TechCentralTechCentral
    Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentral TechCentral
    NEWSLETTER
    • News

      Management shake-up at TymeBank – including a new CEO

      24 May 2022

      Standard Bank CEO apologises for weekend downtime

      24 May 2022

      South Africa fifth in Africa for blockchain funding

      24 May 2022

      Hein Engelbrecht to lead Mustek on interim basis

      24 May 2022

      Datatec in talks over Analysys Mason unit

      24 May 2022
    • World

      Big Tech’s latest dive snuffs out hopes the worst is over

      25 May 2022

      iPhone 14 development schedule delayed by China lockdowns: report

      25 May 2022

      Tesla shares continue to plunge

      25 May 2022

      Terra collapse triggers $83-billion DeFi slump

      24 May 2022

      Zuckerberg sued in personal capacity over Cambridge Analytica

      24 May 2022
    • In-depth

      Bernie Fanaroff – the scientist who put African astronomy on the map

      23 May 2022

      Chip giant ASML places big bets on a tiny future

      20 May 2022

      Elon Musk is becoming like Henry Ford – and that’s not a good thing

      17 May 2022

      Stablecoins wend wobbly way into the unknown

      17 May 2022

      The standard model of particle physics may be broken

      11 May 2022
    • Podcasts

      The rewarding and lucrative careers to be had in infosec

      23 May 2022

      Dean Broadley on why product design at Yoco is an evolving art

      18 May 2022

      Everything PC S01E02 – ‘AMD: Ryzen from the dead – part 2’

      17 May 2022

      Everything PC S01E01 – ‘AMD: Ryzen from the dead – part 1’

      10 May 2022

      Llew Claasen on how exchange controls are harming SA tech start-ups

      2 May 2022
    • Opinion

      A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

      19 May 2022

      From spectrum to roads, why fixing SA’s problems is an uphill battle

      19 April 2022

      How AI is being deployed in the fight against cybercriminals

      8 April 2022

      Cash is still king … but not for much longer

      31 March 2022

      Icasa on the role of TV white spaces and dynamic spectrum access

      31 March 2022
    • Company Hubs
      • 1-grid
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Amplitude
      • Atvance Intellect
      • Axiz
      • BOATech
      • CallMiner
      • Digital Generation
      • E4
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • IBM
      • Kyocera Document Solutions
      • Microsoft
      • Nutanix
      • One Trust
      • Pinnacle
      • Skybox Security
      • SkyWire
      • Tarsus on Demand
      • Videri Digital
      • Zendesk
    • Sections
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud computing
      • Consumer electronics
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Energy
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Motoring and transport
      • Public sector
      • Science
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home»In-depth»SA to get new electrical sockets, plugs

    SA to get new electrical sockets, plugs

    In-depth By Nafisa Akabor24 January 2014
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    SANS 164-2 sockets, with the older three-pin socket visible on the right
    SANS 164-2 sockets, with the older three-pin socket visible on the right. The new sockets use up considerably less space than the current three-pin sockets, and they’re safer

    South Africans could soon find themselves having to wrestle with a new type of electrical plug following the adoption of an apparently much safer standard for plugs and sockets.

    SANS 164-2 was introduced as the “preferred standard” for electrical plugs and sockets by the South African National Standard for the Wiring of Premises (known better as the Wiring Code) in 2013, says South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) SC23B mirror committee chairman Gianfranco Campetti.

    “The plan is for all new installations of plugs and sockets to be the 164-2 standard from around 2015,” says Campetti. “However, there could be delays or changes.”

    South Africa has long used its own, unique three-pin plug that doesn’t fit electrical sockets used elsewhere in the world. In fact, there are over 50 different plug and socket configurations used across the world today.

    Gianfranco Campetti
    Gianfranco Campetti

    Plugs and sockets based on SANS 164-2 will be available from April this year, says Campetti. However, products fitted with the new plugs — kettles, irons, fridges — could take a few years to arrive on retail shelves.

    The country’s unique plug stems from the fact that as a former British colony, South Africa adopted the UK standard of three large round pins as early as the 1930s. When the UK switched to flat pins in the 1970s, South Africa should have followed suit, but didn’t — mainly due to commercial reasons.

