Yemen is located in the Arabian Peninsula and people who want to visit this country must know some basic information before going there. In using electronic gadgets and appliances, a tourist in Yemen should know the standard voltage and the types of electrical outlet and gadget present. In Yemen, the standard voltage is 220-240 volts with a frequency of 50Hz while the primary types of electrical outlet and plug are the Type A, Type D, and Type G.

In addition to the information about the standard voltage, electrical outlet, and plug, a tourist in Yemen should also prepare adapters and voltage converters. Adapters are used when the shape of the plug is not compatible with the shape of the electrical outlet present in Yemen. There are cases wherein different types of plugs are used together with an incompatible electrical outlet in Yemen and these can cause problems like damaged electronic gadgets and appliances as well as fire. There are particular adapters designed for specific plugs although there is also the universal adapter that could be used by all in Yemen. Aside from the adapters, there are also voltage converters that are used when the voltage of the electronic gadget or appliance is not compatible with the electrical outlet present in Yemen. Examples of voltage converters ideal in Yemen are network-resistor converter, step-up and step-down transformer, and combination voltage converters.

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 new design of the NEMA 1-15 changed so much that it will not fit in the old type of NEMA 1-15 electrical outlet in Yemen. With the NEMA 1-15 adapter, the receptacle end will accept any standard household plug in Yemen, 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. 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 Yemen 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 mostly found in North America and in the east coast of South America  as well as in other countries like Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. This is used for smaller devices that do not really need a ground connection. 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.

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 Yemen.

Type A adapter

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. If this happens to a tourist in Yemen 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 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is the stricter dimensional requirements for the plug housing, marking, and mandatory testing and approval.

Type D Indian BS-546 Adapter Plug and Electrical Outlet

Type D plug

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. 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 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 Yemen.  Although the Type D Indian BS-546 electrical outlet and plug is not the standard in Yemen 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 Yemen or even in other countries.

Type D outlet

Type D adapter

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

Type G plug and outlet

The Type G British BS-1363 electrical outlet and plug is a British 3-pin rectangular blade used widely in Yemen that has a protective fuse inside to protect cords from high-current circuits and, most of the time, the Type G British BS-1363 electrical outlet includes a safety switch. The Type G British BS-1363 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. 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. Also, through the Type G British BS-1363 adapter, a tourist could use his or her appliance or electronic gadget in Yemen. The plug of this Type G British 3-pin is polarized and grounded but not fused.  Another name for the Type G British BS-1363 plug is the 13-amp plug and for safety reasons the Yemen requires electrical outlets in households that use the Type G British BS-1363 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 are opened. The shutters are also present to prevent the use of incompatible plugs made to other standards in Iraq.

Type G adapter

However, there are cases wherein the safety shutters of this electrical outlet in Yemen could be opened through a screwdriver in order to insert Type C plugs. But then, the usage of Type G British BS-1363 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 then followed in Yemen and all the other countries that use the Type G British BS-1363 electrical outlet and plug like the United Kingdom, England, Ghana, Grenada, Macau, Malta, Malaysia, Qatar, Saint Vincent, Saudi Arabia, Scotland and Zimbabwe.  With all the safety measures and features of this plug and outlet, it is considered as one of the safest in Yemen, 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 plug is mostly bigger than the appliances they are connected to but if tourists would want to use their electronic gadget or appliance in Yemen, then they must have a Type G British BS-1363 adapter. Although the adapter would not change the voltage used, it will enable the plug of the appliance or electronic gadget to be inserted to the electrical outlet used in Yemen. For the electrical outlet, the Type G British BS-1363 sockets are not compatible with other types of electrical outlet in Yemen. In terms of compatibility, the Type G British BS-1363 electrical outlet will work together with the Type G British BS-1363 plug and adapter in Yemen.

Voltage Converters and Adapters

Transformer

In using an electronic gadget or appliance that has a different voltage requirement than the 110-120 volts used in Yemen, 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 Yemen 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. If a tourist would want to use a laptop computer or charge batteries for camera, mp3 players, camcorders, and radios in Yemen, 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.

Voltage Converter

The last kind of voltage converter in order to use electronics in Yemen 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 Yemen. There are also universal adapters that could be used with any type of plug and electrical outlet, may it be in Yemen or another country. Moreover, there are certain adapters that would fit particular plugs and these could be bought in hardware stores or electronic shops in Yemen or before heading there. These voltage converters and adapters will be very handy if a tourist plans a trip to Yemen and intends to bring along some gadgets that require a particular voltage.

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