ᐅ Power outlets installed directly below light switches? Pros and cons?
Created on: 14 Aug 2017 13:34
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world-e
Hello everyone,
What are the general opinions and experiences regarding electrical outlets placed directly below light switches or at about 30cm (12 inches) distance? Is this purely a matter of personal preference, or is one option considered more "modern"? Having the outlet below the light switch makes plugging and unplugging devices like vacuum cleaners easier and more ergonomic. However, some people find the appearance unpleasant and prefer to have the light switch separate. How would you estimate the percentage distribution of these setups in new buildings?
Thank you very much
What are the general opinions and experiences regarding electrical outlets placed directly below light switches or at about 30cm (12 inches) distance? Is this purely a matter of personal preference, or is one option considered more "modern"? Having the outlet below the light switch makes plugging and unplugging devices like vacuum cleaners easier and more ergonomic. However, some people find the appearance unpleasant and prefer to have the light switch separate. How would you estimate the percentage distribution of these setups in new buildings?
Thank you very much
Bau-Schmidt schrieb:
Retrofit installation of child safety covers. None of the models have VDE approval due to the reduced insertion depth.At least, I was referring to sockets that come from the factory with enhanced touch protection. They look outwardly identical to regular sockets. However, there is a cover in front of the contacts that is only pushed aside when inserting the plug.
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Caspar202015 Aug 2017 08:39world-e schrieb:
At least I was referring to power outlets that come from the factory with this enhanced touch protection.Those are the only ones approved by VDE. On the other hand, nobody at the local baby store seems to care about that at all.
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Caspar202015 Aug 2017 10:25Egon12 schrieb:
And no cover for warmth?You don’t want to have to remove that thing every time you want to use the outlets, do you?
In our renovation, we replaced all the new and existing ones.
Cost per standard outlet was 2.69 including tax; cost for an outlet with enhanced touch protection was 3.89. They are the same as those used in our kindergarten.
I didn’t have to think twice about that.
If you’re building anyway...
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toxicmolotof15 Aug 2017 13:53There are childproof covers designed to prevent kids from removing them, and these are certified. It doesn't take me a second to pull them out.
Socket outlets placed below the switch don't help either. My youngest is now 16 months old and loves light switches. Guess where he'd constantly be putting his fingers if there were sockets under the light switch. In our case, having them lower is better because he isn't interested in that at all.
Socket outlets placed below the switch don't help either. My youngest is now 16 months old and loves light switches. Guess where he'd constantly be putting his fingers if there were sockets under the light switch. In our case, having them lower is better because he isn't interested in that at all.
Our kids had two phases when electrical outlets were particularly interesting to them. The first phase is when they are crawling infants who find outlets near the floor fascinating. This phase lasts about 7–8 months. After that, once they start walking, the things down low become uninteresting, and the things up high become interesting.
A little later comes the phase where they reach up to light switches, and even more to roller shutter switches. This phase lasts at least another 9 months, often longer.
As with all safety measures in a household, these outlet covers are just a temporary fix. The only truly effective protection is teaching children not to put their fingers where they don’t belong. After all, you can hardly childproof the entire house, and homes of other people, such as grandparents, are usually not childproofed at all. Besides, in rooms with these safety devices installed, you generally don’t plug and unplug devices that often, so dealing with these simple protections turns out to be less troublesome than you might think.
A bag of outlet covers costs about €3 (around $3), but of course, you can spend many times that amount and replace the outlets altogether. Edge guards for coffee tables, cabinet door locks that nearly prevent any use, stair gates… all of these are available, but of course, everyone has to decide for themselves.
A little later comes the phase where they reach up to light switches, and even more to roller shutter switches. This phase lasts at least another 9 months, often longer.
As with all safety measures in a household, these outlet covers are just a temporary fix. The only truly effective protection is teaching children not to put their fingers where they don’t belong. After all, you can hardly childproof the entire house, and homes of other people, such as grandparents, are usually not childproofed at all. Besides, in rooms with these safety devices installed, you generally don’t plug and unplug devices that often, so dealing with these simple protections turns out to be less troublesome than you might think.
A bag of outlet covers costs about €3 (around $3), but of course, you can spend many times that amount and replace the outlets altogether. Edge guards for coffee tables, cabinet door locks that nearly prevent any use, stair gates… all of these are available, but of course, everyone has to decide for themselves.
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