Electricity in the Philippines is 220vac, 60 cycles (hertz). Many modern electronic appliances and devices will come with the following information on the power supply (adapter) for the unit, or elsewhere listed on the case. Here is what is shown on the power supply for my Toshiba Satellite Pro P100 laptop:

What this means is, the input voltage at the wall receptacle (power point) can be anywhere from 120 to 240 volts, AC (alternating current) at 1.5 amperes, and either 50 or 60 cycles (hertz).  The output voltage, converted by the power supply (adapter) will be 15 volts DC (direct current) at 6.0 amperes.

Most appliances have a label on the case somewhere, usually at the rear or bottom, or on an external power supply that is provided with the appliance, offering this information. Please make sure you read that information very carefully, prior to plugging the power supply into a receptacle here in the Philippines. If you do not, you may burn up the transformer feeding the appliance. Or, by doing so may cause damage to the appliance.

NOTE: Always remember that, just because the plug in the wall may "look" the same as what you are accustomed to in your country, doesn't mean it will offer the same voltage as it does in your country.

PDF (244 Kb) : International Electric Current Information

The file above is offered by the International Trade Administration. It will provide you with some very useful information, concerning traveling abroad with electronics.

Plug adapters, as you will see in the article below, are commonly sold here. You can buy just about any adapter you need, to make sure your particular requirements are met while in the Philippines.

Above is a view of one of two home generators that I currently own. This unit is a 3,000 watt, 220vac generator. It is made by Powermate, a common name in the US. This unit ran most of the necessary electrical appliances in my home, and was kept in the dirty kitchen out back.

I ran a circuit to the dirty kitchen specifically for the generator. Once line service was dropped, I just killed the main breaker feeding the house and closed a double pole-double throw switch for the generator, allowing it to feed into my home. This particular 3,000 watt unit also offered a feature I found useful. It provided a 12vdc charging circuit to charge 12volt automobile or motorcycle  batteries. It is rare to find a 12vdc automotive battery charger here.

Incidentally, the dirty kitchen proved to be a fantastic generator house, offering security (lockable door) and more than adequate ventilation for the flow of fresh air and engine exhaust. Sometimes, I wish I still lived in that home.

This is a (single) 1000 watt voltage converter, that is common in the Philippines. It transforms 220vac to 120vac, for US made appliances. I believe I paid about Php 3,000 for it. This is probably the largest transformer you would need for any appliance in your home. I  do know a number of guys here who run 5,000 watt units in their homes, though.

This is a 50 watt version of the unit to the left, but still costly for its size, at Php 425 for a 50 voltage watt transformer, vs. Php 3,200 for the 1,000 watt version.

Please note that all of these transformers will draw 220vac electricity while plugged into the power point, even if an appliance is not plugged into it.

This is a dual purpose unit, a Zebra ZP-88 Power Protection Circuit. It would be purchased to protect window mounted air-conditioners, or other high ampere draw appliances. The two features for protection this unit offers are as follows.

1. Over-Under Voltage Protection: It protects for over-under voltage going to the appliance. If the voltage goes over or drops under a preset limit, the unit will cut the power flowing to the appliance. This will happen even if power continues to be provided to the  It will then use its second feature to make sure of a safe restart of the appliance, the five minute timer.

2. Five Minute Delay Timer: An internal five-minute timer delay begins to count, once power has been restored to the house. If a brief lapse in utility power occurs, or if the voltage exceeds the upper or lower limits set in the unit, it will stop voltage flow to an air-con, for example, so as not to burn up the compressor.

Once utility or emergency power has been introduced to the home circuits, the (left side image) red indicator will illuminate and the five-minute timer will begin to count. After five-minutes, (right side image) the green lamp will illuminate showing power has been restored to the appliance.

Here is a typical wall receptacle in most homes. It is identical the the two-conductor flat blade type receptacles in the US. Typically, you will find only two - conductor wire, without the third wire for a ground (bond), as you would in the US.

I recall having these types of plugs (without the ground) when I was a boy in the states.

On the left is an image of a basic 2 pronged flat plug which would be connected to typical 2 conductor wire. The image on the right is of a basic surface mount type receptacle (power point) for (220vac) voltage in the Philippines. The  power point (socket) can be connected for low (e.g. refrigerators) or high (e.g. air-cons) ampere drawing appliances.

This is a typical plug adapter, usually about Php 40, which are commonly found in most Philippines hardware stores. They serve to convert most foreign male plugs from other countries. If you go to the larger hardware stores, either in SM or Ayala Mall, you will find these, as well as a wide variety of other adapters, voltage converters (as seen in the top-right image), and other powering devices, such as UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply) battery backups, as shown below. However, the brands of UPS products found in hardware stores typically will not be APC. APC is commonly found in most computer/electronics stores, as their equipment is far superior to other UPS manufacturers.

This is an APC (American Power Conversion) brand UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply), which will continue supplying power to designated electrical appliances, computers, etc., during the brief period between utility voltage drop and cranking a generator. I use this particular one, specifically for my network. Believe me, this is a very worthwhile piece of hardware, especially when you have an entire network (or other voltage sensitive equipment) in your home. No more rebooting modems, routers and voice over adapters. I am much happier now, since I connected this unit inline, as it also provides over and under voltage protection for sensitive hardware.