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MULTI-VOLTAGE APPLIANCES (100V – 240V, 50 – 60 Hz): The electrical information on multi-voltage appliances will say (among other things) “input 100 – 240V, 50 – 50 Hz”. A multi-voltage appliance usually is usually “self-sensing” (meaning it automatically switches the appliance depending on the input voltage) and usually only requires plug adapters for each country visited (be sure to verify this with the owner's manual or with the manufacturer). The electrical information labels also indicate the amps (A) or watts (w). The watts or amps information is more important to you if the appliance is not multi-voltage or dual voltage.

DUAL VOLTAGE APPLIANCES (110/120V – 220/240V, 50 – 60 Hz):

A dual voltage appliance is similar to multi-voltage in that both usually only require plug adapters for each country visited. The dual voltage appliance usually has an electrical information label that refers to two voltage ranges, a high voltage range and a low voltage range. This is often expressed on the label as “110/120V – 220/240V, 50 – 60 Hz” but it could be some variation of this. They will also often show the amps (A) or watts (w) but again this probably will only be important if the appliance is not dual or multi-voltage. These dual voltage appliances often have small switches for changing from a low voltage range to a high voltage range and visa-versa but many of them are “self-sensing”. Self-sensing means that they will electronically sense the input voltage and adjust the appliance accordingly

ELECTRONIC OR NON-ELECTRONIC APPLIANCES:

An appliance can be considered an electronic appliance even if it only has one electronic component such as some curling irons with an “auto off” feature as an example. Determining if an appliance is electronic or not can be difficult. If in doubt, contact the manufacturer. If an appliance is electronic it will require an actual transformer for voltage conversion instead of a simple solid state voltage converter. That is why it is important to detemine whether or not an appliance is electronic or not.

GROUNDED OR UNGROUNDED APPLIANCES:

Appliances that are considered to be grounded have three pin plugs while ungrounded appliances have just two pin plugs.

If an appliance contains any electronic components or is grounded (3 pin plug) it will need a step down transformer in most foreign countries. The transformer will converter the 220V, 230V, and 240V electricity to 110V, 115V, or 120V. Most US appliances are designed to operate comfortably with input voltages from 110V to 120V. The nominal voltage in the US and Canada is actually 117 volts.

If an appliance is non-electronic (even the “auto off” feature, such as found on some curling irons and other appliances, is electronic) and ungrounded