A harmonised voltage was pretty vital for economies of scale for manufacturers and in the long term in the UK's interest as it means that there will be more 'stuff' available that actually works reliably there i.e. the entire 230V market is available to them.
Harmonising the plugs would be a nice idea but it's unlikely to happen. I reckon one way of doing it would be to have rated connectors, a lot like the IEC connectors found on devices today that could be locked in with a tool. It would be impossible to fit the wrong one with the wrong rating due to keying and it would be safe as they'd be locked into position on many appliances. The countries with schuko look-a-likes that are dangerously compatable with CEE 7/7 plugs should simply move to CEE 7/7, but I can't see BS1363 and the Aussi plug going anywhere soon.
You'd reduce manufacturing costs and mess generally yet avoid having to change plugs in the UK, Australia, NZ, Ireland, Malta, Cyprus etc.
Can't really see why it can't be done.
The IEC connector and the German originated figure-of-eight (telefunken) connector have become the absolute standards for AV and computer equipment. I can't see why they can't be adapted to everything else too.
Last edited by djk; 01/12/08 02:00 PM.
