People who want to spend their vacation in Scotland must know the type of electrical outlet and plug used in this country so that there would be less problems in their stay. During travels, most people also bring their electronic gadgets like laptop computers, mp3 players, cameras, and radios with them and in order to recharge the batteries of these electronic gadgets in Scotland, one must be able to use the electrical outlet in that country.

In Scotland, the primary electrical outlet used in most household, hotels, and buildings is the Type G British 3-Pin plug and electrical outlet. If the plug of a traveler’s electronic gadget or appliance is not compatible, he or she could use an adapter. In particular, the electrical outlet and plug standard in Scotland is the British 3-Pin BS-1363 and the voltage used is 220-240 volts. Another important consideration when using the electrical outlet in Scotland is whether the voltage is compatible. If not, there are voltage converters that could be used in Scotland like transformer, network-resistor converter, or a combination of both.

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

Type G plug

The Type G electrical plug is a British 3-pin rectangular blade used widely in Scotland. 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. Another name for the Type G British 3-pin plug is the 13-amp plug and, for safety reasons, the United Kingdom (UK) required electrical outlets in households that use the Type G British 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 3-pin are opened. Another purpose of the shutters is to prevent the use of incompatible plugs made to other standards. However, there are cases wherein the safety shutters of this electrical outlet in Scotland could be opened through a screwdriver in order to insert Type C plugs. But then, the usage of the Type G British 3-pin outlet along with another kind of plug is not recommended because these plugs do not have a fuse.

Type G Adapter

The regulation about the safety shutters and fuse is then followed in Scotland and all the other countries that use the type G British 3-pin electrical outlet and plug like United Kingdom, China, Brunei, Cameroon, Vietnam, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Northern Ireland, Nigeria, England, Ghana, Grenada, Macau, Malta, Malaysia, Qatar, Saint Vincent, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Hong Kong. With all the safety measures of this plug and outlet in Scotland, it is considered as one of the safest in the world. However, with all its features, the plug is therefore bulky and cumbersome. Some people claim that the Type G British 3-pin plug is mostly bigger than the appliances they are connected to but if a tourist would want to use his or her electronic gadget or appliance in Scotland, then there must be a Type G British 3-pin adapter. Although the adapter would not change the volts used, it will enable the plug of the appliance or electronic gadget to be inserted to the electrical outlet used in Scotland.

Type G plug and electrical outlet

The Type G British 3-pin  also has a receptacle end that is compatible with most household plug types, except the Type M South African SABS1661 (Old British BS-546 Large) plug with a plug end of British BS-1363 13-amp plug. 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 3-pin is polarized and grounded but not fused. Also, the design of the Type G British 3-pin plug commonly used in Scotland features three rectangular prongs that form a triangle and the British standard required the use of three-wire grounded and fused plug for all the connections to the power mains, including class II, two-wire appliances in Scotland and in other countries. Through this adapter, a tourist could use his or her appliance or electronic gadget in Scotland. 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 Scotland. For the electrical outlet, the Type G British 3-pin sockets are not compatible with other types of electrical outlet.

Voltage Converters

Transformer

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

Combination Voltage Converter

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 Scotland, 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. 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 iron. The combination network-resistor converter and transformer device usually comes with a switch so a tourist using it in Scotland to convert voltage could just choose which mode to use.