5d ago

Why do so many UK electrical sockets have an on/off switch next to them?

They're like that in this apartment we're renting and I keep seeing them elsewhere. I don't get it.

254 comments

To turn them on and off.
- Fair enough

To turn things on and off.
- Big if true.
  
  Massive if correct
- I remember when I was young and bending down all the time was a thing you could do painlessly. Ah, youth.
  
  Have you tried using your toes?
  
  I can still bend down ok, but getting back up off my knees however….
  Smart plugs are awesome!

To turn shit on or off

I present to you my favorite YouTube person:
The GFCI/RCD, a simple but life saving protector:
https://youtu.be/ILBjnZq0n8s?list=PLv0jwu7G_DFU62mIGZNag5vQ0a6tDGBpO
In defense of the Switched Outlet:
https://youtu.be/2DGqVbTHX-k
Electrical topics playlist:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLv0jwu7G_DFU62mIGZNag5vQ0a6tDGBpO
I could just watch this guy all day lol
- I expected Technology Connections or ElectroBOOM, was not disappointed.
  
  One teaches what to do, the other teaches what not to do.
  ElectroBOOM keeps me alive sometimes, and Technology Connections told me how to properly use a dishwasher.
- A fellow human of great and distinguished taste I see

the UK power grid is weird. mostly due to echoes of the war. used to be that, to save copper, the entire house and sometimes multiple houses on a street would be wired as one big loop of wire, no fuse box or anything. that's where the individually fused plugs and switched sockets come from. then, since it turned out to be quite a good idea for safety, they kept doing it.
- This is the answer. When all sockets are connected to one big loop, there's fuses in each socket to prevent a device from screwing with the whole system.
- This isn't strictly true. Most houses built between WWII and the '90s were built with sockets that didn't have switches on them. It was only later safety regulations / suggestions that made the switches preferable.
  Where I live was built in the late '80s right before switched sockets became more common. All the original sockets have no switch. Some in the kitchen have switches, but it's clear these were added at a later date.
  I'm not sure of the exact rulings and where and when a socket must have a switch, but you can still find switchless sockets for sale at the sorts of retailers who sell those sorts of things, so there are definitely places where those sockets are still allowed.
- The old Ring Circuit
- When I bought the apartment I'm living in, the previous owner had refused all modernisation, even legal ones (he had mental problems), so the appartment had the original 1 hot wire going everywhere, you just "tapped" off power where you wanted to to ground. 1959 era.
- eastern block solution to copper shortages was to wire houses with aluminum instead of copper. this avoided all that bizarre bullshit that brits do, and in principle it's a good idea since aluminum is used for big time power distribution as well. this worked pretty well until it was noticed that under some conditions hot spots can form on connections over time, requiring replacement of connectors. it's still legal to use aluminum wires in some places, but copper is more common now
- Why are people saying this?
  I've lived in multiple UK houses and never once seen a socket with a fuse. Are you saying this was change way way back in the day?
  All houses have fuse boxes (which then got upgraded to circuit breakers). Not one fuses in sockets. Would be a fucking nightmare to take the socket off and change a fuse.
  
  The fuse is actually in the UK plug (the big brick-like thing with the wire on it), not the socket. But yes, it's a thing, and most of the rest of the world considers it overkill. Also a lot of cheap junky equipment (ironically the stuff where you'd most want the fuse) omits the fuse in the plug, go figure.
  
  sloppy wording, i meant "switched sockets and fused plugs".
- Sorry but I'm going to need a source on that because there is no evidence of that being the reason UK plug sockets have switches
  Other countries have switches on their sockets, Australia being one because I live here
  Switches on sockets do make a ton on sense though for safety reasons for example if you need to quickly isolate electricity from the switch and the breaker hasn't done anything
  Switches also prevent arcing when you pull out a plug if an appliance doesn't have an off switch and you can switch something off that you use commonly say a kettle but don't unplug because you use it commonly so theirs less chance of an electrical fault happening while no one is there and its also the same reason I'll demand an isolation switch be installed on electric stoves just incase the dail on the stove fails and the stove turns on
  
  looking for a source is not hard. anyone can do it.
  switches are not required by the bs1363 standard. the provision for them only arrived in the 1960s. there.
- So that switch will trip like a breaker?
  
