Electricity in China

You might be wondering if you can use your electrical appliances in China.  China uses 220 V, not 110.  They also have different plugs.  So you may need to kinds of devices:

1.        A simple adaptor that fits on the end of the plug on your applicance that allows you to plug them into China outlets.  You can buy adaptors at Target (travel section) or Radio Shack

2.       A transformer or voltage converter to transform the voltage if the appliance you use doesn’t work on 220 V.  You can get these at Radio Shack.

If you bring a laptop (which isn’t necessary), you can probably just plug it in directly since the voltage transformer on laptops usually works from 110 to 220.  Check first.

You may need a transformer if you have a hair dryer, curling iron, electric shaver.  

Here is some info from  http://www.seattlestravelstore.com/gear/electricalfaq.html

1. Get adapter plugs for the countries in which you will be traveling.
2. Check whether your device accepts 110 to 240 volts. If yes, then adapter plugs are all you need. If your device does not accept up to 240 volts you need a converter.
3. Check the wattage to see whether you need a low or high wattage converter.

Adapter plugs – Here in the USA, Canada and Mexico we have either two pronged regular plugs or three pronged grounded plugs. The rest of the world has different wall outlets (sometimes two kinds in the same country). We carry plugs for the whole world in both regular and grounded formats.

Often times a single country will have plugs of two, three, or even four different styles!

1) What input does your device accept?

Voltage – In the USA, most of our electricity is delivered at 110 to 120 volts. In most of the rest of the world electricity is delivered at 220 to 240 volts. Travelers need to check every device to find out what the voltage it accepts as input.

If it accepts up to 240 volts you DO NOT need a converter just the appropriate adapter plug.

If it only accepts 110 – 120 then you DO need a converter or transformer. And then you also need to know what the wattage is for each device.

2) What is the wattage of each device?

To get the correct converter for your electric devices you need to know the wattage. Generally, for camera battery chargers, curling irons, and water heaters the wattage is LO 0 – 26 watts. Then a low wattage converter is what you need.

For hair dryers or anything with a motor then it can be HI wattage 50 – 1600 watts and there are converters for those devices. Hair dryers can go up to 2000 watts and there are converters for those as well.

3) What if you need both low & high wattage converters?

You have a couple of options. You can buy one of each, or a combination HI– LO converter with a toggle switch for each, or a converter that changes automatically. The price goes up a bit with each option.

Plugs in China:   one has 2 flat prongs and the other as 3 flat prongs.