
The design of Britain's wall sockets - rwmj
https://www.fastcodesign.com/3032807/why-england-has-the-best-wall-sockets-on-earth
======
bsimpson
I don't see many advantages over the Schuko plug, used in most of Europe:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schuko](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schuko)

The outlets are recessed, so you physically cannot touch any of the pins while
they are engaged. For the same reason, ground is on the periphery of the plug
and engages before the pins make contact. The Schuko plug and outlet are
designed to prevent you from shocking yourself while still being a reasonable
size and aesthetically pleasant. The safety shutters mentioned in the video
are standard in Schuko outlets in some countries.

It's great that they thought about safety when standardizing the design, and
interesting to see precisely which decisions were made and why. However, "Best
On Earth" is a bit hyperbolic for a video that makes no mention of a more
popular design that embodies all the same safety features (save for the in-
plug fuse) in a more convenient form factor.

~~~
Tenzer
On the topic of the Schuko plug, I never really understood why there had to be
that many variations of it. Being from Denmark, I have more often than not had
problems with the ground pin obstructing me from using a Danish plug in other
countries. It has often times lead me to either saw off the ground pin, or
replace the plug with a two-pin connector without the ground pin - in both
cases decreasing the security of the plug for accessibility.

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ry_ry
The UK model is the most painful plug to stand on, due to it's propensity to
lie 'prongs up' and the particular arrangement of said prongs.

This is a deliberate and oft misunderstood feature of this plug.

In the event of an invasion standing orders are for every British citizen to
cut the plugs off their appliances and scatter them in the streets as
makeshift caltrops, delaying the enemy advance and crippling any soldier
unfortunate enough to have removed his shoes.

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sandworm101
Sorry. It's just too big. Electrocutions and fires from plugs are not
widespread in the US/Canada. The UK plug is a solution for a dead problem.
There is no practical need to continue with plugs bigger than many of the
devices they power.

~~~
walshemj
Uk is 240V 13A which is a bit more powerful that the 110 v Us system.

~~~
sandworm101
Looking around my place, I don't see any devices that would care. Short of
heat devices like kettles and dryers, everything can be run on 110v/15a. So if
voltage is the only reason for keeping those brobdingnagian plugs, that too
should be revisited.

~~~
CapitalistCartr
In the USA, most wall circuits are 120v, 20 amp. Kettles, hair dryers, irons
run fine on this, typically 1200-1500 watts each. Clothes dryers, which we are
in love with, are a 240v, 30 amp dedicated circuit.

~~~
sandworm101
>> most wall circuits are 120v, 20 amp.

The circuits yes, but the outlets/plugs are generally 15a. There are many
hospital/industrial grade plugs that are 20a non-continuous, but anything that
requires a steady 20a will have a strange t-shaped plug you will never see in
a residential setting. If you want 20a most go with twistlock plugs, which are
standard in the film/tv/live entertainment industry.

~~~
mikeash
20A outlets are all over the place these days. I'd say they're more common
than 15A in commercial settings, and they're not uncommon in houses either. My
relatively new house has 20A outlets for all the GFI outlets, but 15A for the
rest. Not sure why.

Note that circuit and plug capacity is always listed for non-continuous. That
typical 20A wall circuit is only rated for 16A continuous, ditto the 20A
outlets, and the standard 15A outlets are only good for 12A continuous.

I don't think kettles, hair dryers, or irons count as continuous draws, so
this doesn't really matter unless you're plugging in your clothes dryer, oven,
or car.

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rjtobin
For what it's worth, Ireland, Hong Kong and Singapore also use this socket
type (among others). As someone who grew up with these sockets and moved to
the US, I have definitely found the British type to be far more robust. The
sockets in my US apartment have terrible grip, with my laptop charger often
sliding out, which certainly soundly happen with the British style.

~~~
CapitalistCartr
Check the receptacles. They are probably worn. Replacing them with better
quality ones will solve that problem. New construction uses cheap crap, GE,
Leviton, Eagle typically. Pass & Seymour,Hubbell,Bryant are examples of
premium brands.

~~~
tragic
Yes, but we Brits don't _need_ receptacles. This this problem doesn't arise.

 _Land of hope and glory..._

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mmagin
It's a good subject, but the article neglects that the reason for the fuse is
the rather high current "ring main" which was a copper-saving measure.

