Will my US chandelier work on Hungarian electrical power ?

It will work but could be dangerous. European voltage is 230V and US voltage is 110V which is half the amount. You will need all new bulbs - over here, it's E27 and E14 mainly (27mm and 14mm) Edison screw thread bulbs. If you try and use US bulbs here, they will blow immediately.   

Depending on the wattage (power) you will need to decide if you use incandescent bulbs or power saving bulbs. Incandescent bulbs over 100W are banned in the EU so one cannot buy them. Many people here stockpiled them before they were banned.  Don't bring energy saving bulbs from the US. Wrong frequency (we use 50Hz, US uses 60Hz) and wrong voltage.

For a chandelier, you would need to have bulbs of a specific design to make it look right. Personally I think the light from energy saving bulbs is terrible. I've started to use halogen uplighters (200W) because energy saving bulbs just do not give sufficient light of the right colour temperature and ordinary basic halogen bulbs used as plug in replacements are stupid money. I also find energy saving bulbs' light is too blue and cold. It's basically flourescent lighting. 

The biggest problem you face is the wiring and switches in your lamp and how to attach it to the roof if it is heavy.

The cabling and switches used inside your light probably won't be rated for 230V so should be replaced. What you could do is bring it and have it rewired or do it yourself if you feel competent. 230V wiring can be used in the US without a problem as it will be more robust.  Regarding hanging your light, you might need some special fixings and those would depend on where you live (old place, new place, construction method, weight and so on).

Overall, I think it's best to leave your lights and electrical goods (fridges, washing machines, heaters etc) at home. The exception is IT equipment - laptops, PCs  - but not printers as we use A4 paper and not Letter sized. Printers often do not have universal power supplies.  You'd need to check each one individually to make sure. Battery powered items can of course come.

Thank you for your answer. I am just not sure about rewiring. I am not an electrician but I've heard that amperage that light bulbs draw in EU is half that of US and wiring in US is more robust exactly because of that. You have stated exactly opposite ,so I am back where I have started...

Regarding light from Energy saving bublbs: look at the rating, frequency rating I believe, for the bulbs. The higher frequency bulbs give awful blue light , they also the cheapest ones. The lower frequency bulbs give more yellow-spectrum and are quite all right.

MOHCTEP wrote:

Thank you for your answer. I am just not sure about rewiring. I am not an electrician but I've heard that amperage that light bulbs draw in EU is half that of US and wiring in US is more robust exactly because of that. You have stated exactly opposite ,so I am back where I have started...

Yes, it is true the current draw is less but that's not the only factor to take into consideration. We also use 110V here on construction sites because it's safer but generally, domestic is 230V. Many houses out this way can have 415V 3-phase power and appliances too. It depends on the country.

To make it easy, use a quick calculation (not entirely accurate for mains power but good enough for here):

(1) Volts x Amps = Watts

or stating it another way 

(2) Watts / Volts = Amps

Examples:

A North American 100W bulb at 110V would draw 100 / 110 = 0.9 A

A European 100W light bulb at 230V would draw 100W /230V = 0.43 A

The draw is indeed half in Europe but there are other factors to consider such as the thickness of the cable, the type of insulation. Cables are downrated if they are not in free air to allow cooling and their rating can be halved if they are in an enclosed space (i.e. routed in a lamp or in a wall).

In Europe we use cross sectional area to determine the maximum loading on the cable. Thicker the cable, the higher the current that can be passed.  I have no idea what thickness of cables would be used in North America. For domestic lights, the current draw will be trivial although the design of the lamp might mean you need high temperature insulation on the cables.

Generally, I would be highly suspicious of any US cables and switches and I'd simply replace them with European standard cables and switches because it is trivial to do it. Switches are a problem because our switches are rated at up to 400V. A US switch might have a lower rating which could be considered unsafe, i.e. could overheat or breakdown at higher voltages.

