Eritrea is a country located in the Horn of Africa. For tourists who are visiting this country, it is ideal that they be informed of the standard voltage, electrical outlet, and plug in the  state of Eritrea. Similar to most countries in Europe and Africa, the standard voltage used by the electrical outlet and plug in Eritrea is 220-240 volts with a frequency of 50Hz. For the primary types of electrical outlet and plug in Eritrea, it is Type C CEE 7/16 Europlug and Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian Earthed.

Another thing that would come in handy in a tourist’s trip to Eritrea are adapters and voltage converters so that they could use their electronic gadgets and appliances without further problems.The name of Eritrea is the Italian form of the Greek name  Ἐρυθραίᾱ (Erythraía), meaning “red [land]“, as Eritrea is on the coast of Red Sea, across Saudi Arabia. Eritrea also has an estimated population of 6 million and is surrounded by Sudan, Ethiopia, and Djibouti.

Type C CEE 7/16 Europlug Electrical Outlet and Adapter

Type C plug and outlet

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 Eritrea, 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 like Eritrea and in the former Soviet Republics. This plug is also non-polarized and non-grounded. Aside from Eritrea, 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 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 Eritrea. 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 in Eritrea. 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 outlets in Eritrea 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 outlets 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 in Eritrea. 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. In some cases, the Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian Earthed 16 A used in Eritrea 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 an electrical outlet in Eritrea. 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 Eritrea, 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 in Eritrea. 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 Eritrea. Alongside with Eritrea, other countries that use Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian Earthed are Italy, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Cuba, Maldives, Uruguay, and Tunisia.

Voltage Converters and Adapters

Combination Voltage Converter

Transformer

If a tourist wants to use his or her gadget in Eritrea, 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 electrical outlet in Namibia 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 Eritrea. 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 Eritrea, 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 irons.

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