JEDDAH: Six months after a grace period that starts in December, Saudi authorities will begin a process of banning the import of electrical products that run on voltages less than the European 220-volt standard.
Spokesman of Saudi Customs Abdullah Al-Kharboush said on Saturday that beginning in June 2012, any electrical appliances of less than 127-volts will be banned. Five years after that all electrical appliances that run on less than 220-volts will be banned from the market.
Parts for electrical appliances of 127 volts would continue to be permitted in the market for 15 years, he added.
The issue is related to the use of both major international standards -- the 110-volt and the 220-volt -- in the construction industry. Plugging in an electrical appliance of less than 220 volts into a 220-volt socket can be a fire hazard. Plugging a 220-volt appliance into a 110-volt socket is not dangerous.
In many homes, electrical sockets nearest air conditioners, refrigerators and other high-powered home appliances are 220-volt outlets while other socket are 110-volt. Accidentally plugging in a 110-volt appliance into a 220-volt socket can cause the wire or the socket to overheat and burst into flames. Sometimes the fire can start after a cable, such as an extension cord, heats up to a sufficient level. This can take a period of time before causing a fire when there is nobody home to detect and extinguish it. Electrical fires should not be extinguished using water unless the item on fire has been detached from the electrical source.
© Arab News 2011
