Trivia: Plug-in Baby

BS1363 plugs are rampant in Hong Kong, so for travelers visiting from the U.K. (or from an extensive list ranging from...hm, it might be actually easier to just say that the list comprises of a lot of post-colonial societies), there is no need to worry about adapters and whatnot. So it was confusing for a power-plug-illiterate person, like myself, to find something like this being sold in an electronics supply store in Yau Ma Tei: 

Looks familiar...almost. 

Circular three-prong plugs! Check out these BS546 (15A 3 pin) beauties. The shop lady explained that most of the electrical appliances at home (laptops, microwaves, televisions, lamps, etc.) use the BS1363 for up to 13A. But for the ambitious (read; business-minded) crowd who wish to use electricity not solely for themselves but for a bigger group, such as restaurants and laundromats, the plug must be bigger to allow greater power consumption for the device.


Strangely enough, the electricity bill for using these 15A devices may end up being even cheaper than using 13A ones. It isn't because of any 'bulk-buy' principle (e.g. you buy more electricity, and you get special discounts), but rather, because the technology required to 'step down' the generated power to the required 15A level is not as complex as that for the 13A process. 

If you want to use these rice cookers that serve forty people, you better make sure your venue has sockets for the attached BS546 (15A 3pin.) With the bigger plug, you'll be able to cook this vast vat of rice in the same time it takes for a smaller rice cooker meant for a family of four.

Learning small tidbits just from listening to chatty shop owners. Great way to spend a Saturday! Anyways, this got me thinking about the more about electrical plugs and sockets. 

Plugs might not be the most pressing concern for modern-day flat-hunters in the city, seeing how most people set their sights on the shiny new estates and whatever novelty is offered by land developers. But for hipsters like I who yearn to someday live in an old-fashioned Cantonese-style 'Tong Lau' (唐樓) or a Corner House (街角樓)*, this should be something to look out for. The chances of being able to live in a Tong Lau or Corner House is rather slim (especially given how many owners would sell off their structure to land developers, resulting with the flats being demolished and a new shiny 40-floor apartment building springing up in its place), but I'm strange and like to think about 'what ifs' and the small pragmatic issues that follow. 

An example of a Corner House in Sham Shui Po. A lot of them were vacated years ago, and are sitting around in varying states of disrepair. It would be great if they were refurbished as housing (hipsters will flock to them) or as art studios.   

Hong Kong was not always the BS1363 13A paradise we know today, and the installment of BS1363-friendly sockets was not mandatory until the recent decades. Old flats are likely to have the BS546 13A sockets, but in even older flats, the archaic BS546 5A socket may make an appearance. Most Tong Laus and Corner Houses would have updated their wiring to fit the current standards, though those left vacant for years may have escaped notice. If a BS546 5A socket** is encountered, it would be wise to hire electricians to rewire everything to the BS1363, lest there be a fire if the wrong type of device is plugged in. It means more effort and money for living in a Tong Lau or Corner House, but it is better to have a flat bringing a slice of Hong Kong history, and not a flat that brings about an enactment of Dante's inferno. 

*the difference between the Tang Lau and the Corner Houses will be elaborated on in another post! 
**or, for hip people who crave the complete hipster experience, living in an old-fashioned flat will not sate their needs. They will also go for retro, original, authentic electrical devices with BS546 5A plugs. 

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Side note: 

I wanted to know a little more about the sort of household electrical appliances that were common back when the BS546 was used. Being born in a post-BS546 5A era, I thought it would be nice to ask someone from the older generations, such as my mum and my grandpa. They once lived in a Tong Lau of Sham Shui Po (深水埗)  during the 1950s until the 1970s, in a tiny flat fitted with BS546 sockets. (The flat has since been demolished and is currently being used as a shop.)

But my questions didn't go far; both of them said that the family didn't own electrical appliances back in the day. Although their flat had a lightbulb (so the building was fitted with electricity), they were too poor to afford such luxury items. Only one neighbour on their floor had a television set. Everything was done using older methods; rice was cooked over an open fire, and ironing was done by placing hot coals into metallic boxes with handles. 

So although electricity was available for decades, not everyone had/ wanted access to it back in the past. Given how electrical goods are everywhere (in the public and private spheres of life) in the current Hong Kong, it is difficult to remember what life was like before the plugs and sockets made its way into our daily routines, and to appreciate the conveniences engulfing us today.