Voltage Converters/Regulators

A visitor had requested to know a little more about the voltage regulator I spoke of (in a post on the electricity here in Yemen).  I suggested getting one if you will have American  electrical products (computers, etc) for the purpose of being able to use them here (110) (as 220 is used here), but also for the purpose of protecting your products from surges/jumps in the electricity which could fry your electrical products.

 

Here is a picture of one.

(Voltage Transformer/Converter)

This one doesn’t have a meter/needle on it. Ours has a meter so that you can see the power that’s coming in (you can see if its dipped below 220, which is  helpful because then you know that maybe you shouldn’t turn on quite so much stuff at that time.

 

Also, make sure that it says 110 on it (if you will be using American products) because some are only for 220. We purchased one that stays on for 15 minutes after the power turns off if its been charged up for around $60.

 

Update: after a little more searching, I found  one that show a meter:

(Voltage Regulator)

If you are electronically challenged (like me) , here’s a FAQ page about them:

http://www.voltageconverters.com/faq.htm

 

 

What is the difference between a voltage converter and a voltage regulator?

 

A voltage regulator functions as a voltage converter as well as a voltage stabilizer.
A voltage stabilizer will stabilize the electricity to fixed current.
This unit is usually used in countries where the voltage currency is not stable.
The voltage regulator will stabilize a voltage fluctuation between 75v-130v to 110v (+- 4%).
The voltage regulator will stabilize a voltage fluctuation between 180v-260v to 220v (+- 4%).

 Source: http://www.voltageconverters.com/faq.htm

 

BOTTOM LINE

Instead of just a transformer/converter (to be able to use 110V products), you will probably want to get a voltage regulator  (to convert as well as stabilize) for Yemen because the voltage currency is NOT stable here.