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[YouTube]: American is impressed by sensible British mains plug design

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pcprogrammer:

--- Quote from: james_s on October 21, 2022, 05:08:44 pm ---Do they? I've never seen a star arrangement but maybe it exists somewhere.

--- End quote ---

In the Netherlands it is standard practice. A single connection box in the ceiling from which the sockets and the lighting in the room are connected. To ensure not sitting in the dark when a circuit breaker trips the hallway is wired from a different breaker.

Here is a video on what is called a "centraaldoos"

coppice:
Many people like the British plug until they step on one.

james_s:

--- Quote from: coppice on October 21, 2022, 07:12:18 pm ---Many people like the British plug until they step on one.

--- End quote ---

They're not as bad as TO3 transistors.

Simon:

--- Quote from: james_s on October 21, 2022, 05:08:44 pm ---
--- Quote from: Simon on October 21, 2022, 04:34:38 pm ---Hm, well fuses were put in to protect the appliances cable and it means that a ring main is possible which saves a lot of copper. This is because you fuse the main board at 32A, this fuse protects the house wiring, not the devices wiring. Other systems run a wire through the house for each socket using more copper.

--- End quote ---

Do they? I've never seen a star arrangement but maybe it exists somewhere. In North America receptacles are daisy chained, like a ringmain without the final segment that loops back to the panel. The ringmain does allow thinner wire to be used, but it's not allowed here, primarily for the reason that if the ring becomes open somehow there is no indication of failure but now you can overload the wire.

A weak point of our system is that receptacle circuits are usually protected by a 20A breaker while most of our plugs have no fuse at all, so it relies on an appliance being internally fused to protect its cord. Extension cords can be dangerous because they are not fused.

--- End quote ---

Check out the technology connections youtube channel, he analyses the system to bits.

Monkeh:

--- Quote from: Simon on October 21, 2022, 08:49:03 pm ---Check out the technology connections youtube channel, he analyses the system to bits.

--- End quote ---

And I don't recall him showing 'a wire for each socket' - circuits are usually wired as radials, point to point. The star arrangement pcprogrammer points out is fairly unusual but quite logical if you're operating on a circuit-per-room basis.

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