Different Electrical Outlets
- A Type A electrical outlet is a flat blade attachment outlet; its technical name is North American 15A/125 V ungrounded (NEMA 1-15). It features two flat blades or pins parallel from each other. You can only insert the polarized plug a particular way in a Type A electrical outlet. The neutral blade is wider than the live blade in a Type A outlet. However, the first designs had the ability to position the blades in either slots. The newer Type A polarized plug cannot work with the older models. However, the older Type A plugs work with the newer Type A electrical outlets. A Type A electrical outlets uses 120 volts.
- A Type B electrical outlet dispenses 120 volts. The North American 15A/125 Volt grounded (NEMA 5-15), or American three-pin, plugs date to the 1970s and have started to replace Type A outlets. The plugs feature two flat parallel pins and a round grounding that grounds the item prior to it connecting to power. In addition, similar to a Type A electrical outlet, the neutral pin is larger than the live pin to assure the item is positioned correctly.
- A Type C electrical outlet , or Europlug, uses 230 volts. You probably will use a Type C electrical outlet when visiting Germany, Chile, Egypt, India and Turkey. A Type C electrical outlet features two-circular pinholes; its technical name is CEE7/16.
- You will mostly find a Type D electrical outlet in countries such as Bangladesh, British Virgin Islands, Dominica and Ghana. However, some countries have started to phase out the Type D service. The technical name for a Type D electrical outlet is the BS 546 (5 A/250 Volt earthed) and some refer to it as the Old British Plug. It provides three large pinholes in a triangle pattern. The plug uses 120 volts.