  No - there's fuses in the plugs themselves, the switch is largely for convenience and safety - if you want to unplug something broken and potentially live, it's much safer to switch it off at the wall than risk a shock given the current limit is on the breaker is so high

Allows you to remove power from the plugged in device without unplugging it. This provides convenience to easily and quickly turn things on and off and prevents arcing when unplugging. 240V 13A can arc a bit, particularly if unplugged under load, or on older sockets where the contacts have worn. While a little arcing doesn't do much damage immediately, over time it will cause pitting and make a high resistance joint that will generate heat.
The switch only disconnects the live terminal, but the neutral terminal should be similar potential to earth (depending on how the building is wired).
Truly the king of plugs and sockets. The plugs are individually fused according to the device needs, ergonomic to use and exciting to stand on.
- Allows you to remove power from the plugged in device without unplugging it. This provides convenience to easily and quickly turn things on and off and prevents arcing when unplugging.
  That's exactly what I do, because it's more convenient than unplugging everything.
  I live in South Africa, where we had rolling blackouts (called loadshedding) for a few years. It's easier to switch everything back on when the power comes back than to plug it back into a socket without a switch, especially with my fucked up spine.
  The electricity in the place I live was done poorly, so having something plugged in "live" risks a surge or something and then the appliance gets fucked and then everything smells like burnt plastic.
  And that's the best case scenario. Others have had housefires.
  Also, the South African plugs aren't pleasant accidentally to step on. It won't pierce your foot, but it can still hurt like a motherfucker for a few seconds if you step on it in the wrong way.
  Those UK plugs do look a lot more nasty to step on. I shudder at the thought.
  I like the EU and US two prong cables ( 🔌?) where the prongs are parallel to the cable, but not the cables with the orthogonal prongs.
  
  I like the EU and US two prong cables ( 🔌?) where the prongs are parallel to the cable, but not the cables with the orthogonal prongs.
  Non-grounded plugs aren't that great, though, and once you add the third prong the plug gets much less flat. Compare:
  
  Maybe Italy and Chile have the best idea in terms of slim grounded plugs, although the lack of polarity might be a problem?
  
  Also, IMO right-angle plugs are often better than straight ones because you can put furniture closer up against them and do so without stressing the cable.
- exciting to stand on
  Thanks, I hate it.
- Makes sense, American lie voltage (outlets) are 120V. 240V is considered high voltage and isn't typically fed into residential units. Plugging anything rated for 120V into a 240V outlet is gonna be a bad time, and is why the outlets for high voltage are shaped differently.
  I was gonna guess that the switches were too negate so-called vampire power, which is when a truck's of electricity flows into appliances that are normally off. IMO that trickle is so negligible in a residence that is 6 effectively irrelevant, but that's just here in the US. I don't know anything about foreign electrical systems.
  
  240 is used all the time for furnaces, driers, and increasingly EV outlet connections.
  It's just all our "normal" stuff is 120.
- How many devices do you have that don't have a switch on the device itself?

So we can turn the power on and off.
Why else would you have a switch next to a power socket?
- Most of the places in the world I have been to do without them, or at least did when I was there, so it confused me. But some people have given good explanations now.
  
  Open one up. There's also a fuse connected to the live wire. The amperage is dependent on the normal draw of the appliance. Just added safety features. Also the live and neutral holes only open up if you put the earth in first (that's why it's longer). British plugs are arguably the safest.... Unless you leave them prongs up and step on it accidentally. That makes stepping on Lego feel like a shag carpet.
- The real question is why did the UK decide that on the outlet itself is the best place for that switch, as opposed to e.g. in the US where outlets are sometimes wired to a switch located next to the door to the room?
  
