grounding clips as well as a receptacle for the male grounding pin that’s found in French Schuko sockets. If the appliance or electronic gadget to be used in Laos is already a Schuko, there is no need to use the Type F CEE 7/5 Schuko adapter for the electrical outlet. The Type F CEE 7/5 Schuko is the standard in countries that are part of the European Union like Spain as well as those which adhere to CENELEC (Comité Européen de Normalisation Electrotechnique) standards.

Voltage Converters and Universal Adapters

Voltage Converter

If a tourist wants to use his or her gadget in Laos, the best way is by using voltage converters such as the resistor-network converters, transformers, and in some cases the combination of both. 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-volt electrical outlet in Laos would cause damage to the appliance or electronic gadget, to the extent that it might be totally fried out or  might even cause a fire. There is a switch that enables the changing of modes from resistor-network converter to transformer, depending on the tourist’s needs in Laos. The resistor-network converters to be used in Laos 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 Laos, 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 Laos that are not compatible with the electrical outlet present in Laos is the combination of resistor-network converters and transformer.

There are certain adapters that would fit particular plugs and these could be bought in hardware stores or electrical outlets in Laos 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 Laos or another country. These voltage converters and adapters will be very handy if a tourist would plan a trip to Laos and intends to bring along some gadgets that require a particular voltage.