What kind of electrical wiring is used in buildings outside the U.S. that are owned and operated by the U.S. government? Strictly American, local (if different) or both? Say, at the U.S. Consulate General in Frankfurt, Germany, are there only type A/B sockets? Or both type A/B and type C? Is there a difference between individual buildings or smaller compounds like embassies and consulates vs. large military bases?
My understanding is that US embassies are built to US building codes which would include electrical outlets used in the US.
FWIW, here is the relevant agency,
Note that this is something of an American peculiarity; US embassies are usually built by US contractors according to US standards, to avoid security risks (e.g. from foreign governments clandestinely including wiretap devices). Smaller countries will often not even own their embassies abroad but simply lease office space, and then take that space as it is, i.e., built according to host country standards.
In countries with 240V power, does the US generate its own 110V power supply?
Authentic footage of US embassy amenities in Australia, courtesy of the Simpsons.
Given that my utility isn’t generating, transmitting, or (primary) distributing 110V power to my US home, that seems unlikely. I expect they step it down there like they do here.
ETA a large enough facility might be on its own islanded grid. And many probably have at least backup generators.
America also uses 240V. We just divide it into two 120V bars and run a neutral wire at the breaker box. So I imagine at an embassy they would do the same thing any US home does.
That’s an interesting question because even if an American embassy in Europe got a step-down transformer to convert the incoming power to 120v it would still be 50hz instead of 60, which would cause problems for some clocks, timers, and other devices that use the grid frequency for timing purposes.
There’s a Quora answer that says US embassies use US plugs but don’t convert the power coming in. So in most countries they end up with US NEMA 6-15 or 6-20 240volt receptacles and end up using a bunch of adapters. Seems like kind of a pain.
But that 120/240V split is done at the transformer on the street, and my understanding is that in much of Europe the service drop is 230/400V in many countries is 3-phase as well. So to get 120V out of that you’d still need another transformer, and you’re still faced with the 50hz problem.
Oh good point. Good think I’m not an electrician.
So it’s the worst of both worlds? Any appliances I buy in my host country needs an adaptor and any appliances I buy in America, I need to verify it won’t blow up if I plug it into a 240V receptacle?
Pretty much. Some of the government housing will have both 240 and 120 outlets. But the 120v, US style outlets are still 50hz. So there’s a lot of things that won’t work well. But, the majority of things can handle either frequency. One just needs to get in the habit of checking the power information on the device before using (or purchasing) it. I have a couple TVs that use the a step down converter and a printer. Other than that, I just use domestic power for everything. Most things only need a plug adapter.
Even worse because when have you ever encountered a 240V plug on anything you’ve bought in the US? Large appliances like clothes dryers don’t use the NEMA 6, and the only others that do are things like large power tools (drill presses, table saws, lathes, etc.) or high capacity window/wall air conditioners and PTAC units. While NEMA 6 to 5 adapters do exist, that seems kind of dangerous.
Why does that make it worse? If anything, I’d say that having different plugs helps to ensure one identifies the need to verify “it won’t blow up” when plugged in.
Sure, but it also means basically nothing can be plugged in natively. It’s also the kind of adapter that’s not going to be readily available at the local tourist shop.
The plugs are the standard plugs for the host nation’s power grid. In most of Europe, it’s the regular round plugs with the two posts. In Italy, its basically the same but with thinner posts (and sometimes three posts). In the UK, it’s the clunky square one. I don’t know the NEMA designations, but with the exception of US Government housing, the plugs in the government buildings are no different than the ones outside. Plug adapters are readily available and simple ones are pretty cheap. I have dozens of them laying around everywhere, in use, in drawers, in bags, etc. Most of them are less than $2. It’s only tricky in the housing units that have US-style outlets alongside the host nation outlets. That’s because what looks like a US outlet is just a stepped down voltage at 50hz.
That’s not the situation I’m talking about. It’s the US Embassy in a European country that uses 230V/50hz and the embassy uses US NEMA 6-15 or 6-20 receptacles per the linked Quora thread, which are meant for 240V but in the US are a specialty receptacle. That’s where @Shalmanese’s “worst of both worlds” comment comes from.
One would imagine that any building would still need to meet local building codes. Plus not every device in use will be sourced from the US. Eventually the building may be sold. So local power capability would be needed no matter what.
Running a separate set of power runs taken from an all of building transformer would be pretty easy. There are many circumstances where this is needed for technical reasons. If I were speccing out a building now I would put a double conversion UPS on the building and run the US outlets from that. Squeaky clean 110v @ 60Hz no matter where you might be building. Especially useful in places where the power supply is less than perfect. Indeed for an embassy I would be looking to add a backup generator as well. Being able to continue with its responsibilities in the face of disruption would be mission critical for an embassy IMHO.
This is all off the shelf stuff for data centres, albeit not cheap. But in the scope of an embassy building, in the noise.
Yeah, I’d like to see something a bit more authoritative than a Quora thread.
If you’re going to use a weird electrical outlet that would require an adapter for most US gizmos, what’s the difference in using local style outlets even if they’re sourced from the US?
This link seems to be an art installation inside the US embassy in London. The top photo shows what appear to be US style 110 outlets under the bench.
UK outlets look different enough that I think it would be recognizable.
The problem is that searches for US Embassy pictures bring up lots of instructions on how to send them pictures.
Your Quora thread isn’t much of a cite. There is no universal standard for embassies and consulates. Here’s a link to a Statement of Work for renovations at the consulate in Chennai, India. https://in.usembassy.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/71/msgofficespace-1stfloor-dec202018.pdf
On page 8, the US government states, “Contractor shall provide and install new electrical outlets (multi pin socket with option of flat pin plug tops and 15 – 20 A). Sockets can be of Anchor Roma or equivalent make.” These are normal India plugs, not NEMA-whatevers.
Regardless, employees aren’t buying their own appliances to bring to the office. Shalmanese’s “worst of both worlds” comment wouldn’t apply to the actual office space. It’s going to apply to living quarters. And those will have host nation power and plugs. Sometimes they will also have US outlets with stepped down power at host-nation frequency. I’ve never seen just the US outlets though. It’s either both, or its’ only local outlets. It’s never ‘just US outlets’.