I often get US power cables in equipment I've ordered and I just cut the plugs off to stop people trying to use them and then I throw the cables away. It's not worth trying to get away with it as hot cables could mean a fire.

You cannot use any electronic equipment here (including many motors) which has a 110V power supply and rated at 60Hz. It'll either run too slowly or burn out. Not worth it.

MOHCTEP wrote:

Regarding light from Energy saving bublbs: look at the rating, frequency rating I believe, for the bulbs. The higher frequency bulbs give awful blue light , they also the cheapest ones. The lower frequency bulbs give more yellow-spectrum and are quite all right.

Ok, I didn't know that. I expect the frequency is derived from the mains (here, 50Hz, so must be a multiple of that) but for the low cost off the shelf standard energy saving bulbs here, there's no real choice unless one goes to a specialist. Halogen bulbs are all over (but pricey) so worth getting them but they do use a lot of power. For small stuff like downlighters in a kitchen, LEDs are the way to go.

I would say, don't do it. The fittings may have voltge ratings printed inside and if there is (for example) a fire and those ratings came to light (no pun intended) afterwards it would be a good way for an insurance company to wriggle out of a claim.

fidobsa wrote:

I would say, don't do it. The fittings may have voltge ratings printed inside and if there is (for example) a fire and those ratings came to light (no pun intended) afterwards it would be a good way for an insurance company to wriggle out of a claim.

Good point, the bulb holders should also be replaced to make sure they are up to European standards.

Insurance liability is certainly a wise comment. Thank you for that.  So, in this case where do I buy brass lanterns for the hallway and lobby or empire chandelier? Any suggestions? They are really inexpensive in US ,  but I have a hard time finding any retailers in Hungary or nearby. Perhaps someone knows?

MOHCTEP wrote:

So, in this case where do I buy brass lanterns for the hallway and lobby or empire chandelier? Any suggestions?

I had a similar problem when I wanted to buy a ceiling fan (when I was living in Switzerland). No light store had any.

Simple solution: mail order. Amazon.de leaps to mind. I know amazon.co.uk would be in English, but if you want to also buy any plug in electronics Germany uses the same wall socket plug as in Hungary.

As a middle-european, may I intercept that  ceiling fans are not quite used in this region (perhaps as it only gets above 30C for a month or two, and people generally hate windy places; it is what you grew up with...) - but chandeliers are well known. I'd expect the preferred styles to be somewhat different, as it is with all things fashion.

The hungarian word is csillár (pl: csillárok) even though I suspect that it is slightly more general than the very classy sounding 'chandelier'. The first few google hits of shops and webshops are:
('chandelier' shop would be 'csillárbolt')

http://www.aladdin-csillarbolt.hu/index … ntese.htmlhttp://www.lampabolt.com/kristaly-lampa_m22.htmlhttp://www.csillarbolt.hu/catalog-4-hu-csillarokhttp://www.fenyforras.hu/belteri-lampak … 6_240.htmlhttp://www.bavill.hu/index.php?option=c … &TreeId=13

I hope that helps.

fireroller wrote:

ceiling fans are not quite used in this region (perhaps as it only gets above 30C for a month or two, and people generally hate windy places; it is what you grew up with...)

My comment about a ceiling fan was anecdotal, mostly to say "yeah, kind of been there", then to lead up to the suggestion to try mail order.

But that being said, good ceiling fans are not just for cooling. The have a switch to reverse their direction and have multiple speeds to avoid feeling a draft. One spin direction is for summer, the other direction is to circulate warm air collecting near the ceiling in winter back down into the living area. I actually use a ceiling fan more in winter than in summer. They draw little relative power, and create a net savings of energy and reduce my winter heating costs.

http://www.ceilingfan.org/ceiling-fan-direction/

P.S. A few years after I bought the ceiling fan by mail order, such fans become commonly available in the same lighting stores I first checked. I was just ahead of the curve.

klsallee wrote:

But that being said, good ceiling fans are not just for cooling. The have a switch to reverse their direction and have multiple speeds to avoid feeling a draft. One spin direction is for summer, the other direction is to circulate warm air collecting near the ceiling in winter back down into the living area. I actually use a ceiling fan more in winter than in summer, especially with our 3 meter tall ceiling.

