Tourists who are visiting Libya must know the standard voltage and primary types of electrical outlet and plug used by the appliances and electronic gadgets in the said country. Through this information, a tourist would encounter less problems and delays in using his or her electronic appliance or gadget in Libya.

The standard voltage used in Libya is 110-120 volts with a frequency of 50Hz. Also in Libya, the primary types of electrical outlet and plug are the Type D Indian BS-546 and Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian. Tourists visiting Libya must also bring along adapters and voltage converters. Adapters are used with the plug is not compatible with the electrical outlet while voltage converters enable usage of appliance and electronic gadgets in Libya even if they use a voltage different from that of the electrical outlet.

Type D Indian BS-546 Adapter Plug and Electrical Outlet

Type D plug

In this Type D Indian BS-546 Plug Adapter, the live and neutral pins are 5mm in diameter, spaced 22mm apart, and the grounding pin is 7mm in diameter with the plug being polarized and grounded. It is an old British standard electrical outlet which is still the primary household electrical outlet in countries like Libya, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Namibia, and Hong Kong. The Type D Indian BS-546 electrical outlet  is most compatible with the Type D Old British Plug Adapter that is sometimes used in Libya. The receptacle end of this Type D Indian BS-546 plug is also compatible with common household plugs except the Type M South African SABS1661 (Old British BS-546 Large) plug.

Type D outlet

Although the Type D Indian BS-546 electrical outlet and plug is not the standard in Libya and other countries, it is still used in various households. In terms of design and appearance, the Type D Indian BS-546 electrical outlet and plug is often confused with the Type M South African electrical outlet and plug. However, as similar as these two may seem, they are not compatible and must not be used together in Libya or even in other countries.

Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian Earthed Plug, Electrical Outlet, and Adapter

Type L plug and outlet

The Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian Earthed has is a 3-pin plug that has two round pins and a round grounding pin in a line, it is commonly used in households and hotels in Libya. The live and neutral contacts can be inserted in any direction and the Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian Earthed can also accept Europlugs. The Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian Earthed has two models rated at 10 A and 16 A, with a difference in contact diameter and spacing.

Older models of electrical outlet in Libya only allow either 10 A or 16 A so adapters were really needed to alter the shape of the plug. Although the Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian electrical outlet could accept Europlugs, when it comes to the plug, the two are not similar. The Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian Earthed plug is longer compared to the Type C CEE 7/16 Europlug because of its additional central earthing pin. On the other hand, the Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian Earthed 16 A have pins that are thicker and a little more further apart.

Type L adapter

In some cases, the Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian Earthed 16 A used in Libya is referred to as North European or Industrial Type of plug and electrical outlet. In addition, Type D Indian BS-546 and Type E European CEE 7/4 plugs are, in a way, compatible with the Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian electrical outlet although it might cause damage to the electrical outlet and the prongs of the Type D Indian BS-546 and Type E European CEE 7/4 might get stuck inside. In Italy where the Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian Earthed originated, as well as countries that use the Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian like Libya, there are two other types of Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian electrical outlet–the first is a smaller socket with a central round hole with two 8-shaped holes above and below. This can accept both the Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian Earthed and the Type C CEE 7/16 Europlugs.

The second type of electrical outlet seems similar to Type F CEE 7/5 Schuko  but with a grounding hole in the middle and is twice the size of a regular Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian Earthed electrical outlet. It is compatible with Type E European CEE 7/4, Type F CEE 7/5 Schuko , Type C CEE 7/16 Europlugs, and Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian. At times, this second type of Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian electrical outlet also have extra holes for the Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian Earthed 16 A plugs and could be used in Cuba. Alongside with Libya, other countries that use Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian Earthed are Italy, Chile, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Cuba, Maldives, Syria, Uruguay, and Tunisia.

Voltage Converters

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 Libya, 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.

Combination Converter

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. 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. In worse cases, this might even cause electrocution or fire in Libya. If the voltage of the appliance or electronic gadget to be used in Libya does not match its 220-240 volts requirement, like most American products that only use 110-120 volts, a tourist in Libya would need a voltage converter. It is important to know the proper voltage, electrical outlet, plugs, and adapters to use when visiting Libya and other countries because sometimes these electric requirements vary depending on the location.