What You Should Know About Traveling Overseas with Electrical Appliances

Appliances built for use in North America are designed to operate on 110-120VAC (Volts Alternating Current). Most of the world, however, operates on 220-240VAC. When traveling overseas, it is important to convert the voltage to match your appliance’s voltage requirement. Failure to do so could severely damage or destroy your appliance.

Voltage Converters

Voltage converters convert electricity from 220-240 volts down to 110-120 volts when traveling overseas (they step-down the voltage); or from 110-120 volts up to 220-240 volts when traveling to North America (they step-up the voltage).We recommend our lightweight solid state converters that can provide up to 2,000 watts for your high wattage heating appliances.

How to Find Voltage and Wattage Ratings on Your Appliances

To determine the correct voltage converter you need, you must know the input voltage and wattage requirements of your appliance. You can find this information listed on the appliance manufacturer's label located on the back, bottom or handle of the appliance, or in the specifications section of the appliance’s owner’s manual.

The label or manual will show the input voltage (110, 120, 220, 240; written as: 120 volts, 120V, 120 volts AC, or 120VAC), the wattage (written: 100 Watts or 100W) or the amperage (0.5 Amps, 0.5A or 500mA).