Four Types of Electrical Plugs

Nowadays an electrical plug comes in various types and designs. There are normal plugs, adapter plugs, triple plugs, taps and many more. Every one of these can be used to aid you in your electrical needs. It is very important to follow the manufacture’s instructions when installing new electrical plugs, otherwise you may cause a short or get electrocuted. If you don’t have any electrical experience, buy the electrical plugs already affixed to the wire. This article will discuss some different examples of electrical plugs.

1. The Simple Electrical Plug

The most common type of plug is the simple plug, which is normally used for home appliances. Its technical name is “male receptacle” plug. Today you can also find a polarized version of this type of plug, which helps prevent shock, hence making it safer to use and also, there is no need to ground a polarized electrical plug. The longer blade found at the top is the ground blade, whilst the others are blades from which electricity passes. As mentioned before, simple plugs are used mainly for appliances but can also be used for certain power tools. Another application for a simple plug is to make a wired extension. The latter requires one male receptacle on one end and a female receptacle on the other.

2. Table Tap Electrical Plug

It is commonly know as plug-in strip (or plug-in outlet). The main purpose of a table tap is to increase the number of available electrical plugs through one power outlet in a safe manner. Table taps replace the common usage of putting various triple plugs (or cube electrical plug) in one electrical outlet, which is very dangerous to do because it creates electrical instability. Table taps come equipped with their own fuse, hence they are very safe to use. A table tap provides from two to six electrical outlets.

3. Multiple Outlet Strip Electrical Plug

A safer method to increase your outlet capabilities is by using a multiple outlet strip. These types of plugs are similar to the table tap but have a cord that can be inserted into the plug and has the outlets in a plastic box. They come equipped with surge protection, thus making them ideal for computer equipment. An important thing to remember in general is that a surge protected plug isn’t effective against a lightning strike.

4. A Socket Adapter

This is also known as a socket switch. A socket adapter is a piece of equipment that screws into light sockets for use as two outlet plugs whilst keeping the light socket functional. You can find models in which there is a small switch which turns off the bulb but doesn’t turn off the power outlets. Make sure to buy a socket adapter that works in your country because of the difference in the electrical power output.

These are a few of different models of electrical plugs available on the market. As you can see, there is one for almost every need.