this post was submitted on 27 Jan 2024
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The main thing that should get adopted everywhere is having fuses or breakers in the plugs themselves. That would eliminate a lot of fires caused by putting too much current through small wires.
I also like the outlets (like in the UK and probably other places) that won't unlock the mains slots until there's a ground pin in place.
Fuses should be required for any power strip that is not rated for 20 A (2.5mmΒ² wires). At least where I live that's the highest current an outlet circuit can be rated for.
The power strips that cheap out and only put in 1.55mmΒ²/16 A are stupid. For 20 A power strips though, fuses are redundant.
Modern European plugs are already plenty safe for "accidental" insertion, you have to push into both holes at the same time for the outlet to "unlatch".
That's... most places. Or better, they don't open unless you push in both prongs at the same time
I don't care for the one that require both mains pins go in at the same time. That's what we have most in my area and they are not as smooth as the long ground pin unlocks.
Yeah that's what I was about to say, that's... most plugs. Except the really bad ones. Maybe OP is american. π In which case, my condolensces, that plug design is positively cruel.
Want to say that we do have tamper resistant plugs now. They require both pins to go in at the same time.
The counterpoint to this would be: Why have the fuse in the plug (where the plug necessarily becomes bulkier and hence easier to break or harm someone by stepping on it, especially because the UK plug design means the points orient upwards on average) when you can have it in the device instead?
Moreover, why go the step of putting millions and millions of fuses into millions of millions of plugs instead of much fewer fuses on lines in homes? If you got to decree a fuse to stop overcurrent on the cable in the wall, put the fuse where you're trying to use it.
(I'm not against fuses in all plugs, I'm just saying it's easy to make counterarguments that it's both impractical and also the wrong solution to the problem)
The benefit of the fusebin the plug is you can have a 1A fuse for a 1A appliance with a cable rated for 1A, and plug it into a socket rated for 10A.
If the appliance faults, then the wire doesnt catch fire.
If you dont have that, then all the wires have to be rated to 10A (or whatever the rating is).
And thats based on 1-breaker-per-socket.
If you have 2 sockets close to eachother on the opposite side of the house than the breaker panel, its easier and cheaper to wire them both together on 20A cable and a single 20A breaker. The fuses in the plug protect the 10A cable to the appliance, the 20A breaker protects the 20A cable in the wall.
Yes, you could put a fuse in the appliance (a lot have this).
But that isnt convenient for lamps, where it might be bulky to include a fuse holder and ruin the aesthetic.
Or something that deals with water, like submersible pumps or kettles.
Also, some appliances have swappable cables (IEC C13 for example). So if the appliance has an internal 10A fuse but is used with an IEC cable rated to 5A then it leaves the cable unprotected and a possible fire hazard.
The plug is also a good place to put it regulatory speaking as it means no manufacturers needs to change device designs, they just need to buy different cords. And it does not mean the plug has to be huge the way it once did. Most people in the US don't even notice that there are fuses in the christmas light plugs. And I had a desk heater once that used an automotive fuse; it mean most of the plug was fuse but it was still built into ano therwise standard NEMA 1-15 plug.
How does that work for devices you don't necessarily want ground pins on? eg: toasters
Why would you not want a toaster to be earthed? I can think of loads of devices that would apply to but toasters contain a lot of metal and frequently have metal casings.
You can also always have an earth pin, like type G plugs and sockets, even if it isn't wired up and is made of plastic.
If the toaster has a metal chassis, you DEFINITELY want that earthed, since any failure where the element or live hits the chassis will instantly trip the RCD/Ground protection whatever you guys call it. But, for devices that really don't need a proper earth, we just put a plastic earth pin connected to nothing in the plug.
a plastic earth pin like this