• Plugs and electrical requirements vary per country and region.plug--in image by .shock from Fotolia.com
  
  Identifying the correct electrical requirements for each country is always essential for travelers. Although the standards are inevitably different from one country to another, there are available power cord connectors, adapters and other devices that can assure you of utilizing your electric and electronic appliances and gadgets from various parts of the world. Manufacturers keep in mind that their products must be functional and beneficial to users even outside their country of origin.
  
  

Primary International Requirements

• When selecting the appropriate power cord or cord set (plug or connector on cable), you must first identify the correct plug for the country/region, determine the desired rating of the power cord or cord set and get the correct cable used in the country/region. For a cord set, you must choose an IEC (International Electromechanical Commission) 60320 power connector.
  
  

World Plug and Socket Standards

• According to the Interpower Corporation website, there are 14 standard plug and socket patterns used throughout the world both for Class I (grounded) and Class II (ungrounded) applications with current ratings from 2.5 amps to 16 amps. The application of these standards depends on a country and/or a regional identification. For instance, the following have their own specifications and requirements for plugs, voltage, frequency and pattern: Continental Europe, Europlug (used by many countries, including Germany, France, Spain, Russia and the Middle East), Argentina, Australia, China, Denmark, India/South Africa, Israel, Italy, Japan, North America, Switzerland, Brazil and the United Kingdom/Ireland.
  
  

Specific Country/Regional Requirements

• Because many European agencies require agency markings to be molded directly into plugs and connectors, the cable itself must have the required marks either on the jacket or on the primary insulation. Alternatively, it must also incorporate a color-coded thread that identifies the manufacturer. Australian agencies require that an approval number is molded into the plug and appliance connector. In the United States, a mark is not required to be molded directly into the cord, but the surface marking of the cable with the manufacturer's file number must be present. Canada requires a label on each cord that conforms to the CSA (Canadian Standards Organization) requirements.
  
  

Using Shielded Cords

• For products sold internationally, using shielded cords can pose special problems because such cords are not specifically covered by existing cable standards. In such cases the manufacturer may be forced to incur additional costs to get an application approved so that a shielded cord set can be successfully released in a specific market. A shielded cord means that an electrical cable of one or more insulated conductors is enclosed by a common conductive layer usually composed of braided strands of copper or another metal, a non-braided spiral winding of copper tape or a layer of conducting polymer.
  
  While there are countries with officially tested and shielded cordsets, many countries may not accept such shielded cordsets. And so, shielded cords must be avoided whenever possible. In fact, most shielded cords are available only through special orders.