Are you running out of electric outlets?

fuzzybuddy said:
Are you running out of outlets? Maybe the two plug type of wall outlet is way old fashioned, considering all the electricity using gadgets we now have.
Click to expand...
ours are 3 prong outlets... much safer than the 2 pin type...

My husband added a lot more to our house. Originally there was only 2 in the livingroom, and kitchen.. and just one each in the bedrooms...

About 20 years ago he changed all of that and now I have 7 doubles in the livingroom.. 4 doubles in the kitchen ( not counting the stove and the washer & dryer)... and 3 doubles in each bedroom.. as well as a doube each at the top and bottom of the stairs..
 

fuzzybuddy said:
Are you running out of outlets? Maybe the two plug type of wall outlet is way old fashioned, considering all the electricity using gadgets we now have.
Click to expand...
Plugging excessive cords into a given outlet posses a real threat of a household fire...as the wiring behind the walls heats up to the point where the heat could damage the wiring insulation and cause a spark. The safest way to have to plug in multiple devices is to plug a Surge protector into the outlet, than plug the various items into the surge protector.
 

GE Pro 6-Outlet Extender, Surge Protector, Spaced Wall Tap, Side-Access, 3-Prong Power Strip, Charging Station, 560 Joules, UL Listed, White​

I have started using these. They have six outlets and just plug in. I like that they are also surge protectors. They are available on Amazon.
 
In my little office room..I have just one double socket, so I use this surge protector tower

61HwnoWAQHL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg
 
Don M. said:
Plugging excessive cords into a given outlet posses a real threat of a household fire...as the wiring behind the walls heats up to the point where the heat could damage the wiring insulation and cause a spark. The safest way to have to plug in multiple devices is to plug a Surge protector into the outlet, than plug the various items into the surge protector.
Click to expand...
How the heck is a surge protector going to do anything at all? They aren't magic and the problem you described is not a surge.

What you'd want would be a power strip with a fuse or circuit breaker of the same current rating as the wall outlet. Surge protection is a different matter.
 
Yes, I am running out as well! So many chargers! Those extra outlets and extended strips are OK provided you are not plugging in multiple high amperage items like space heaters into one outlet. The real trouble (fire) comes should you be placing a total of near 20 Amps on 14-2 wire rated for only 15 Amps. On an older home it can be difficult to fully determine whether you have 14-2 or the heavier 12-2 wire for all your circuits.
 
My house is in its 70s, and yes, it doesn't have as many outlets as we'd like. With help from some friends, I recently installed two outlets and a lightswitch in our bedroom, where one of the walls had no wiring in it at all. Most of the outside walls are cinder-block, so we won't be adding any wiring in those.

When this house was built, most people's kitchen counters had a mixer and a toaster on them, and that was it. No electric coffee makers, frying pans, or crock pots, and no garbage disposal, so no switches above the counter. Our kitchen was last updated in 2005, so it's got enough outlets, plus switches for the insinkerator and some lighting that was installed under the cabinets.
 
There are 4 doubles in the lounge and in the UK, each outlet has a switch. Eight sockets is barely enough when you count the TV, DVD player, Hi-Fi etc.. There are 7 double sockets in the kitchen and 2 doubles in each bedroom. Not like my young days when you were lucky to have one socket in a room.
 
My old apartment has two double outlets in each room.

A code required radon detector and carbon monoxide detector each require an outlet.

I use a couple of surge protectors but rarely use more than one appliance at a time.

I often wonder how some of the families with children are able to manage without constantly tripping breakers.
 
StarSong said:
For any given outlet, I rarely have everything running at once. I leave chargers plugged in for convenience sake, but few pull more than a trickle 90% of the time.
Click to expand...
..yep same here. If my husband never taught me anything, ( he did actually teach me a lot ) he taught me that... so I'm careful to have individual switches on any extension lead or tower I use... so as not to have many things running at once, and definitely not high amp/wattage items
 
Capt Lightning said:
There are 4 doubles in the lounge and in the UK, each outlet has a switch. Eight sockets is barely enough when you count the TV, DVD player, Hi-Fi etc.. There are 7 double sockets in the kitchen and 2 doubles in each bedroom. Not like my young days when you were lucky to have one socket in a room.
Click to expand...
yep every outlet has a switch here as well..before any switched extensions are plugged in..
 
Funny how there is much hand-wringing over what other people do that "causes climate change" yet here we see that people have so many doo-dads that they have run out of power outlets for them. Many of the gadgets and boxes use a low but steady draw even when merely plugged in but "off."
 
For historical reasons just about every domestic installation in the UK uses the same European standard voltage of 230V for every socket. In turn, almost all sockets used indoors are the same size and shape and deliver the same maximum current. (Some farms have three-phase 415V supply, but I don't think that's often run to the house itself...!)





Secondly, current. UK domestic power sockets are all rated at 13A, whereas in the US there's typically different sockets for different kinds of jobs. However, these sockets are joined in a "ring main" which is typically rated at 32A in total for all the sockets on the ring: so in theory connecting live and neutral on a ring main can deliver 230V * 32A = 7.3kW.





Power in the UK is distributed from the supply company's meter to a "consumer unit" (these days, RCDs and circuit breakers) from whence the ring mains for sockets, lights and heavy equipment are powered. Like sockets, breakers are double-pole. The power company generally only provides a single-phase supply from their meter, it's an offence to tinker with anything upstream of that.


Earth is typically a earth rod (TT), separate earth from the supplier (TN-S) or combined and separate from the supplier (TNC-S) combined with separate connections to the water main (if it's metal) and the gas main.


Most houses have two ring mains, typically upstairs and downstairs, and for convenience most have an upstairs and a downstairs lighting radial circuit. Electric cookers typically and water heaters (immersion heaters) typically get their own circuits rated at 32/40 amp and 20 amp respectively Lighting, the ring mains, and high-current circuits use different sizes of cable and m.c.b's (miniature circuit breaker).


The UK has been described as one of the most heavily fused countries on earth. As the ring main can in theory deliver 32A to the socket, each appliance has its own fuse built into the plug. That, along with the higher voltage and current, is one reason why the UK has such big plugs. These fuses are (these days) clipped into their own holder which can be (reasonably) easily extracted without taking the plug apart; they come in 3A, 5A and 13A sizes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top