Popular nationwide certified electrician - Faq's - Diagnosis & Repair - Discount electrical stores for electrical wiring installation, ceiling fans inspection, circuit breaker troubleshooting, faulty wiring. Two are the vertical slits, and one roundish one located underneath the pair of vertical ones. On nearly all modern homes, there should be three holes. Ungrounded outlets are easily identified by simply taking a look at the face of the outlet (where you plug things in). That’s a grounded outlet, which have been required by electrical safety standards for all structures since the mid-1960s ..More
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How Safe Is an Ungrounded Outlet?
In some of our previous posts, you’ve likely seen our experts mention the presence of “ungrounded” outlets in homes and buildings. But what exactly makes an ungrounded outlet such a negative? Are they dangerous? Our certified electricians come to you today with answers to the real important questions regarding ungrounded outlets!
If you have ungrounded outlets and need an outlet upgrade, contact us today!
Ungrounded outlets are easily identified by simply taking a look at the face of the outlet (where you plug things in). On nearly all modern homes, there should be three holes. Two are the vertical slits, and one roundish one located underneath the pair of vertical ones. That’s a grounded outlet, which have been required by electrical safety standards for all structures since the mid-1960s.
Ungrounded outlets lack the third hole, the roundish one on the lower portion where the, somewhat obviously, ground plug goes.
To understand the why, you kind of have to understand what a grounded outlet does. The two vertical slots represent both a “hot” wire, and a “neutral” wire. The ground wire in a grounded outlet ties into the neutral vertical slot. Why the redundancy? Well, it acts like a failsafe. Should anything go awry with your outlet, such as a short, the renegade electricity simply travels safely along the ground wire back to the panel. Without the ground wire, that electricity can channel into materials, such as fabrics located close to the outlet, or a very unlucky person.
Is it dangerous in that it might jump out and bite you? No. Is it dangerous in that it dramatically increases personal and property risk? Yes, absolutely. Ungrounded outlets increase the chance of:
We’ve encountered a few arguments over the years about the safety of ungrounded outlets. Like how they were used just fine in the past, or how the home that has them hasn’t “burned down yet”, etc. Well, that’s just the thing. Yet.
We haven’t been hit by a car, but that doesn’t mean we should go walking down the center of a busy highway at midnight. Grounded outlets became a standard in electrical code for a reason. They prevent possible problems that homes consistently encountered in the past. It’s all about preparedness and prevention!
So to conclude, are ungrounded outlets dangerous? Yes, they represent a very real potential risk. Worried that you may have ungrounded outlets in your home or business? Contact the certified master electricians at Kolb Electric today! We’ve been bringing our consumers the very best in electrical advice and service for years, and your complete satisfaction and safety are always our top priority!