  Switches located next to the door are for lighting, as opposed to switches on the socket which mean you can fully turn off your rice cooker without unplugging it. We do sometimes have sockets in the UK with the switch at the door, but they are usually a different shape socket that is designed for a lower current and is only intended to be used for floor lamps.
  
  Do you have individual switches for each plug socket / outlet wired next to the door? That seems like it would take a lot of wiring, and need a lot of switches.
  The room I'm currently in has six double sockets spread out around the room. They each have one switch per socket like in the post's image. If they were wired back to the door, they would need a lot more wiring, and one of the two entrance doors would have to be chosen. You'd then have to walk to that door every time you wanted to turn something off.
  It seems like a lot more work for no real benefit.
  
  So you don't get confused which outlet the switch turns off.
  
  Having a switch next to the door would be useful if you're using that socket for a lamp but not if you're using them for anything else. In my kitchen the sockets for my under counter oven and fridge are under the counter and the switches are above it so I can easily access them.
- Why can't you just unplug it? If you have to go to the socket anyway... maybe I don't understand because I've never lived with the convenience?
  
  It's easier to flip the switch to turn it back on than to fumble with the plug. You can get a variant without the switches if you don't like, or simply leave the switch always on.
  
  Depends on the device.
  Something like a vacuum, sure. You're probably going to move it around anyway.
  But I used to have a Spectrum computer, and it had no power switch. If you plugged it in then it was just on. Much simpler to power off at the switch than unplug it and risk the plug falling down the back of the table into a rats nest of cables.
  Plus I guess it's one more step a toddler needs to do to electrocute themselves...
  
  Lots of wall warts suck down 5w unused. I could see this being nice
  
  Even if you unplug it, the socket is still live at more than 200 V.

This is virtually standard in Australia
- Depending on who built the house, it's the standard for a "good" house in Ghana, Nigeria, Zambia and I think Kenya.
- It is standard in NZ

UK household electricity is pretty spicy compared to many other places - it has more safety features as a result. (3 pinned fused plug, socket switches etc)
- Isn't it just 230v 50 Hz like most of the world?
  Apparently around 65-70 % of the world population (with access to electricity) has 230v 50 Hz.
- How is it more "spicy" than anywhere else in Europe?
  
  A lot of dodgey wiring.
  
  The many other places is the US
  
  I was mainly referring to almost all of the American continent(s), lots of Africa, China and a few other places too. I didn’t think I’d mentioned Europe.
- The rest of Europe has 220V as well and they don't have switches on their outlets.
- I have been with 110v plenty of times used to wire houses in my youth. Been hit once with 220v knocked me on my ass for 3 days. I stopped being so cavalier after that I wish they had those outlets vs the midevil outlets the US has.

I like them, personally. You don't have to use them but they are sometimes handy. I just spent 30 seconds feeling around a TV to turn it off only to discover it doesn't have buttons. Killed it at the wall.
It's not a deal breaker, in any case. The weird foreign convention I would like to shame is doors that require a key to open from the inside.
- I usually see keyed from the inside locks when there is glass in/near the door to prevent someone from breaking the glass, reaching in and unlocking the door.
  
  Can’t that be prevented by safety glass instead? Doors that need a key to open from the inside risk trapping people inside the building.
  
  If a burger is gonna break the glass, a keyed lock isn't going to deter them. Unless it's like only a tiny glass window on the door.
- The weird foreign convention I would like to shame is doors that require a key to open from the inside.
  Huh. Where have you seen those? Seems dangerous.
  
  They're used where there are windows close enough that, if broken by an intruder, the intruder would be able to operate the lock.
  The better solution is, of course, to not use such doors.
  
  We mostly just leave the key in them unless I'm going on holiday.
  If somebody is going to steal my stuff while I'm away, I'm going to make them work for it.
- I just spent 30 seconds feeling around a TV to turn it off only to discover it doesn’t have buttons.
  Ugh. That annoys the shit out of me. Our dog chewed up the TV remote when she was a puppy, but only got to the power button. But since the TV had no physical buttons, we couldn't turn it on and off anymore until we got a new remote.
  
