5 ms·

Imagine if we had this outlook towards plugs in houses in the US. Standardization is underrated.

by aiisjustanif 4y ago

kube-system 4y ago
Funny, because all of North America uses the NEMA standard and the EU uses a bunch of different plugs.
- rand49an 4y ago
  Probably why they are more conscious it's a problem then.
  - pmyteh 4y ago
    Yeah. The rollout of domestic wiring standards was pre-EU, and dealing with the entrenched incompatible standardisation gets in the way of the EU goal of a single market in goods and services. They really don't want more arbitrary standards that vary nationally. Of course, that's not quite the same as the laptop charger question where the fragmentation is between companies and less entrenched. But still.
- krzyk 4y ago
  No, EU uses a single plug, it is called "Type C" (no, not USB-C). What you might find in some poorer regions in EU is old plugs that were there pre-EU, or prestandardization. I can say that, because Brexit happened, I have no clue what those were thinking when designing their own gigantic plug.
  - troad 4y ago
    This is just not true. Denmark and Italy use their own plugs; Ireland, Malta, and Cyprus use the British plug; and the heart of the EU is divided between French-style and Schuko plugs. (Switzerland, though outside the EU, also uses its own plugs.) As I understand it, EU moves to standardise plugs failed in the 90s.
    - krzyk 4y ago
      Oh, right I forgot about Malta (basically UK mini) and Cyprus. But Italy has the "normal" (schuko or French) plug. The old one (three holes in line) are in older houses mostly. My previous data was based on my travel in EU. Now I'm corrected. But there is a standardized plug that fits both schuko and French style sockets. That was probably why I didn't notice it earlier.
      - troad 4y ago
        > But Italy has the "normal" (schuko or French) plug. The old one (three holes in line) are in older houses mostly. That's a bit of an oversimplification. I was in Italy on Thursday and also early in May. My very modern hotel rooms mostly had Italian three-hole sockets, with a single token 'standard' euro socket provided at the table, that nevertheless didn't always accept my (French-style) laptop cable because the prongs were too thick. Also, flashy modern hotels aside, I'd say most houses in Italy are "older houses". The three-hole socket is definitely extremely common in Italy in my experience. In fact, there's two incompatible three-hole Italian sockets - a larger one for most appliances, and a smaller one for lights.
  - kube-system 4y ago
    Doesn’t Ireland use G? Regardless, I meant, physically within the borders of the EU, not during the time of the EU.
  - zajio1am 4y ago
    No. Type C is limited to 2.5 A ungrounded appliances. For regular (16 A, grounded) sockets, half of EU use type E and other half type F. Fortunately, there is CEE 7/7 plug, which is compatible with both type E and type F sockets.
wumpus 4y ago
There are a bunch of different plugs in houses in the US, look at electric stoves and clothes dryers.
- itsoktocry 4y ago
  >look at electric stoves and clothes dryers Those are 240V plugs, which are also standardized.
- vel0city 4y ago
  They're all a part of the NEMA standard. The different plugs denote different capacities of the circuit and the requirements of the load. That way you can't accidentally plug a 30A device in a 15A circuit or you can't plug a 120V device into a 240V plug. If the wiring to your stove top is only 30A but you bought a 50A stove, you shouldn't be able to plug it in and just hope the circuit breaker trips before the wires melt to let you know you did it wrong. Its not like there's a plug for Samsung TVs, a different plug for Sonos sound bars, a different plug for a Sony alarm clock, a different plug for a Singer sewing machine, etc. They're all going to be a NEMA 5-15 plug since all of these things are ~120V and use less than 15A.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]

Imagine if we had this outlook towards plugs in houses in the US. Standardization is underrated.

kube-system 4y ago

Funny, because all of North America uses the NEMA standard and the EU uses a bunch of different plugs.

rand49an 4y ago
Probably why they are more conscious it's a problem then.
- pmyteh 4y ago
  Yeah. The rollout of domestic wiring standards was pre-EU, and dealing with the entrenched incompatible standardisation gets in the way of the EU goal of a single market in goods and services. They really don't want more arbitrary standards that vary nationally. Of course, that's not quite the same as the laptop charger question where the fragmentation is between companies and less entrenched. But still.
krzyk 4y ago
No, EU uses a single plug, it is called "Type C" (no, not USB-C). What you might find in some poorer regions in EU is old plugs that were there pre-EU, or prestandardization. I can say that, because Brexit happened, I have no clue what those were thinking when designing their own gigantic plug.
- troad 4y ago
  This is just not true. Denmark and Italy use their own plugs; Ireland, Malta, and Cyprus use the British plug; and the heart of the EU is divided between French-style and Schuko plugs. (Switzerland, though outside the EU, also uses its own plugs.) As I understand it, EU moves to standardise plugs failed in the 90s.
  - krzyk 4y ago
    Oh, right I forgot about Malta (basically UK mini) and Cyprus. But Italy has the "normal" (schuko or French) plug. The old one (three holes in line) are in older houses mostly. My previous data was based on my travel in EU. Now I'm corrected. But there is a standardized plug that fits both schuko and French style sockets. That was probably why I didn't notice it earlier.
    - troad 4y ago
      > But Italy has the "normal" (schuko or French) plug. The old one (three holes in line) are in older houses mostly. That's a bit of an oversimplification. I was in Italy on Thursday and also early in May. My very modern hotel rooms mostly had Italian three-hole sockets, with a single token 'standard' euro socket provided at the table, that nevertheless didn't always accept my (French-style) laptop cable because the prongs were too thick. Also, flashy modern hotels aside, I'd say most houses in Italy are "older houses". The three-hole socket is definitely extremely common in Italy in my experience. In fact, there's two incompatible three-hole Italian sockets - a larger one for most appliances, and a smaller one for lights.
- kube-system 4y ago
  Doesn’t Ireland use G? Regardless, I meant, physically within the borders of the EU, not during the time of the EU.
- zajio1am 4y ago
  No. Type C is limited to 2.5 A ungrounded appliances. For regular (16 A, grounded) sockets, half of EU use type E and other half type F. Fortunately, there is CEE 7/7 plug, which is compatible with both type E and type F sockets.

wumpus 4y ago

There are a bunch of different plugs in houses in the US, look at electric stoves and clothes dryers.

itsoktocry 4y ago
>look at electric stoves and clothes dryers Those are 240V plugs, which are also standardized.
vel0city 4y ago
They're all a part of the NEMA standard. The different plugs denote different capacities of the circuit and the requirements of the load. That way you can't accidentally plug a 30A device in a 15A circuit or you can't plug a 120V device into a 240V plug. If the wiring to your stove top is only 30A but you bought a 50A stove, you shouldn't be able to plug it in and just hope the circuit breaker trips before the wires melt to let you know you did it wrong. Its not like there's a plug for Samsung TVs, a different plug for Sonos sound bars, a different plug for a Sony alarm clock, a different plug for a Singer sewing machine, etc. They're all going to be a NEMA 5-15 plug since all of these things are ~120V and use less than 15A.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]