Travelling to Switzerland requires you to know what is the available voltage, electrical frequency, electrical outlet and plug types used in the country. In Switzerland, the available voltage is 220 Volts with an electrical frequency of 50 Hertz per second. Bringing and using devices in Switzerland that does not accept 220 V at 50 Hz will surely harm the devices, or more dangerously, it can burn the whole thing. It is advised that you use a voltage converter in order to use your device or electrical appliances.

Electrical Outlet and Plug in Switzerland

SEV 1011 Electrical Outlet and Plug

The electrical outlet type available in Switzerland only accepts one kind of electrical plug. This kind of plug is called Type J or The Swiss 3-pin electrical plug also known as the SEV 1011 (ASE 1011-1959 SW10A-R). This type of electrical plug runs in 220-250 V at 10 A. SEV 1011 has round pins that are similar to the CEE 7/16 Euro plug, though Swiss SEV 1011 has an earth pin off to one side. The earth pin is offset by 5mm from the center line of the live and neutral pins. The distance between the pin at the top and the pin at the bottom is 19 mm. This dimension is the same with other European countries. When these pins are partially inserted into a non-recessed  electrical outlet, a shock hazard will be present. The SEV 1011 electrical outlet that is commonly used in bathrooms, kitchens and other wet areas are recessed, while electrical outlets that are used elsewhere are not. There is now an agreement that after 2015, every electrical outlet in Switzerland must be in recessed form in order to minimize the risk of electric shocks.

SEV 1011 Electrical Outlet

Switzerland also has a two-pin electrical plug, with the same pin shape, size and spacing as the standard, with a flattened hexagonal form. Each standard SEV 1011 electrical plug that has three square pins rated for 16 A. Electrical devices and appliances that are rated above 16 A are required to be permanently wired to the electrical supply system with branch circuit protection, or it must be connected with an appropriate high-power industrial connector. This kind of electrical outlet and plug is usually used in countries like El Salvador, Ethiopia, Liechtenstein, Madagascar, Maldives, Rwanda and Switzerland.

WA-11A Travel Plug Adapter for Switzerland

Travelling to Switzerland will require you to bring an adapter for your device to function. The available adapter for Type J electrical outlet is called WA-11A travel plug adapter. It is available in electrical shops all over the world. The receptacle of the adapter can accept any kind of electrical plug from any country except the Type M or the South African SABS 1661 (Old British BS-546 “Large”) electrical plug.

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