Electrical sockets

Electrical sockets


Electrical sockets are the small devices which are used to connect electric appliances to the commercial power supply so that current can flow into them and they can operate. Electrical sockets are paired with electrical plugs and combinedly both of them are responsible for the proper running of the domestic as well as the industrial electrical system.

Electrical sockets also called power sockets are female electrical connectors which have holes or slots inside them. Pins or blades of power plugs are inserted in those slots and then electricity is supplied to the appliances.

Electrical Socket


Holes Inside Electrical Sockets
Usually there are two or three slots or holes in electrical sockets. The two hole sockets are used for two pin plugs and three hole sockets for three pin plugs.

* Two hole sockets: These sockets carry two wires one of which is the live or hot wire carrying alternating current from main AC supply to the appliances. The other wire is the neutral wire which backs the current from the equipment to the mains supply.

* Three hole sockets: In these sockets the function of two wires (live and neutral) are same as in two hole sockets but the additional or the third one is earth or ground wire. In case any fault occurs in the system, the ground wire ensures that the exposed conductive surfaces should be at the same electrical potential equal to the earth. It minimizes the risk of electrical shock in case any person touches the device.

Electrical Socket Materials
Electrical sockets generally have either plastic or metal body.

* Plastic Body: Sockets with a plastic body usually have a separate ground wire to complete the lighting circuit.

* Metal Body: Sockets with a metal body often use the body of the socket itself as the ground connection.

Safety Issues Related to Installing Electrical Sockets
It looks simple to use electrical sockets but it can create potential danger to the users if the wires are not connected properly. Some of the main points to be taken care of are as follows:

* The Connection of live wire to the ground contact is very dangerous. The appliances conductive case is made live and it may cause death.

* If the appliance isn't earthed and a fault is occurred between the live wire and conductive case, then it becomes very dangerous.

* If the system has only a single pole switch and then live and neutral wires are swapped then it creates danger. It does not have any immediate danger but has the possibility of enhancing the risk of shock if anybody tries to work on the appliance without disconnecting it or if there is another fault.

Multi Standard Electrical Sockets
Multi standard sockets have many incompatible plug types. These type of plugs are mainly used in developing countries due to lack of electrical standards. They are able to accept both 120 V and 240 V plugs. Due to a significant difference in the input voltage, the devices are more prone to damage by the wrong voltage. They have one or more earth holes to allow the use of 3 pin plugs. While using such sockets, care should be taken to avoid the use of incompatible voltage and grounding connections.

Certain devices which are best fit for use in these sockets are:

* Those devices or appliances which are designed to auto-adapt to different voltage and frequency standards.

* Those appliances or devices which do not require a ground contact.