4 ms·

> But it has one flaw: you can't change the orientation of the male plug. This sometimes leads to awkward positions of devices or female plugs that get inaccess

> But it has one flaw: you can't change the orientation of the male plug. This sometimes leads to awkward positions of devices or female plugs that get inaccessible because it is covered by another device. I can only speak for the UK system, but that's a feature. While most AC devices will work fine with the polarity reversed, the wires are polar; it's common in many AC systems to have a 'neutral' line that's actually tied to ground at the distribution panel. This is a safety feature. The circuit design of your devices can't depend on it, because e.g. the EU plugs are symmetrical, but many of them will absolutely be safer to use if the neutral line is neutral.

jacquesm 5y ago
> but many of them will absolutely be safer to use if the neutral line is neutral. I'm not aware of any EU device that binds the live or neutral wires in a preferential way that would make the device safer in a particular plug orientation. You are likely violating electrical standards and/or certification if that is the case. Keep in mind that once upon a time European networks were standardized, and that before then we had many different sets of voltages, such as 110 and dual 110 giving 220V (much like the US single phase system today for higher power consumers). Your typical setup will contain a ground, a neutral and a live all fed through ground fault protected circuits from the distribution panel, with a string of sockets/hardwired consumers hanging off the same circuit. Each of the sockets in a new installation will export ground, in older electrical installations it is common to just have live and neutral, but the hookup is arbitrary. So if there is a consumer that is safer with neutral hooked up to a particular pin and live to the other then that consumer is likely not compliant with the electrical code/CE certification. It is common to indicate where to hook up L/N on hardwired consumers but for safety there is no preference.
- jimktrains2 5y ago
  As a non-electrican, i thought we moved to polarized plugs in the us because it's safer to have switches on the live wire and not neutral so that the system isn't "live" when the power is off.
  - jacquesm 5y ago
    That would be a false sense of safety. You simply should use a double pole switch if that is a valid concern, and if you are working on a device you shouldn't switch it off but unplug it, and if it is hardwired trip the breaker for that circuit and lock it out.
  - jacquesm 5y ago
    To expand a bit on that: 230/240V is commonly two legs of a 'delta' wired transformer, there is no 'neutral' in that case, you only have that when you have a transformer in 'star' configuration.

jacquesm 5y ago

> but many of them will absolutely be safer to use if the neutral line is neutral. I'm not aware of any EU device that binds the live or neutral wires in a preferential way that would make the device safer in a particular plug orientation. You are likely violating electrical standards and/or certification if that is the case. Keep in mind that once upon a time European networks were standardized, and that before then we had many different sets of voltages, such as 110 and dual 110 giving 220V (much like the US single phase system today for higher power consumers). Your typical setup will contain a ground, a neutral and a live all fed through ground fault protected circuits from the distribution panel, with a string of sockets/hardwired consumers hanging off the same circuit. Each of the sockets in a new installation will export ground, in older electrical installations it is common to just have live and neutral, but the hookup is arbitrary. So if there is a consumer that is safer with neutral hooked up to a particular pin and live to the other then that consumer is likely not compliant with the electrical code/CE certification. It is common to indicate where to hook up L/N on hardwired consumers but for safety there is no preference.

jimktrains2 5y ago
As a non-electrican, i thought we moved to polarized plugs in the us because it's safer to have switches on the live wire and not neutral so that the system isn't "live" when the power is off.
- jacquesm 5y ago
  That would be a false sense of safety. You simply should use a double pole switch if that is a valid concern, and if you are working on a device you shouldn't switch it off but unplug it, and if it is hardwired trip the breaker for that circuit and lock it out.
- jacquesm 5y ago
  To expand a bit on that: 230/240V is commonly two legs of a 'delta' wired transformer, there is no 'neutral' in that case, you only have that when you have a transformer in 'star' configuration.