Electrical Sockets

Electrical sockets are the small devices which are used to connect electric appliances to the commercial power supply so that current can flow into them and they can operate. Electrical sockets are paired with electrical plugs and both of them jointly are responsible for the proper running of domestic as well as industrial electrical system.

Electrical sockets are also called power sockets are female electrical connectors having holes or slots inside them. Pins or blades of power plugs are inserted in these slots and then electricity is supplied to the appliances.

Holes of Electrical Sockets

Usually there are two or three slots or holes in electrical sockets. The two hole electrical sockets are used for two pin plugs and three hole sockets for three pin plugs.

• Two hole sockets: These electrical sockets carry two wires one of which is the live or hot wire carrying alternating current from main AC supply to the appliances. The other wire is the neutral wire that backs the current from the equipment to the mains supply.
  
  
• Three hole sockets: In three hole electrical sockets, the function of two wires (live and neutral) are similar to that of two hole sockets but the additional or the third wire is earth or ground wire that grants electrical safety. In case of any fault in the electrical system, the ground wire ensures that the exposed conductive surfaces should be at the same electrical potential equal to the earth. This minimizes the risk of electrical shock if someone accidentally touches electrical device.

Electrical Socket Materials

Electrical sockets usually have either plastic or metal body.

• Plastic Electrical Sockets: Sockets with a plastic body usually have a separate ground wire to complete the lighting circuit.
  
  
• Metal Electrical Sockets: Sockets with a metal body often use the body of the socket itself as the ground connection.

Installing Electrical Sockets

Electrical sockets installation has to be done with all safety measures. It looks simple to use electrical sockets but it can create potential danger to the users if the wires are not connected properly. While installing electrical sockets, following points should be kept in mind:

• The Connection of live wire to the ground contact is very dangerous. The appliances conductive case is made live and it may cause death.
  
  
• If the appliance isn't earthed and a fault is occurred between the live wire and conductive case, then it becomes very dangerous.
  
  
• If the system has only a single pole switch and then live and neutral wires are swapped then it creates danger. It does not have any immediate danger but has the possibility of enhancing the risk of shock if anybody tries to work on the appliance without disconnecting it or if there is another fault.

Multi Standard Electrical Sockets

Multi standard electrical sockets have many incompatible plug types. These types of plugs are mainly used in developing countries due to lack of electrical standards. They are able to accept both 120 V and 240 V plugs. Due to a significant difference in the input voltage, the devices are more prone to damage by the wrong voltage. They have one or more earth holes to allow the use of 3 pin plugs. While using such sockets, care should be taken to avoid the use of incompatible voltage and grounding connections.

Certain devices that are best fit for use in these sockets are:

• Those devices or appliances which are designed to auto-adapt to different voltage and frequency standards.
• Those appliances or devices which do not require a ground contact.

Industrial and Multiphase Power(Electrical) Sockets

Industrial and multiphase sockets are used to provide connections to the electrical mains. The electricity used in these fields or industries is rated at higher voltages and currents than domestic plugs and sockets. These sockets are mostly used when there is a requirement of:

• More than two current carrying conductors.
• Polyphase power supply.
• High currents.
• Protection from environmental hazards especially from water.

Types of Electrical Sockets

There are many types of electrical sockets used for residential and commercial electrical systems including electrical wall sockets, floor sockets, extention sockets etc.

• Electrical Floor Socket: Floor sockets provide a stiff unit capable of withstanding most office and domestic traffic. These sockets are suitable to provide convenient power and data sockets in large sized open plan offices where wall space is limited. Lids in all sockets have spring mechanism which ensures that the lid remains closed when the unit is not in use.
  
  Floor sockets also provide an operative and exquisite suitable design that is able to improve both domestic and commercial environments. These sockets can be joined to underfloor trunking systems in domestic and commercial applications. They can be used in order to carry power, data and telecom services to different work stations.
  
  
• Electrical Extension Sockets: Generally the extension sockets are helpful to the needs of most customers. They can solve the problem occurred due to short cords of some electrical equipment. Extension sockets are used to provide power to the electrical devices and appliances. Almost all conventional extension sockets are equipped with a number of sockets for various plugs of different electrical devices. The sockets are two hole as well as three holes.
  
  Electrical extension sockets are made from two conducting strips that connect them with extension cord. They are positioned on the conducting strip holders in the lower shell and then covered and fixed by an upper shell. Then it has two rows of parallel plug holes.
  
  
• Electrical Switch Socket: Switch sockets are a type of extension socket that are used to provide power to different electrical appliances. These sockets are provided with several holders to assist more than one device at a time. The special feature in these electrical sockets are the added switches with each of the separate sockets. User can use each socket separately and switch of its power supply individually. There is no need of putting out the plugs out of the sockets.
  
  
  
• Electrical PLCC Sockets: Plastic Leaded Chip Carrier or PLCC sockets are used in electronic fields and applications. A PLCC socket is appropriate for use in surface-mount applications. These sockets may be surface mounted or it may use thru-hole technology. The surface-mount PLCC socket would be working with appliances that aren't able to withstand the heat involved during the re-flow process. They are generally used in the electronic-market and are not suitable for high temperatures.
  
  
  
• Electrical Round Pin Socket: Round pin sockets are simple electrical sockets used to provide electrical power to different electrical devices and appliances. The most peculiar thing about these sockets is that the holes in these sockets are round. So the plugs to be used in them must be rounded. These sockets are very popular and common in use. Generally there are three holes in these sockets but two hole sockets are also used.