5 ms·

> the lack of innovation in AC power plugs Having lived in a country (Thailand) where both Euro and US plugs work just fine as long as you mind your voltage, I

by biztos 4y ago

> the lack of innovation in AC power plugs Having lived in a country (Thailand) where both Euro and US plugs work just fine as long as you mind your voltage, I have become quite annoyed at that lack of innovation.

stubish 4y ago
In Thailand I became quite annoyed by the lack of grounding. If your sockets where actually modern enough to have ground, it is rarely connected to anything at all, or sometimes just screwed to the wall. Rare to find a ground spike in a dwelling. Common to get zapped by your shower's electric water heater.
- biztos 4y ago
  My place in Bangkok is a nice modern luxury building... at least it was luxury when they built it 17 years ago, now it's falling apart a bit but the amenities are awesome. The electric is probably grounded straight into the Chao Phraya river. :-)
FactolSarin 4y ago
How could both be compatible? US plugs are meant operate at 120 volts, EU at 240. I don't see how both could be supported safely.
- biztos 4y ago
  > as long as you mind your voltage It's not the plugs, it's the devices (or more commonly now, the power adapters) that work with 120, 240, or however many volts. Nowadays many (most?) things take both voltages or, AFAICT -- I'm no electrician! -- anything reasonably close. So in Thailand, for the most part, you can just plug in your MacBook or whatever and you don't need an adapter for the plug itself. Of course, if you're wrong about the voltage, things might go bad. And as the other reply noted, this convenience doesn't make it safer, quite the opposite. But I just generally have realized there's a lot of innovation that could be done in plugs and sockets, but isn't being done. As someone else commented above, the UK plugs are really interesting... but in my opinion maddeningly, unnecessarily big.

5 ms·

> the lack of innovation in AC power plugs Having lived in a country (Thailand) where both Euro and US plugs work just fine as long as you mind your voltage, I

by biztos 4y ago

stubish 4y ago
In Thailand I became quite annoyed by the lack of grounding. If your sockets where actually modern enough to have ground, it is rarely connected to anything at all, or sometimes just screwed to the wall. Rare to find a ground spike in a dwelling. Common to get zapped by your shower's electric water heater.
- biztos 4y ago
  My place in Bangkok is a nice modern luxury building... at least it was luxury when they built it 17 years ago, now it's falling apart a bit but the amenities are awesome. The electric is probably grounded straight into the Chao Phraya river. :-)
FactolSarin 4y ago
How could both be compatible? US plugs are meant operate at 120 volts, EU at 240. I don't see how both could be supported safely.
- biztos 4y ago
  > as long as you mind your voltage It's not the plugs, it's the devices (or more commonly now, the power adapters) that work with 120, 240, or however many volts. Nowadays many (most?) things take both voltages or, AFAICT -- I'm no electrician! -- anything reasonably close. So in Thailand, for the most part, you can just plug in your MacBook or whatever and you don't need an adapter for the plug itself. Of course, if you're wrong about the voltage, things might go bad. And as the other reply noted, this convenience doesn't make it safer, quite the opposite. But I just generally have realized there's a lot of innovation that could be done in plugs and sockets, but isn't being done. As someone else commented above, the UK plugs are really interesting... but in my opinion maddeningly, unnecessarily big.