This is a debate, not an argument, let’s be adults about this. [Insert political joke]
The Brits have undoubtedly the best outlets from a safety perspective, despite their size. North American outlets are garbage by basically all measures. European plugs are weirdly round, but very functional.
My two (€/100)s
I am going to argue Swiss type J.
It’s compact, safe, and easy to use.
Before anyone says UK I’m going to say they’re too bulky to be worth it. A usb charger for a UK plug is just so big and bulky that it’s not worth it. The Schuko plug falls into the same category.
If we are allowing future potential plugs I would argue for IEC 60906-1. It’s basically the same as Swiss type J but with very minor changes.
I definitely agree about the UK plug. I don’t know how to describe it, but it looks like a caricature of what a plug is supposed to look like.
Swiss is interesting. It lacks some of the inherent safety of the SchuKo style, but it’s also far more compact, while keeping most safety features. I guess it’s a good compromise, which is often the crown achievement in engineering anyways.
deleted by creator
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schuko
I’ve used many plugs and in my opinion, the schuko plug is the one that makes the most sense.
-
Reverse Polarity (can’t use it the wrong way, and you can turn it in case some power adapted is in the way)
-
also the symmetry makes it look more pleasing
-
only 2 pins stick out (the ground is in the body, 2 pins are a reduced area of failure in case you drop it.
-
very good and secure fit
This is my favorite too!
-
I’m always up for a bit of controversy. I like the basic ungrounded American plug (NEMA 1-15).
It has no safety features. Just about every American has shocked themselves with it once, but very few have done it twice. I like it because it’s compact, and that leads to some conveniences:
- It works great in folding designs for portable power supplies. I’ve seen folding implementations of Europlug and even British plugs, but they’re not as compact.
- It works great for ultra-compact splitters and many-outlet power strips. Yes, you can be dumb and overload these, but we have a whole lot of low-power electronics in the modern world such that it’s not hard to have a dozen devices each pulling less than an Amp. Multi-port USB power supplies are starting to mitigate this a bit.
- It doesn’t have shutters (by default), so it’s easy to plug things in. Every plug type I’ve encountered with shutters takes a lot of force and sometimes binds.
“Just about every American has shocked themselves with it once”
Um, no.
You haven’t? I guess most people I know were dumber as kids that you were.
Are you saying they shocked themselves plugging something in? Or putting something else into the outlet.
The plug itself is not really easy to shock yourself on, you’d have to intentionally try to do it by putting something behind it to bridge the pins, or have a broken plug or something, so that’s why I am saying this seems incorrect.
I definitely knew some dumbasses that would attempt to creat a power arc, but they were certainly not the majority.
It’s possible to touch the pins with your finger when the plug is partially inserted into the socket. It’s especially possible with child-size fingers.
Many of the other plug designs, like Europlug have half-insulated pins to prevent this.
Possible, sure. Easy? Not really.
Give it time.
If you don’t feel pain when stepping on Legos for whatever reason, the UK plug is easily the best one.
deleted by creator
IEC C13 socket with C14 locking plugs. Already ubiquitous in data center facilities. Rated for voltages between 110 and 250, so it works for any country’s common household current.
Oh yeah, and it’s been used since forever. IIRC there are Commodore 64 components with the same power cord as a modern-ass PC PSU.
Hey did you get that idea from the coffee shop thread? Someone was asking about weird outlets shown in a picture.
My answer for the question is obviously the UK standard.
My answer for the question is obviously the UK standard.
Also knows as the caltrop plug because it the damn things always fall spikes up and hurt whoever is trying to move through a room in dim light.
The correct answer is of course SchuKo plugs / CEE 7/7. If you check plugs used in the world you notice it has a huge spread of compatible plugs, as it can fit SchuKo plugs of two types and Euro plugs of two types. It also has all security features, including a raised ground that connects the ground before the power can come into contact.
It’s tough to truly pull favourites with power sockets - you just use what you got - but if I had to pick one that’ll be decreed to be used worldwide, it’d be this one. For sure. Note how the 7/7 variant has a lot of interoperability with other existing plug variations, too. It can for example use the french outlet-ground-pin, not only the german-style clamps, all with the same plug. Outlets can be designed to be compatible with swiss plugs, IIRC. Danish ones I’m not sure about, though.
Schuko and CEE pull out when pulled straight, and are annoying as fuck with vacuums and power tools so UK one beats them
The British style is the best for ELECTRICAL safety, but stepping on a plug barefoot will make you wish you carpeted your bedroom in Lego. You will vomit out your pelvis from the pain.
The European ones are overall better imho. Just because of the plugs that go in them.
Seriously I have both stepped on a British plug and been hit by a car and the car definitely did more damage, and the pain was worse in the long term. But the initial moment of impact was worse when I stepped on the plug.
Honestly USB-C. It is getting added to electrical outlets. Super small, basically impossible to get electrocuted being low voltage DC.
Works in every country.
Yeah but like, USB-C can’t power a washing machine
True but how often are you unplugging and plugging in a washing machine?
Generally speaking higher powered devices have a higher chance you leave them plugged in.
The smallest is the best. I don’t know which one is the smallest, but I want that one.
Probably NEMA 1-15, the ungrounded North American plug. Magic plugs are also quite compact.
L5-20 and L6-30
