Electricity in Poland: plug and voltage?

Thanks, and yeah it's certainly not quite the price I'd hoped for :(

inWroclaw

a rewire while it may initially cost a bundle, but in the long run will prove to be cheaper. Especially when you consider the alternative and that could be a short circuit which would cause the wires to overheat and maybe cause a fire. Check with the place that covers your insurance for your place. Chances are they may be aware that aluminum wiring may be a hazard and could give you a break on the insurance so to speak if that wiring is replaced. Copper may be more expensive, but if it helps to reduce the potential for causing a fire over aluminum wiring, it is cheaper than trying to replace your belongings that were damaged by fire and the stress of having to relocate during the process after the fire.

Can't get anyone to do the work. No one's interested, they have lots of work on or don't speak English and can't be ar$ed. Several electricians said they were coming to do this and that and give me a price for the rewiring, but no one showed up. They're snowed under with bigger jobs and don't need to mess around with a Brit who can't speak Polish. Think I'm kidding? I wish I was.

As for me, it does not seem to look strange at all. Many of those who spoke English left Poland when the country joined the EU and the borders went open. Even if you speak Polish, it's difficult to find an electrician, you often have to wait for a few months, especially if you want to have more done than some simple things like socket relocation.

Yes, you're right. I spoke to a Polish man last night and he also had problems getting an electrician and with them cancelling and so forth.

In this video, which appears to refer to AC current in the USA, the speaker says that it DOES matter which way an outlet is wired (ie where N and L are). He suggests it could otherwise be hazardous. There are many similar videos saying the same.

I would just add that I have UK extension sockets with a pilot light plugged in to the Polish circuit and those UK extension socket pilot lights glow even when the extension is plugged in but the switch on the wall is off. What happens is that if I then turn "on" a connected extension socket switch the glow extinguishes and of course the connected appliance does not work. But this does show that current is flowing. This suggests to me that the RCD trip would not work unless the wiring was changed, I assume it would be a simple case of swapping the L and N over on the plug but I don't know because of course I'm not an electrician. Anyone using UK equipment in Poland and vice versa should speak to a qualified electrician before connecting things, so as to ensure usage is safe.

In a nut shell: don't assume your UK appliance in Poland is safely disconnected just because you switch off the socket, and vice versa. And don't assume the RCD would work if needed with appliances wired for the UK and vice versa if in the UK.

Merged: Can I use an electric cooker bought in the UK, in Poland?

Hi, I am moving to Poland soon and my cooker is quite new. So I wondered if I would be able to take it with me or is the fitting different there?

Should be OK...we brought our induction hob cooker from UK and it works great in Eastern Poland.

[Moved from]: US equipment moving to Poland - electricity questions

We will be moving some industrial finishing equipment into Katowice area during the next 2 years. other than the obvious voltage and Hz differences, can anyone advise about common electrical materials or any major code differences we should be aware of. for example....is cable tray and multiconductor cables more common than conduit and single strand conductors.

thanks

Merged:

Electricity In Poland

Hi People

Whats is the voltage of the electricity in Poland plaese and what si teh configuration of the sockets.

Thanks

@PatK100

electricity in Poland is 230 Volts with 50 Hz - this is the typical shape of the sockets : upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Socket_EF.JPG/250px-Socket_EF.JPG


if you come from the UK you need an adapter if you want to use electric apliances brought from the UK as far as I know

Standard European.

You have totally missed the point! The UK generates 3 phase power with a central "Neutral" that is "earthed at the street/village transformer. Thus all 3 phases are "live" and at 230V with respect to earth. Touching a "live" whist in contact with earth is often fatal. Earth can be a water pipe, cooker, sink, fridge, wet ground....Usually each house is on a different phase -so running an extension lead next door puts 400V between 2 "lives" -almost always fatal.

Merged:

Electrical regulations in poland

Hi All can anyone tell me if i can use the UK IET Wiring Regulations in Poland as me and my partner are currently renovating a house.

I have my 17th edition and work as a electrical maintenance engineer.
house is of wood construction.
Partner has been told that all cabling needs to be in conduit (we are putting some under concrete floor which will be in conduit)
if using UK regulations is not ok then where can i get a copy of polish ones