    The BS 546 British standard adopted by South Africa is codified in SANS 164-0, which is made up of nine different plug and socket configurations, of both two-pin and three-pin types. The three-pin plugs are polarised and un-fused (they don’t have individual fuses) and are not interchangeable between electrical current ratings.

    At the end of the 1990s, two significant developments occurred, explains Campetti. The Europlug came to South Africa as a basis for cellphone chargers, and small hand-tool manufacturers introduced the unearthed Schuko, a German standard, into the market.

    Cellphone two-pin plug chargers are double-insulated, don’t need earth pins and convert 220V into 5V (depending on type), says Campetti.

    “South Africa had no choice but to hastily introduce these standards as the various device manufacturers were not prepared to make specific versions for the relatively small SA market.”

    To be phased out over the next 10-20 years ... or longer
    To be phased out over the next 10-20 years … or longer

    The two standards are the SANS 164-5 two-pin, non-rewireable system (2,5A; 250V) for equipment like cellphone chargers and the SANS 164-6 two-pin system (16A; 250V) for equipment like power tools and electric lawnmowers.

    After World War II, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) decided to create a worldwide configuration. The IEC is a nonprofit, nongovernmental organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland that sets standards for all electrical and electronic technologies. Bodies around the world, including the SABS, have adopted the standards set out by the IEC.

    Campetti explains that as in almost all the European countries, no one was really interested in a global plug and socket standard. “For each country, it was like giving up their language.”

    The IEC formed a working group and commenced work in 1956. Thirty years later, in 1986, the IEC 906 standard was published, says Campetti.

    “It was during the early 1990s, with a new South Africa looming, that the SABS decided to adopt the standard (introduced as SANS 164-2) as it was seen as a fantastic opportunity for the country to be at the forefront of this ‘worldwide’ plug and socket configuration and be the first country to adopt it.”

    However, manufacturers showed no interest in switching to the IEC standard. “No one was prepared to tool up or implement it because of the costs involved,” says Campetti. “Despite this, SANS 164-2 was introduced as a national standard and was specified as the ‘preferred standard’ last year in the code of practice in South Africa. This means that from around 2015, all new installations will have to be fitted with the new standard, and that the old (SANS 164-1) will be phased out over the next 10 to 20 years, or possibly longer,” says Campetti.

    “Unfortunately SANS 164-2 will be another unique South African plug and socket configuration, with the exception of Brazil, which uses it and an additional variation with a thicker pins.”

    The proposed new plug will have three levels of safety and will be the safest plug point in the world, with only Switzerland’s plug points coming close to that level of safety, according to Campetti.

    SANS 164-2 plug and socket
    SANS 164-2 plug and socket

    But will South Africa be at an advantage or a disadvantage by making SANS 164-2 the preferred standard for plugs and sockets?

    Campetti says there are three elements to consider when evaluating this. He groups these under “economic”, “technical” and “export”.

    The economic element will mean more local manufacturing and jobs, while the technical aspect means South African will have the safest plug and socket system in the world — it will apparently be impossible for a child to put their finger in a socket and get shocked.

    The export opportunity, however, won’t be an advantage unless other countries in Southern Africa adopt the standard, too.  — (c) 2014 NewsCentral Media

    Gianfranco Campetti International Electrotechnical Commission SABS South African Bureau of Standards
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Previous ArticleTelkom chops wholesale DSL fees
    Next Article Bomb threat at Sanral HQ

    Related Posts

    Bernie Fanaroff – the scientist who put African astronomy on the map

    23 May 2022

    Chip giant ASML places big bets on a tiny future

    20 May 2022

    Elon Musk is becoming like Henry Ford – and that’s not a good thing

    17 May 2022
    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Promoted

    You are the weakest link: how to stop the costliest Internet scam

    25 May 2022

    Generalists tend to outperform specialists when the going gets tough

    24 May 2022

    Vodacom champions innovation acceleration in Africa

    23 May 2022
    Opinion

    A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

    19 May 2022

    From spectrum to roads, why fixing SA’s problems is an uphill battle

    19 April 2022

    How AI is being deployed in the fight against cybercriminals

    8 April 2022

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2022 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.