If you don't need the fuse in the plug, the Schuko plug is pretty nice too.

~~~
nrr
Honestly, as far as mains connectors go, I'm a huge fan of Schuko for two very
big reasons:

There's no polarization, so you get away from that faux-safety reasoning
behind "well, neutral should never be hooked up to a switch" nonsense with
non-fixed equipment. This extends too to equipment with faulty designs, like
toasters lacking double-pole switches. It should really go without saying that
you should always unplug the device from the wall if you intend to service it.

In addition, Schuko separates the electrical connection from the mechanical
connection. This has the obvious benefit that a failure in either won't become
a safety concern. Readers from the US will likely understand why this is huge
in the context of things like wall warts. (;

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rogerbinns
It also seems like British wall sockets have switches on the wall itself. It
seemed pervasive to me, but I don't know if that is a law, standard practise,
or just luck.

However it is great because you can always turn something off at the wall,
without having to remove the plug from the wall. I'm sure that repeated
unplugging in situations without a wall switch cause more problems for
electrical safety/wear and tear.

~~~
lowmagnet
I love the integrated switch on the wall as a concept. I'd love to switch off
my microwave between uses because its VFD and internal clock being constantly
on makes little sense to me. This sort of draw would be an impediment to an
off-grid or hybrid power system, constantly draining the supply.

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untog
Agree with everything in the article, but one downside: it really, really
hurts to step on one. US plugs can't really ever end up with the prongs facing
upwards when unplugged, whereas UK plugs are extremely likely to.

~~~
labster
OP mentioned that in the very last word of the article.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caltrop](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caltrop)

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ryall
British plugs have always reminded me of "Fisher-Price my first power socket".
It's amazing to see for example, an iPhone lightning adapter, a design
iterated upon to be ever smaller and sleeker, attached to this ham fisted plug
on the other end.

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kennu
I like extension cords that include both 230V and USB sockets, so you don't
have to use power adapters for every device. Makes me wonder if electrical
infrastructure could some day be updated to match modern usage patterns.

Here's an example picture, I'm sure these exist in all countries:
[http://www.airam.fi/fileadmin/tuotekuvat/vapaa-
aika/2441532_...](http://www.airam.fi/fileadmin/tuotekuvat/vapaa-
aika/2441532_jatkojohto-3-USB_k_md_web.jpg)

------
Theodores
Some friends with camper vans were recently discussing whether to get 240v for
their respective vans. The guy at the garage wasn't recommending it because of
a lack of a 'use case'.

I would like to see the UK ring main revisited to provide a useful USB power
ring main where devices can negotiate current demands, e.g. to power a laptop
without dropping the voltage for anything else plugged in to the 5v DC. How
would a modern day government set a standard for that?

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blackguardx
It isn't 1930 anymore. You can't use past electrical systems as an argument of
why your nation has the best plug.

~~~
mmagin
Aside from the fact that ring mains should probably be eliminated, and it's
hard to trust cheap appliances to have properly safety-rated fuses in the
plugs today, I don't see what else has changed.

~~~
DanBC
The cheap tat sold on ebay is often _terrifying_ if you're using UK wiring.

~~~
rwmj
To be fair, there's nothing in the Part P regulations saying that you have to
have a ring main. When I had my house rewired, I had the electrician put in
radial circuits for the new wiring, so at least half of my outlets are now in
a star topology.

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swingbridge
It's a nice story, but in modern times it's massively over engineered and
really not practical.

I get that the voltages are higher but even that is a bit silly. In many ways
the US system makes a lot more sense. 110V for most things and then 220V only
for things that really need it (electric dryer, oven and such).

~~~
aurelian15
Well, in Europe we have 220V rated at 16A for most things (including electric
dryers), and a 3-phase connector with up to 400V @ 32A only for things that
really need it (oven) [1]. The higher voltage allows for less bulky
connectors, cables and electric kettles which heat water in a reasonable
amount of time. And honestly, the European systems (Schuko [2] and the UK
plugs) look a lot safer than their US counterparts.

[1] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IECEE](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IECEE)
[2]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schuko](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schuko)

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sathackr
Many US plugs are now designed with a guard, such that both main prongs must
be present before the socket will open and allow either prong to enter
(sticking a fork in one side won't open it). Voltages present at outlets in
the US is also half of UK (and most of the world, I believe). Under most
circumstances, it is not hazardous. It doesn't feel good to be hit with it,
but it generally will not kill you or cause permanent damage. Notice I said
most circumstances. There are a few things that can make even lower voltages
lethal, such as the presence of water, a person with existing cardiac issues,
or a small child, for example.

It appears also that the half-insulated conductors would present less surface
area for contact with the mating outlet, possibly increasing resistance, which
could be a problem with a high current load. Or is the mating outlet somehow
designed to mitigate this?

My main complaint with the outlets in the USA is the contacts in the
receptacle lose their grip over time, sometimes to the point of not even
making connection with the inserted plug. Under a high-amperage load, this
causes the outlet to heat up(due to increased resistance), even when the load
is below the outlet's rating.

