How Do Wall Sockets Provide Electricity to Homes?
The most convenient inventions are the ones we take the most for granted, and wall sockets are one such invention. They are an integral part of the system that powers up our homes and provides juice for our favorite gadgets. You can find electrical outlets in every building and home nowadays. But have you ever wondered how these bad boys provide electricity? In this brief, we will try to answer this question by discussing how a wall socket works.
The Anatomy of a Wall Socket
Hot terminals
The hot terminal of an outlet is the part that is connected to the hot wire. This wire feeds the electricity needed to power your device into the hot terminal which is usually located on the right side of the switch. The hot terminal is the one that connects to the right prong of a plug. Hot terminals are easy to identify because they usually have a brass color.
Neutral terminals
The neutral terminal is usually located on the left side of the plug. It is connected to the neutral wire from the breaker box. This neutral terminal sends the used electricity from the hot terminal back to the breaker box after it has gone through the connected appliance. The neutral terminal usually has a silver color making it easy to identify.
Ground terminal
The ground terminal is the safety measure in place to protect you from an electric shock. This terminal is connected to a grounded wire. Under normal circumstances, the ground terminal is not used at all. But a wire can get frayed, or the insulation can get removed.
This can result in the electricity running through the body of your appliance or the switch’s casing if the wire comes into contact with it. When this happens, and the electricity from the hot wire takes an unexpected route, the ground terminal reroutes it to the ground wire. This way, the current goes through the ground wire instead of your body in case of contact.
Jumpers
Jumpers are small metal parts that connect two terminals. This way you can get electricity in two outlets from one wire. This jumper can be removed if needed with pliers.
Removing the jumper allows you to power each outlet from a separate source. You can also remove the jumpers to control each outlet using a separate switch. It is important to note that once a jumper has been removed, it cannot be put back in most outlets.
What are Polarized Sockets?
A polarized socket is a type of socket that only lets polarized plugs be inserted in one orientation. This is usually accomplished by having different-sized holes in the outlets so the plug cannot be inserted the other way around. The neutral socket hole is usually larger, and the hot one tends to be smaller in size.
The benefit of polarization is that it allows you to build the switch needed to turn the socket on or off into the hot wire. This way, the internal circuitry of a connected device is not “hot” while the socket is turned off.
Final Thoughts: How Do Wall Sockets Provide Electricity?
So how do wall sockets actually provide electricity? Well, electricity comes in from your home’s circuit board via the hot wire. These wires transfer this electricity to the hot terminal of the outlet. From there, it enters the connected device through the right prong of the plug.
Once it has been used by the device, it goes back to the neutral terminal through the left prong. The neutral terminal then transfers it back to the circuit board of your home through the neutral wire. This simple yet ingenious process helps power all your devices.