So the question always comes up: "do we need to bring a power converter?" So here's the deal on electricity in France... Electricity here in France, as in most of Europe, comes out of the wall socket at 220 - 230 volts alternating at 50 cycles per second. Here in the US, electricity comes out of the wall socket at 110 - 120 volts, alternating at 60 cycles per second. So not only are the voltages and frequencies different, but the physical sockets themselves are different...
Plug Adapters: Plug adapters are the interfaces between the American flat-pronged plug and France's two (or three) round-prong socket. These allow you to plug your electrical device into the French wall socket, but they do not convert the electricity to the American 110 volts. If your device or appliance is designed to run only on 110-120 volts, you are likely to see smoke, if not fire, from this miss-mating. You will need a step-down power converter to safely step the voltage down from 230 to 110.
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| typical French outlet |
US - Euro plug adaptor
You can get along fine with just a plug adaptor for many of today's small electrical devices designed to run on dual voltages. Devices like this include many laptops, cell phones, many recently produced battery chargers, and many small, electrical gadgets, especially those designed for world travel. You can check the back of the device or the "power brick" for the electrical input specifications.
A lot (not all) of hair dryers, electric shavers, cell phones, tablets, laptops, etc are dual voltage & designed to use 110 or 240 volts, and sometimes switch automatically... sometimes theres a small switch... So for these dual voltage devices, all you need is the plug adaptor... If you don't see a switch or a label indicating dual power, we suggest you call the manufacturer to confirm.
Power Converters: Hair dryers and curling irons and straighteners can be the bane of modern day international travel. These devices cannot often be used in dual voltage situations without voltage conversion. Because they heat, they are extremely high current devices, meaning that, combined with the high voltage, they use a whole lot of power. You'll need to lug a large, heavy power converter to convert France's higher voltage to the lower American voltage ~ or you'll risk having the curling iron really "fry" your hair and ultimately burn out. If you buy a power converter, make sure its power rating meets or exceeds the power rating of the device you will use with it. This information is usually found on the body of the device near the power cord.
At the Villa, we will place a hairdryer in each of your private bathrooms... So you don't need to bring a hair dryer for the Villa... But, if you do prefer to bring your own hairdryer, curling iron, curlers or straightener and it's not dual voltage, we would suggest you go online and buy an inexpensive dual voltage model... it will be a lot cheaper, a lot lighter, and work a lot better then a big power converter. (these expensive & heavy power converters often burn out when used with heating devices).
A lot (not all) of hair dryers, electric shavers, cell phones, tablets, laptops, etc are dual voltage & designed to use 110 or 240 volts, and sometimes switch automatically... sometimes theres a small switch... So for these dual voltage devices, all you need is the plug adaptor... If you don't see a switch or a label indicating dual power, we suggest you call the manufacturer to confirm.
Power Converters: Hair dryers and curling irons and straighteners can be the bane of modern day international travel. These devices cannot often be used in dual voltage situations without voltage conversion. Because they heat, they are extremely high current devices, meaning that, combined with the high voltage, they use a whole lot of power. You'll need to lug a large, heavy power converter to convert France's higher voltage to the lower American voltage ~ or you'll risk having the curling iron really "fry" your hair and ultimately burn out. If you buy a power converter, make sure its power rating meets or exceeds the power rating of the device you will use with it. This information is usually found on the body of the device near the power cord.
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| US - Euro plug adaptor - this is the one you want |
Bottom Line: if you feel you need to bring things like hairdryers, straighteners or curling irons, we suggest you consider buying inexpensive dual voltage models rather then power converters... Just click here: Amazon.com for dual voltage hair dryers. (Conair makes a nice little lightweight one for $15)
So for the most part, your power considerations probably comes down to your cell phones, tablets, cameras, etc... but be forewarned, if you need to charge these types of things, you will need, at the very least, a simple plug adaptor or two... pictured above (usually in the neighborhood of $1.95- $3.50). And of course if you click here, you'll find these on Amazon. (you might want to consider more than one)
We hope you're enjoying The Blog... Know that we're easing you into it, and we're just getting started! There's a whole lot more to come! Embrace The Blog... It's here for your pleasure & convenience... We put a lot of work into this, with the theory that every small bit of information we pass on helps you to have a better experience on our Tours! (If you're not enjoying the Blog, please know that you don't have to read it, and if you let us know, we'll be happy to remove you from the email notification list)
As always if you have questions about these power conversions, or anything at all, shoot us an email or give us a call... If we can improve your experience in any way, please let us know. We hope you're getting excited about Provence! While it can sometimes seem like it's far away, we assure you, it'll be here before you know it!