  I have an old android phone I keep around because it has an IR LED on top and I loaded it with a few free universal remote apps. They all work offline and it's come in handy so many times.
- The weird foreign convention I would like to shame is doors that require a key to open from the inside
  You can't lock yourself out with those
  
  But you can lock yourself in. During a house fire.
  
  You can burn to death, though.

"so many"?
isn't it all of them?
- i live in malta, we inherited your plugs and sockets. Never seen one without a switch over here. Til
- No not all of them.
  Source, I was born here.
- All of them in the UK.

Americans don't have this???
- We do have ground fault circuit interrupt (GFCI) outlets, which are required when a socket is within a certain distance of a water source but can be installed on all outlets if you want. They have a little breaker inside that trips automatically if it detects a problematic difference in current flow.
  They're not on/off switches but you could press the "test" button on the outlet to break the circuit.
  I've also seen some whole outlets that are switched on/off from a light switch elsewhere in the room. Those are super annoying because there's no required indication that they work that way so you get to find out for yourself.
  
  In my little Eastern European shithole, GFCI relays are required for any apartment or house, installed to the incoming power main. Is that not a thing over there?
- Not just Americans. You won't even commonly see them in mainland Europe
- most places don't. it's a very british empire thing.
- Not that I have ever seen.
- We just don't unplug anything ever. We usually have an room that's on a wall switch near the lights.
- Nope. We're also on 120v so that could be part of it.
- Sometimes we have specific plugs that are wired to a wall switch that can be used to turn those specific outlets on and off. All the examples I know of are for standing lamps, so they can be turned on an off like ceiling lights.
  I've only seen this a few times, including my current house.
  
  It's been code for a long time that every room must have a switched lighting source, and before recessed lights became more common or if the original builder didn't put a ceiling light or wall sconce, you'd have a switched outlet for a lamp. Typically it's only half of one outlet though, unless your house was wired by a crackhead like mine.

As any cautious parent could tell you, these are helpful when the toddler starts sticking things in places where they don't belong. Such as metal cutlery. In the power sockets.
- Don't toddlers start pressing buttons even earlier? Not sure this alone could protect them
  
  True, but this is at least a little safer
- This isn't the reason.
  The switch is more likely to attract a toddlers attention. Some have little red lights even. It would be false sense of security at best. You can get those plastic blank plugs to stop your kid putting a fork in there.
  The switch is so, if you kid is being electrocuted by putting their fork in the toaster, you can turn it off at the wall without having to touch the electrified kid.

Kind of off topic, but I've just gotta add that the safety shutters over the positive and negative terminals that only open when the ground pin (which is longer than the others on the plug) is inserted up top is brilliant, it basically makes short circuiting impossible. Electrical outlet design is one of the few things I'll concede the UK does better than the rest of the world.
- I too am relatively envious of the UK's outlet design, I only hate how bulky and foot destroying they are.
  
  Yeah, I can only tut and shake my head when non-Brits complain about stepping on Lego.
  
  I'd like to think Australia has a nice middle ground design to their sockets/plugs without the foot destroying bulk. Still get the shutter variants for bathrooms too.
  
  Tom Scott has a video all about the UK power outlet plug and socket and it's an engineering marvel. The switch is just one feature.
  
  Maybe, but with the switches on the sockets, I hardly ever unplug anything at all unless I'm moving it. Why would I?
  So pretty much every time something's unplugged, it's in my hand or away in a cupboard, never lying on the floor.
- the safety shutters over the positive and negative terminals that only open when the ground pin (which is longer than the others on the plug) is inserted up top is brilliant
  The US is catching up in that regard, at least, with tamper-resistant (TR) outlets being mandated by the NEC since 2008.
- It's balanced by light switches being outside of the bathroom, which I absolutely hate.
  