Oh I see...  offtopically, when I spent a few months in old brazil, where weather is hot, but air conditioning has not yet totally taken over (compared to the US), the family told me their story about how it was impossible to get a good us ceiling fan made in brazil, and how they needed to buy one imported from the us, paying 'double the price' due to taxes...Should I be in the position to furnish a flat soon, I will try them.

But I am a bit wondering about the mail order of a 'furniture' object which is not well described by tech. parameters (beauty never is) - via mail order? Am I too old fashioned for the internet age? However, customers do get some protection, e.g. German webshops must take back everything(undamaged) without question within 14 days ('Fernabsatzgesetz'). I am sure similar regulations exist in hungary as well, but didn't bother to find out yet.
And ordering a chandelier from germany may result (relatively) high postal charges, and I would use some insurance product as incoming international mail is known to disappear sometimes (to reappear on ebay, I mean vatera.hu . So, better, just walk into some offline shop around Bp. and help to save the economy from total collapse for another 5 seconds.

fireroller wrote:

German webshops must take back everything(undamaged) without question within 14 days ('Fernabsatzgesetz'). I am sure similar regulations exist in hungary as well, but didn't bother to find out yet.

By EU regulation, all EU retailers for distance selling (i.e. online/mail order/ etc) must allow return on undamaged goods, "no questions asked" for up to seven day on items delivered in the EU. Discussed in another thread here. And all web sites must state they offer this return policy. Ironically, Hungary was one of the countries when the EU audited this requirement, none (as in zero) of the web shops they checked in Hungary provided this required information to the consumer at their web site. I think things have gotten better now in Hungary after that report came out.

For what it is worth, I suggested Amazon, as it is an American company which the original poster may have already had some experience with, and may then feel more comfortable using. But you are right, the further one ships, the more expensive will be the total product price.

Oh, this must have been my once-in-a-decade opportunity to discuss volts and amps and I missed it! (I am originally an electrical engineer)

As noted already, US appliances are designed for higher current and lower voltage. Their wires have a thicker conducting core (to reduce resistance), but their insulation might be thinner, and applying the higher voltage may arc through under extreme circumstances. (I am having trouble imagining a realistic scenario for this though)

Most goods however are made in China for both markets on the same assembly line, and will have a "110-230V, 50-60Hz" label on them. Some may need a switch flipped when changing voltages.

szocske wrote:

Oh, this must have been my once-in-a-decade opportunity to discuss volts and amps and I missed it! (I am originally an electrical engineer)..... but their insulation might be thinner, and applying the higher voltage may arc through under extreme circumstances. (I am having trouble imagining a realistic scenario for this though)...

Me also engineer. I haven't had to get my volts, amps and watts out of the cupboard for years.

I also wonder how an arc could develop as it's all rather low voltage. I would wonder about the downrating though if not in free air though and if the insulation melted, an arc could occur. I know from experience that over time, insulation can become brittle if heated or operated for long periods over specification. That would be dangerous. However, one can buy high temperature cable easily enough.

As I rewired my house a while back, the specification for domestic lighting is 1.5mm2 cross sectional area. Takes about 3KW - perhaps 2 electric radiators. Lights take almost nothing but they have a separate MCB for lighting. Bodging here allows lights connected to anything. 

For domestic sockets 2.5mm2 is used on a ring main (not common here in Hungary). This takes about 6KW watts - equivalent to perhaps 3 electric kettles. I never understood why ring mains are not that common here. Overloads at the MCB is common place I find here and almost no-one installs an RCD (stupidly dangerous way to save money).