In the past, people would travel without electrical appliances like laptops, mp3 players, and mobile phones, unlike today where every traveler has at least one electronic gadget with them. Other countries often have different electrical outlets and Finland is no exception.

Electrical outlets in Finland accept plugs with 4.0 to 4.8 mm round contacts on a 18.5-19 mm center. They use the CEE 7/17 and the CEE 7/7 Euro 2-pin plug which are used in most countries in Western Europe.

The plug has two round prongs which are two pins of 4 mm diameter with a spacing of 18.5 mm.

Therefore, travelers from Western Europe should not encounter any problems since most of their appliances will already be compatible with the shape of electrical outlets in Finland. (In rare cases, this may not be enough because you may be forced to change the shape of your existing power plug by cutting it off and connecting a compatible one. The end result will be ugly and you may have to replace it soon. To avoid this, it is advisable to travel with a travel adapter which is cheap and easy to find online and in airport shops. However, newer appliances should not present this problem as they are more versatile than their older counterparts.)

Electrical outlets in Finland operate at a voltage of 230 volts and 50 hertz which is higher than the traditional 120 volts originally used across Europe.

This may inconvenience American travelers whose appliances have a rating of 110 to 127 volts and will blow when plugged into electrical outlets in Finland.

Modern electrical appliances such as laptops, mobile phones, shavers etc have a wide voltage rating between 100 to 240 volts. Thus they are able to comfortably operate in Finland.

However, this does not guarantee their operation since electricity supply can be quite erratic, you might need a converter. A converter is a type of transformer that will step down the voltage from 230 volts to 110 volts which is safe for most appliances. Converters are cheap and light, travelers are therefore able to easily carry them around.

The downside of converters is that they are not designed for heavy duty or continuous use which will shorten their life because they are chip based hence they tend to get damaged faster when exposed to heating due to continuous use.

Transformers solve this problem as they are able to be used with heavy equipment such as hairdryers, computers and printers for long periods. Transformers can also be used with small electrical items like personal shavers, mobile phone chargers etc. In as much as transformers are reliable, they are bulky hence they cannot be easily carried around. They can also cause the traveler to incur extra expenses for heavy luggage because of their weight.

It is not advisable to carry heavy electricity consumers like iron boxes, hairdryers, heaters etc to Finland because a disparity in voltage can not only damage the appliance but you also run the risk of interfering with the power supply to the hotel or apartment you will be staying in. It is therefore advisable to purchase a cheap one at a local store or try to find out if your hotel or hosts own one.

It is also important to note the frequency of your appliance before plugging it in because electrical outlets in Finland operate at a frequency of 50 hertz. Using appliances with motors that are rated higher or lower may damage them by causing them to run faster or slower because of the difference in cycles