~~~
mindslight
I believe these "tamper resistant" receptacles are actually required by
electrical code, because apparently the NFPA has solved all the real problems
[0]. A socket that sometimes decides to not "open" and bends up the plug's
prongs is a terrible idea. And being able to stick in bare wires or test
probes is a feature.

Contact mating happens at a few individual points, so the total area probably
doesn't matter as much for conductivity.

[0] See also AFCIs, which greatly increase the cost of a circuit, leading to
fewer circuits with more load on each one. Furthermore, each breaker is now
running who-knows-what closed software. Somehow, an upgradability requirement
was left out of the mandate.

~~~
sathackr
I believe you are correct, for new construction.

Yes, thankfully we have the NFPA. Interestingly, I just attended a high-angle
rescue course last week, taught by a highly trained firefighter with more than
a few actual rescues under his belt. He explained that for he and his
collegues, NFPA was generally agreed to be an acronym for No F*cking Practical
Application.

Whenever practical, I avoid the tamper-resistant outlets. Many times just
getting them to accept a plug is a challenge.

------
cfcef
Are these advantages reflected in electrocution and house fire rates?

~~~
VLM
Electrocution related to the plug happens too rarely to be statistically
analyzed. This comes up in the parallel infinite arguments about 120 vs 240
volts, and 50 Hz vs 60 Hz.

In both countries more than half of electrocution deaths are pretty horrific
overkill industrial accident or crane vs power line where the difference
between two million times too much power flowing thru the body vs four million
times too much power don't have much of an effect on the end result. Likewise
a lot of home deaths need correction for alcohol and stupidity.

~~~
wereHamster
Isn't stupidity exactly what this plug is trying to solve? A toddler is
stupid, there is no reason to allow him to electrocute himself. Darwin awards
can be handed out to adults, but not to small children.

~~~
DanBC
Public Information Film: Fix Things Properly.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5N0ATdDdwKg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5N0ATdDdwKg)

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Maken
I fail to see how it has any security advantage over the continental types E
anf F.

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mattkevan
I'd love to see something like USB become the standard for supplying power. It
would work for pretty much everything except heavier appliances, and remove
the need for most things to have their own adapter. It would be much more
efficient, and as a Brit, kinder on the feet.

And electrical saftey isn't what it was: a friend has an electric train set
from the 30s which runs directly from the mains. A 60 watt lightbulb is wired
up to the tracks to indicate when they're live, and the sparks and ozone smell
when it's running is something to behold.

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ramgorur
the main problem with 2-pin US NEMA-1 plug is its asymmetry of the blades,
they have exactly the same thickness but with different width, I often make a
mistake when I try to plug it in, if you rotate the plug and if you push hard,
the plug fits in but the blade gets damaged. Australian ones are better, they
have thin blades but wont go into socket if you rotate the plug.

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jhallenworld
Well this is the new UK standard from 1947. Before that was the considerably
less safe type D plug.. still in use by former colonies.

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drfuchs
They barely fit in a suitcase, so they're completely unsuitable for a nomad
lifestyle (including jet-setting professionals). If they were at least flat,
you might argue for them, but they're just a honking big cube, more or less.

~~~
drfuchs
Down-voted? Almost anywhere else in the first world you travel from the US,
the required adapter is about the size and shape of a matchbook, and easily
slips into a side pocket of your roll-on bag or laptop case. For these UK
monstrosities, there's no such hope, so you have to put them in the main body
of your roll-on, and because of their 3-D nature, they interfere with the
normal bin-packing of shirts and pants. Try it some time; I'm speaking from
experience. And if you want to take two, you're really screwed.

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Cerium
Does the design improve surveillance security? Looks like the insulated plug
prongs and the ground pin enablement features would help resist server plug
capture devices for seizing servers while powered up.

