Why do so many UK electrical sockets have an on/off switch next to them?
Why do so many UK electrical sockets have an on/off switch next to them?
They're like that in this apartment we're renting and I keep seeing them elsewhere. I don't get it.
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Not positive but those could be GFI outlets.
All modern wiring in the UK has every socket in the building connected via RCD (the more common name for GFCI outside America), but they're usually in the main fusebox/consumer unit rather than individually per socket. These are just normal on/off switches for the convenience of being able to turn things on and off.
That's a convenience we could all use, pretty crafty!
Saw a video of how the Japanese wire their panel's and thought it was pretty genius.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqClY6PDCW0
Is it similar across the pond? Or is it like here where you can GFCI the panel through a breaker?
That's what I thought at first, but it's literally every socket in this building both inside the apartment and outside in the hallways, and I keep seeing it in other buildings too.
Yup, they are the standard.
Would be fun to see some stories about you discovering things in the UK and how they are so different than in the US!
I am doing that, but I'm sort of putting them in appropriate threads. Otherwise I'd be writing a novel. Or I suppose creating a Flying Squid in Britain community. Maybe if I get less exhausted at some point I'll post something long.