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Mains electricity by country includes a list of countries and territories, with the plugs, voltages and frequencies they commonly use for providing electrical power to low voltage appliances, equipment, and lighting typically found in homes and offices. (For industrial machinery, see industrial and multiphase power plugs and sockets.) Some ...
Mains electricity or utility power, grid power, domestic power, and wall power, or, in some parts of Canada, hydro, is a general-purpose alternating-current (AC) electric power supply. It is the form of electrical power that is delivered to homes and businesses through the electrical grid in many parts of the world.
Most of the Americas use 60 Hz AC, the 120/240 volt split-phase system domestically and three phase for larger installations. North American transformers usually power homes at 240 volts, similar to Europe's 230 volts. It is the split-phase that allows use of 120 volts in the home. Japan's utility frequencies are 50 Hz and 60 Hz.
AC power plugs and sockets connect devices to mains electricity to supply them with electrical power. A plug is the connector attached to an electrically-operated device, often via a cable. A socket (also known as a receptacle or outlet ) is fixed in place, often on the internal walls of buildings, and is connected to an AC electrical circuit.
A simple voltage dropper can be used to reduce the voltage for low-power devices; if more than 12V is required, or for high-powered devices, a switched-mode power supply is used. The output will usually be DC in the range 1.5–24 V. Power supplies that output either 100–120 V AC or 210–240 V AC are available; they are called inverters ...
Examples are one design made by MK which has a T-shaped earth pin, and the Walsall Gauge 13 A plug, which has each pin rotated 90°, the latter being in use on parts of the London Underground for 110 V AC supply, [88] [full citation needed] and also in some British Rail [clarification needed] offices for filtered computer supplies. Variant plugs
[citation needed] Until about 1880, the paradigm for AC power transmission from a high voltage supply to a low voltage load was a series circuit. [citation needed] Open-core transformers with a ratio near 1:1 were connected with their primaries in series to allow use of a high voltage for transmission while presenting a low voltage to the lamps.
An external power supply, AC adapter or power brick, is a power supply located in the load's AC power cord that plugs into a wall outlet; a wall wart is an external supply integrated with the outlet plug itself. These are popular in consumer electronics because of their safety; the hazardous 120 or 240 volt main current is transformed down to a ...