  You can have a pull cord in the bathroom or a switch outside, as I understand it
  
  I'm currently renting an Airbnb where the bathroom fan switch is in the living room, two rooms over

Great for turning off a device or several devices without having to unplug (e.g. if the sockets are behind a bookcase, this is much more convenient). Not a super common need but when it saves moving furniture it helps. Given that UK switches are tougher to plug in and unplug than most (due to safety features), I prefer using a switch. Also, the switches are cheap and give more options, so may as well!
I rely on one for a light where the switch broke and wasn't easily replaceable, so being able to fall back on the mains switch meant I can keep using the light.
- It’s not about having a switch it’s about having the switch right next to the plug instead of next to the doorway (where it usually is in the US)
  
  You have a switch for your electrical sockets by your door? What a weird place to put them all.
  We have our light switches by the door. Much more useful.

Safety, easier to switch things off without unplugging them. Why not have one if it's more convenient? Not all of them have switches though.
- It made a lot more sense when things didn't have their own power switches but....what does that apply to anymore? How many devices do you own that are powered off exclusively by unplugging it? Why pay for the manufacturing time and material to add a switch if nothing uses it anymore?
  
  There are still times where it's convenient. I have some display cases with integrated lighting and the inline switches are incoveniently between the case and the wall so its super handy to turn it on and off at the plug.
  Being able to turn things off at the plug also reduces standby/phantom power when things are in sleep, which for some devices adds up more energy usage than you'd think.
  Sometimes when people go on holiday for two weeks they like to disconnect the electrical items in their house for safety. With switched sockets you can just turn them off instead.
  I'm sure I could live just fine without switched sockets, but it's convenient they are there.
  
  Fridge, washing machine, dishwasher, television, phone charger, robovac dock, lamps, computer monitor, aquarium pump... I could go on.
  It's not strictly necessary, but it's a convenience.

I like the integration of the switch, should be standard. I use many switch plug-ins just to avoid stand-by consumption (it really adds up over the year) and to avoid high pitch humming on some devices.
YSK: there's also remote controls for these switches, very handy
- I'm not an electrician, but wouldn't remote control imply that something still remains on standby? So that it can receive a wake-up signal, if nothing else.
  
  Indeed so but the power draw is very miniscule.

also small child/baby protection.
- But who will protect the big babies?
- How does the switch protect children?
  
  if it is a small child it is assumed that the joint probability of both turning on the switch and inserting a fork through the holes is roughly the product of probabilities of each (therefore lower than each individually), i.e both events are independent.
- Children love playing with the switch, so I'm not sure how that's supposed to protect them.

Being a uk person its cause they can & its also in to building / electric code. Its just a switch that breaks the live leg, stops sparking when plugging in stuff.
- Your sockets spark when you plug something in?
  
  I've definitely had that happen to me, sort of at random, in the U.S.
  But it doesn't seem to have any effect. It's not like a gigantic spark and it's pretty contained.
  
  No, unless something is very wrong. I don't know if that was maybe a bigger problem with older devices though. I remember being taught to turn the socket off before plugging things in or taking them out when I was a kid
  
  All will if there is a load. Doesn't matter ac of dc or even load. Plug an ethernet cable in and there will be a spark.
  Most of the time the spark is tiny and you need a good lab to measure it though.

No one seemed to mention the important fact that UK and I think most Europe is a higher voltage than the US. Tom Scott as well as Technology Connections have some good videos on the whys and differences it causes.

Everything you'd want to know about British wiring and my introduction to Tom Scott:
https://youtu.be/UEfP1OKKz_Q

That's to make up for how incredibly dangerous they are. /joke

Safety and convenience versus the cost of including them, I expect.
The Wikipedia page for BS 1363 says they're optional and weren't added to the standard until 1967. I can't recall having seen a domestic socket without one.
But it seems the only legal way to read the actual standard is to pay for it, and even the HSE website isn't much help.
- So basically, this concept was invented by a committee.
  
  Yes. Welcome to the UK. You will need to adjust to small aggravations such as this. Good luck.
  
