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They're like that in this apartment we're renting and I keep seeing them elsewhere. I don't get it.
To turn them on and off.
Fair enough
To turn things on and off.
I remember when I was young and bending down all the time was a thing you could do painlessly. Ah, youth.
I can still bend down ok, but getting back up off my knees however….
Smart plugs are awesome!
I present to you my favorite YouTube person:
The GFCI/RCD, a simple but life saving protector:
https://youtu.be/ILBjnZq0n8s?list=PLv0jwu7G_DFU62mIGZNag5vQ0a6tDGBpO
In defense of the Switched Outlet:
Electrical topics playlist:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLv0jwu7G_DFU62mIGZNag5vQ0a6tDGBpO
I could just watch this guy all day lol
I expected Technology Connections or ElectroBOOM, was not disappointed.
One teaches what to do, the other teaches what not to do.
ElectroBOOM keeps me alive sometimes, and Technology Connections told me how to properly use a dishwasher.
A fellow human of great and distinguished taste I see
To turn shit on or off
the UK power grid is weird. mostly due to echoes of the war. used to be that, to save copper, the entire house and sometimes multiple houses on a street would be wired as one big loop of wire, no fuse box or anything. that's where the individually fused plugs and switched sockets come from. then, since it turned out to be quite a good idea for safety, they kept doing it.
This is the answer. When all sockets are connected to one big loop, there's fuses in each socket to prevent a device from screwing with the whole system.
Sorry but I'm going to need a source on that because there is no evidence of that being the reason UK plug sockets have switches
Other countries have switches on their sockets, Australia being one because I live here
Switches on sockets do make a ton on sense though for safety reasons for example if you need to quickly isolate electricity from the switch and the breaker hasn't done anything
Switches also prevent arcing when you pull out a plug if an appliance doesn't have an off switch and you can switch something off that you use commonly say a kettle but don't unplug because you use it commonly so theirs less chance of an electrical fault happening while no one is there and its also the same reason I'll demand an isolation switch be installed on electric stoves just incase the dail on the stove fails and the stove turns on
looking for a source is not hard. anyone can do it.
switches are not required by the bs1363 standard. the provision for them only arrived in the 1960s. there.
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Allows you to remove power from the plugged in device without unplugging it. This provides convenience to easily and quickly turn things on and off and prevents arcing when unplugging. 240V 13A can arc a bit, particularly if unplugged under load, or on older sockets where the contacts have worn. While a little arcing doesn't do much damage immediately, over time it will cause pitting and make a high resistance joint that will generate heat.
The switch only disconnects the live terminal, but the neutral terminal should be similar potential to earth (depending on how the building is wired).
Truly the king of plugs and sockets. The plugs are individually fused according to the device needs, ergonomic to use and exciting to stand on.
exciting to stand on
Thanks, I hate it.
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This is virtually standard in Australia
Depending on who built the house, it's the standard for a "good" house in Ghana, Nigeria, Zambia and I think Kenya.
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UK household electricity is pretty spicy compared to many other places - it has more safety features as a result. (3 pinned fused plug, socket switches etc)
Isn't it just 230v 50 Hz like most of the world?
Apparently around 65-70 % of the world population (with access to electricity) has 230v 50 Hz.
How is it more "spicy" than anywhere else in Europe?
The many other places is the US
And Japan, and Canada, and Mexico, and the majority of South America, and a handful of countries in Africa and the Middle East.
I was mainly referring to almost all of the American continent(s), lots of Africa, China and a few other places too. I didn’t think I’d mentioned Europe.
The rest of Europe has 220V as well and they don't have switches on their outlets.
I have been with 110v plenty of times used to wire houses in my youth. Been hit once with 220v knocked me on my ass for 3 days. I stopped being so cavalier after that I wish they had those outlets vs the midevil outlets the US has.
So we can turn the power on and off.
Why else would you have a switch next to a power socket?
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this post was submitted on 25 Jan 2025
46 points (91.1% liked)
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