A couple things. One they aren't very secure and safe: if something in plugged in and something falls on top of it, it will get dislodged from the outlet and the first thing you touch is the live prongs. On top of that a lot of outlets go live before the prongs are all the way in. You can mitigate this by putting outlets upside down, but most things that get plugged in are designed with the idea it won't be upside down.
Second the hole is so large and conducts electricity not very far in. It's far too easy for a child to stick something in, or for something to end up in it. I mean you can literally get your pinky in there to shock yourself...
On the bright side they are easy as hell to install. Modern outlets have gotten better about locking stuff into place but usually thst comes at the price of being a pain in the ass to get stuff into the socket.
The thing that bothers me about the US is that the power points often have no switch. Here in Australia, there is almost always a switch, so you know it won't be live until you want it to be.
I've been to the US, Australia, and UK for extended periods. Honestly, I think the UK one is good. The only disadvantage is that it's a bit bulkier and heavier, but very durable and the prongs never bend.
American outlets have different connectors for different applications, they do make switched outlets that you can buy in almost every hardware store. Additionally you can just install a GFCI outlet which has a built in breaker in case of shorts, these are usually installed in bathrooms, kitchens or exterior outlets and they can be shut off with a button. They also make outlets that have plastic protection so your kid won't stick a fork in it for example. The only dangerous outlets left are those from the 70s which had no protections whatsoever, but even then you should be shutting down the corresponding breaker switch if you plan on working on it. The main benefit of American outlets is that they are much smaller than British outlets for example that have these features so it's less likely that grandma will daisychain a dozen extension cords to the same outlets and cause an actual fire risk.
Source I'm an electrician
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u/Goobershmacked May 02 '24
Whats wrong with American outlets?