Info about underground outlets

The topic of safety is something that electricians will often be discussing. Why is this so? First, electricity is volatile. It's possible to harness it. It's possible to cause harm, property loss, or even death by a little amount of misuse. Two, the misuse we're referring to is pretty common. It is one of those complications we want to speak about today: ungrounded electric outlets.

You may have seen many unground outlets, but you never thought of it. In a typical home, you will see a three-prong configuration. Two are longer openings that run up or down, and the third creates an almost circle under the first two. It is the smaller one on the bottom that is most important as it makes the outlet "grounded."

If the outlet were to fail, such as an overload or transient charge, the grounding wiring on the appliance will send that charge "to earth" or into it. The outlet simply ignores it and sends it away.

An example of this is an underground outlet, If there is no grounding wire, the overload would be a "two-prong arrangement". This means that an overload would not have anywhere to go, except into the nearest current source, either the appliance itself or into the air in your home, which can result in a flame.

Ungrounded outlets remained the norm until the mid-60s. You could find them in any home. They weren't able to handle the rising electrical demands of homeowners because they were a risky hazard, they were removed in favor of the new-standard grounded outlets. In case you are wondering, ungrounded outlets also exist but are up to code.

Is it hard to replace ungrounded outlets

The process is very straightforward from an electrician's perspective, as long as the wiring in your house is in good condition. This project is one that should be handled by an electrician because it involves direct contact of potentially dangerous wiring. However, the process is usually very quick and inexpensive.