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this post was submitted on 15 Jun 2024
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Local fusing provides notable advantages, even without ring finals. In particular, one failed appliance doesn't necessarily take out the whole circuit, and lower draw appliances can be more closely fused (e.g. 3A) reducing available fault energy.
It's not worth the trade off of the giant plug in my opinion. And local fusing doesn't really protect the user directly, it protects the wires. Modern codes in Europe put the equivalent of GFCIs on all circuits which can actually save lives.
GFCI will save people from direct shock , but won't always stop a fault from say starting a fire. Example a damaged wire arcing the live and neutral (not a dead short) won't trip gfci, there is no ground fault because the power is returning over the neutral as it should. And since it's just a partial arc short it's not going to draw enough to trip the main breaker so it can just sit there and get hot and catch fire.
Technically we now have AFCI to try and detect exactly that, but it's still relatively recent and generally very expensive to implement.
All that said, I prefer the g-type outlet simply because of the giant plug ensures a nice, proper, secure connection, and isn't shaped in a way that lends itself to being particularly damaged. Even if something lands on it, it's profile prevents it from being ripped out of the socket. Whereas the other socket types tend to stick out quite far from their socket and have a tendency towards being yanked out of it. Obviously I'm partially overreacting because I'm dealing with the absolutely fucking garbage type B Outlet I just want an outlet that will finally stay secure
To add, we upgraded our house from 100A to 200A service a little while ago, and one of the companies quoted an AFCI box. Was something like $15k, compared to like $3k for a much simpler setup (which left our existing 100A box as a subpanel instead of moving everything).
Also, I run 3D printers, and apparently those tend to trip AFCI.
This is why both (fuse+GFCI) are put to the line and located in the electrical cabinet.
Still not nearly as safe. Leaving it up to the home owner to replace the fuse/breaker for each circuit each time a device of a different amp requirement is used is very... naive? The manufacturer of the device shipping the item with the fuse that matches requirement is easier and safer. It may have been born from the ring mains requirement but it's much safer because of it.
Those fuses that can be changed by home owner themself have not existed in 20 years, all are automatic that you just flip from the panel. Fuse size is calculated based on the width of the cable, so if current gets too high the fuse just flips, so the cable doesn't melt.
Edit: as a counter part, if you plug multiple high usage components on same cable, the individual device/plug fuse does not blow, but the cable can melt inside the wall.
The wire from the plug to the device isn't the same size as that in the wall. So you can have a device cable melt and light on fire without tripping the main fuse. A fuse in the plug prevents this.
Your edit is assuming they're isn't a fuse at the central side. Of course there is a main fuse. And it is sized based on the limits of the wires in the wall
No, what they mean is that the fuse is rated for exactly only What that particular Appliance is expected to pull. Not what the circuit can handle. In my example the fuse in the main breaker isn't going to trip, because it's just an arc fault it's not a full dead short. It's not going to be pulling enough current to exceed the rating of the circuit. But it would be enough to exceed the rating of the appliance as long as it's not like a space heater or something
IIRC, the UK actually teaches kids how to wire plugs properly in school for that very reason. Or at least they used to.
What's wrong with a large plug? Surely it's better for people with mobility difficulties in their hands, like arthritis.
I'd argue the recessed nature of a type F socket and the guides on the sides are much better suited for aiding those people.
That is why many devices have built-in fuses.
Built in fuses protect only downstream of where the fuse is. The supply flex is therefore not protected, despite often being the most damaged part.