  Yes, but what's your point here? "Oh no, someone preserve us from... checks notes a group of subject matter experts!"?
  If that annoys you for some reason, you'd best not learn how the overwhelming majority of products and services see the light of day. Rage aplenty awaits.

when any electricity leaks out (for example through your body) it switches off. the eu also has the same system, but its one switch for your entire house. the us also has this but only in bathrooms.
- These aren't automatic switches, but other people explained the reasoning.
  
  oh, according to electroboom they were gfci.
- GFCI circuits are required by code around sinks and the like. Bathrooms, kitchens, utility wet rooms, etc.
  You can relatively easily install them anywhere you want though.

Having grown up with it I missed those tbh. Makes saving power easier lol
- Does it? Can't you just turn off the device instead?
  
  yes.
  Im from the states and live in Ireland. Here, people unplug lamps when they leave for the weekend. Dozens of times, I've had to plug lamps back in when coming into the office over a weekend or things like Christmas break.
  I've also had to explain to at least 5-6 people that something that does not draw power by being plugged in, such as a toaster, electric kettle or light fixture (unlike a computerized device that has a stand-by mode) is not "wasting power" unless you unplug it or turn the outlet switch off.
  I had a person at a party tell me their father was an electrician and taught her to turn the switches that lead to anything such as lamps OFF when they're not being used because it costs electricity to "keep the wire charged". True story.
  Mainly they exist because there weren't central fuse boxes for a while due to wartime copper shortages.
  
  A lot of devices can be turned off, but they still use power. So you can waste electricity even though the devices are "off".
  Things like normal table lamps aren't the problem, it is stuff like TVs, computers, stereos, etc.

in America many houses have the on off switches with the lights on the other side of the room for lamps etc

I thought that's building code, literally never seen any other outlets in the UK, as well as in Malaysia where they adopted the system. Though why it is or became code, I've no idea.

All plug points in India also have (regular sized, not these tiny ones) switches to control them
- Huh, it's interesting- Here the power switches are a similar size to the UK, so when I searched up a picture of the Indian switches I thought they were ridiculously giant, not like regular sized UK/Australian ones
  I guess it's just whatever you're used to is the 'regular'.
  Are light switches the same? What happens when you have a lot of switches together, like six or eight? Do you just have really wide banks of switches?
  
  They usually look like this though
  
  The one closest to the plug point controls it
  
  Yeah there are cases where you have to take a sharpie or a label to know which ones are which when there are too many switches all setup together

Not positive but those could be GFI outlets.
- All modern wiring in the UK has every socket in the building connected via RCD (the more common name for GFCI outside America), but they're usually in the main fusebox/consumer unit rather than individually per socket. These are just normal on/off switches for the convenience of being able to turn things on and off.
  
  That's a convenience we could all use, pretty crafty!
  Saw a video of how the Japanese wire their panel's and thought it was pretty genius.
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqClY6PDCW0
  Is it similar across the pond? Or is it like here where you can GFCI the panel through a breaker?
- That's what I thought at first, but it's literally every socket in this building both inside the apartment and outside in the hallways, and I keep seeing it in other buildings too.
  
  Yup, they are the standard.
  Would be fun to see some stories about you discovering things in the UK and how they are so different than in the US!

at least in part it's an end result of decades of crud and tech debt, so to speak, accumulating in british power grid and home wiring. they do it this way because otherwise it won't be safe. continental euro home wiring usually has thicker wires, residual-current circuit breakers and no ring circuits so we get away without fuzes and switches, and with smaller plugs that don't become caltrops. sometimes we do have ring circuits kind of thing, but not in house wiring, instead it's in medium voltage distribution grid, and it's sized so that it can serve most of loads after single failure.

We got wm in Australia as well.

For safety I guess?
- I don't get how that makes it safer.
  
  So when the dumb person tries to insert a fork in the plug, they don't die electrocuted.

Edit: The usage and benefits are the most obvious ones that you would imagine
- If they were obvious to me, I wouldn't have asked about it in No Stupid Questions.
  I apologize for being stupid if that's what you were wanting.
  
  You're good my friend. I'm sorry for seeming judgemental!

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