Home Safety: Tamper Resistant Outlets

Home safety is always a priority. But, we sometimes go overboard. The 2008 National Electric Code came out with code for installing receptacles within your home that are designed to prevent electrical shock and other dangers. But I think kids can overcome almost anything.  Why should we get tamper resistant outlets or TRO? 

The first time homeowners use these receptacles they are very hard. You may need to put some muscle into it because it’s almost impossible to plug into them.  After you use a few hundred times, they start to loosen up. My wife broke plugs that folded back into themselves because they were made in China.  That’s creating a danger within itself by trying to force a cheaply made plug into a tamper resistant outlet.

Anything is possible within a home. Children can fall off a porch - whether you have railings or not.  Children can fall down steps.  You can’t stop that.  What are you going to do, put seatbelts on a toilet seat? Where do we stop?

I do agree with electrical safety. Electrical can be dangerous. Safety is #1 in my book. I want people to be safe over anything.  I don’t believe in underground wire without conduit.  It is code but yet, many people do it because it is cheaper.  According to code, you are supposed to place something on top of the wire like a self-cured piece of wood to protect the wire.  But if you are going to do that, why put raw wire in the ground like UF wire?  It is rated for underground, but it still could be damaged.  At 18”, somebody could dig a trench and hit the wire. Code requires some kind of protection above the wire.  If you are going to do that, why not use conduit to begin with and make it safe? If a shovel goes down, it won’t go through conduit. I know.  I’ve tried.

All my underground circuits are in conduit. It pays to do the extra work in conduit.  If you have a problem, you can always fix it. But if you have UF wire in the ground and need to fix it, it may not last. It may come apart over time.

Your home has to be safe.  It has to be safe from you not hurting yourself and not having problems in the future. The kind of safety I’m talking about is what some people call ‘simple stupidity safety’ or ‘common sense safety.’ Do you
• Use a drill standing in water? (I understand that most drills are double insulated but hey, let’s use some common sense.) 
• Change a light bulb in the shower?
• Stick your fingers in a socket?
• Fall off the steps of your porch?
• Ride your bike down a steep hill?

How are you being safe in your home?

Comments

[Robert Farbe]

I couldn't agree with you more!

Hire an electrician. You never know what a simple device is connected to or what is hidding behind a wall.

[Electrician]

Just a reminder: You should always consider hiring an electrician when adding any electrical outlets or wiring any fixtures. One loose wire, or improper connection and a fire could result.