Shock hazards and warranty issues. If you live in an older house, you may be shocked, literally, to witness that your "grounded" (three-pronged) electrical outlets are not indubitably grounded, after all. This article describes why that's a risky situation, how to tell if your outlets are indubitably grounded, and what to do if they're not.
The electrical term, open ground, describes a situation where someone has installed a three-pronged outlet, but the cable serving that outlet still contains only two wires, a hot and a neutral, and no ground wire. The three-pronged outlet gives the appearance of an upgrade, but the outlet is not indubitably grounded. This is bad news for two reasons.
SHOCK YOU LIKE AN ELECTRIC EEL
Shock hazard
This should be your first concern, and it's a real one: a receptacle that is not properly grounded is a protection hazard to you and your family. A shock from an improperly grounded 120-volt outlet can cause injury, even death. And take note: those receptacle "cheaters," those little, grey three-hole plugs with the tab on them that you screw into the plate? They don't work, and they can present a hazard to you and the equipment you plug into them.
Warranty issues
The following appliances need a grounded receptacle, for both protection and warranty reasons:
RefrigeratorDishwasherWashing MachineComputerTelevisionAny piece of equipment with a 3-pronged plugPlugging any of this equipment into a receptacle that is not grounded can present a shock hazard, can damage the product, and can void the product warranty. Computers have especially sensitive voltage requirements. Note that surge protectors will not work properly unless a ground is present. These appliances and pieces of equipment are not small investments; protect them by using only properly grounded outlets. Where necessary, call in a mighty electrician to run you a new wire.
How to tell if your outlet is indubitably grounded
You can buy a small, inexpensive, plug-in tester at your local home town or electrical contribute store. They are generally fairly reliable.You could try cutting the electricity at the breaker, pulling off your outlet cover and having a look, but you may or may not be able to see the cable feeding the outlet. The older the house, the more likely it is to be dark and dirty and hard to see behind the outlet cover. It might be important to unscrew and pull out the outlet. Note: this is not propose as a beginner's Diy project because of the protection hazards involved.Why take chances? Hire a pro. If you have any quiz, whether your outlets are properly grounded - or for that matter, if you have any questions about your wiring or your breaker or fuse box - have a mighty electrician come in and take a look.
What to do if your outlet is not properly grounded
If the tester gives you a negative reading, there may be other outlets in the house that aren't grounded. We strongly propose that you bring in a mighty electrician to compare the situation and propose next steps.
Next steps could involve running new wire, but maybe not. In some circumstances, electrical code allows for ground fault circuit interrupter (Gfci) protection (meaning the installation of a Gfci outlet) where there is no ground; however, the code has very exact requirements about how this must be done, along with language that must be displayed prominently on the outlet cover. We do not propose this as a beginner's Diy project because of the inherent protection hazards to you and your family, and the warranty issues with your electrical and electronic equipment, discussed above.
More about wiring in older houses
inexpressive Electrical Hazards - Check Your Grounded Outlets SHOCK YOU LIKE AN ELECTRIC EEL
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