94
North American power outlets are topsy turvy - but does it matter?
(www.youtube.com)
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
this post was submitted on 28 Sep 2023
94 points (86.2% liked)
Videos
5696 readers
17 users here now
Neat vids from youtube or wherever. Rules later
founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
It’s been code in most places to have receptacles installed with the ground connector facing up for years now.
It’s just that most houses were built 60 years ago, and almost no one pays to have their entire homes electrical system inspected and brought up to code.
There is no such code in the US, so unless you're talking about the cec idk where you got that idea.
Technically speaking you're right. There is no true federal level law on electric code. But there is the NEC which is used by most states and most people would consider that the standard electrical code for the country even if that's not technically true.
The NEC does not have an article for outlet orientation. Some engineered jobs will spec it one way or another (eg. hospitals) but there's nothing in the code.
I think the video even mentioned that nec doesn't have an article on it.
Can confirm. I bought a brand new house in 2019. All my outlets were ground down and my house passed the electrical inspection.
A lot of electrical stuff which isn't allowed in new installations will still pass inspection in an existing property. Otherwise everybody would need to be rewiring their houses every time electric code changes. No (reasonable) inspector is going to make you swap all your outlets just because they're upside down. But if you are an electrician wiring new outlets then you would have to put them in the corect way.
Another big example of this is ungrounded outlets. You definitely aren't allowed to used ungrounded wire for any new instalation but if you own a house where ungrounded wire is being used then in most cases an inspector will not make you replace it as long as all the recepticals on it are swapped over to GFI outlets and none of them are in a kitchen or bathroom.
OP stated the house was built in 2019. That's quite new.
Ah. Somehow I missed that part in the all of 2 lines of text there. I am not the most observant aparently.
My best guess then is that outlet orientation just isn't part of their states electric code. To be fair I'm also not entirely sure if outlet orientation has even made it into the NEC or if it's just a best practice thing. It could also just be that their inspector didn't care. The few inspectors I've worked with always tended to not worry about the little stuff unless you did something to piss them off.
Outlets ground down is also a safer orientation with regards to 90 degree plugs as pointed out in the video, so it's honestly the better orientation for many applications.
Funnily enough my house was built in the 50's or before, and all the outlets...there are a couple that are inexplicably sideways Chicago style but the rest of them are ground lug up.
What "code" would that be?