Electrical Safety in Italian Hotels

Travel Mishaps

• Flight booked with wrong last name for daughter; couldn’t board.
• Lost money canceling old flight; paid double for new one.
• Sponsored by Brilliant for interactive courses.

Hotel Observations and Experiments

Hotel #1

• Fuse Panel: Located at the entrance.
• Outlets: Double-drilled holes for different standards.
  • Voltage: 222V (expected closer to 230V).
  • Frequency: 50Hz.
  • Wiring: Live (bottom), Neutral (top), Ground (center).
• GFCI: No visible ground fault protection.
• Outlets with doors: Prevents connecting live or neutral alone.
• Breaker Panel: Found in the hallway for all rooms.
• Power system: Black (Neutral), Blue (Live), Green (Earth).
• Experiment tripped external breaker; difficult to reset at night.
• Plug Design: Better than North American but not as secure as the UK.

Hotel #2

• GFCI Outlet: Present with set and reset switches.
  • Test tripped the breaker; location of main breaker unclear.
• Outlets with/without doors: Inconsistent presence.
• Potentiometer Experiment: Tripped protection; required help from reception to reset.

Hotel #3

• Breaker Box: Accessible to public, main breaker with GFCI visible.
• Tripping Breakers: Several times accidentally; easy to reset.
• Found that breakers trip at 30mA.

General Observations

• Ground Fault Protection: In Europe, GFCI protects the entire unit unlike isolated protection in NA.
• Tripping Current: European = 30mA, NA = 5mA.
  • Higher shock possible in Europe but more comprehensive protection.
• Plug Design Issues: Lacks keying mechanism which might be hazardous.
• Ground Fault Protection Reliability: Critical for safety.
• Rating: European standards rated better than NA despite some mismatches.

Conclusion

• Confirmed hotel electrical systems in Europe have up-to-date functional GFCI, better overall protection.
• Concerns about mismatched plugs/outlets but eventually safe.
• Advocates for European electrical safety design.

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