I prefer ground-down for most outlets. I like the practice of reversing to ground-up for switched outlets. That's how my builder did it. Sure beats walking around the room with a lamp to figure out which one is switched.
Yeah, but, I have outlets in my living room where the bottom outlet is connected to a wall switch, so I can turn a lamp on or off by the wall switch, and the upper outlet has constant power, like where we plug in a clock or Alexa device. Something that we do not want to be affected by the wall switch.
I prefer a color change for switched receptacles, but inverting the orientation is a common practice. The problem is that of only one plug in the receptacle is switched, then you still have to guess which half is switched. Colored faces address this problem as you can get receptacles with only one outlet colored.
@@robb0995 Electrical standard practice. outlets that are split and one half is switched, the switched should be on the top half. I have been doing that since the 70's when I started the trade as I was taught.
The way the electrician in our new construction home did it, the ground faced up only on outlets controlled by a wall switch. Makes it easy to tell which one is controlled by a switch in the room.
That is exactly the way ALL of the new homes are wired that I have looked at here in Southern California in the last 20 years. It is so common that I have assumed there is a local code that specifies ground down UNLESS it is a switched outlet.
Ground-down for three (more*) reasons: 1. Most plugs with grounds are shaped for your thumb to be flat on top as your index finger wraps around the bottom, making your index finger more likely to touch the bottom prong(s), 2. Electrical outlet extenders (especially the ones with usb ports) now come with a shelf on top to lay your cellphone on and are oriented for ground-down outlets, and 3. In case of flooding, you'd want rising water to contact the ground prong first. * I wanted to mention 90-degree plugs favoring ground-down outlets, but you covered that.
Our entire house was wired with the ground up, and I had never seen this done before. At first I didn't think much of it, but in the 5 years of living here and using the plugs I have found it to be a pain in the neck, since most things that need to be plugged in are manufactured for ground down. Case in point, my son got me a small wall outlet air purifier for the kitchen and because of the plug being ground up the purifier had to sit upside down and wouldn't hold into the plug. So I just flipped the power off and turned it around so I could use it. It's been like that for so many things. Now as I renovate different rooms I take that opportunity to flip the plug orientation because it just doesn't work for us.
Most commercial equipment with 90-degree plugs arranges them for the ground pin to be on top. This is also the case with commercial equipment for which receptacles are preinstalled: consider, for example, the General Electric GE1LU532SS RV Outlet Box. And, of course, modern medical facilities almost invariably use the standard ground-pin-up orientation: see IEEE Std. 602-1986 (Electric Systems in Health Care Facilities). In other words, when it counts, the ground pin orientation matches that specified in the drawings in ANSI/ NEMA WD 6-2021, _Wiring Devices-Dimensional Specifications_ (2022-02-22) and recommended by the the National Electrical Contractors Association's National Electrical Installation Standards (NECA 130-2010) and IEEE Std. 602-1986 (Electric Systems in Health Care Facilities). In residential installations, it's more of a free-for-all, driven more by aesthetic considerations (laypersons seem to prefer the "unhappy face" look of a NEMA 5-15R receptacle) than anything having to do with sound engineering or safety practices. The domestic appliance marketplace responds as you'd expect, prioritizing customer demand above all else. It's also worth noting that upside-down NEMA 5-20R receptacles look less like "unhappy faces" than upside-down NEMA 5-15R receptacles, but for historical reasons, homes tend to have far more NEMA 5-15R receptacles than NEMA 5-20R receptacles -- even on 20 A circuits, so the inertia of the "unhappy face" style of installation continues to dominate. If a certain plug orientation is incompatible with an appliance's intended application, it doesn't automatically mean that the receptacle's orientation is "wrong." However, if the easiest solution is for the receptacle to be installed upside down, then by all means, install it with the equipment ground pin down, but that doesn't imply that, as a rule of thumb, all receptacles should be installed that way. There's a lot of folk wisdom masquerading as informed opinion when it comes to receptacle orientation. More examples include horizontally installed receptacles having the equipment ground hole on the right (popular in Chicago, Illinois) and installing only switched outlets with the equipment ground pin up. As far as I know, there is nothing in any electrical code that requires either of these practices. (Please correct me if I'm wrong.).
Anything that mounts directly on the outlet, such as a nightlight or similar device, is clearly made to prefer ground-down orientation. Same with appliance cords, such as refrigerators. The overwhelming majority of outlets I've seen in my life are installed that way.
Exactly. While there is some logic to ground upward, nearly all right angle plugs are designed for ground downward (I’ve used a few that could be adjusted, but those plugs are not cheap). So I still install ground downward.
I have been working on electrical wiring about 65 years. I usually go ground down with the 3-pronged plugs. I have never dropped a tool or any other metal item across the hot and neutral leads. It is better to go ground down for most plugs to reduce stress on the wiring, since most 3-prong plugs are set up for ground down. We had a number of plugs that are ground up in our home. A few I have changed to ground down. I hope the NEC continues to allow the option of ground up, down or sideways. I have a box of new electrical parts. If I find a loose duplex receptacle, I replace it. That is a matter of safety. Thank you for your video.
This is an ongoing argument. I find that ground up secures the plug better since the ground pin tends to be more snug and less likely to rock like the two spades tend to do which in my experience tend to sag more often when ground is down.
@@davidzamorano3339 Your wrong it's never been in there. want me to send you my 2011 code book. I have code books all the way to 76, it's never been in the code.
@@stevieg.4816 There are probably numerous NFPA 70 examples of "public input" regarding this topic that didn't make it into the first draft. It might be interesting to see the reasons for and against such nonsense.
When I was in school for electronics I was taught the ground goes down because the plug could come loose and with the ground down it will be the last connection to disconnect. With ground up and loosening condition will disconnect the ground first giving you a potentially dangerous false sense of security.
I've also heard something similar, but about how people tend to pull plugs out; generally towards themselves (out and up if the outlet is below, out and down if chest level or higher), though I don't know if it makes much of a difference
From another perspective, your three prong plug comes out/loose more easily with the ground on bottom. As it becomes loose, you now have a hot and neutral exposed. 3 prong plugs with ground on top are more stable and do not come loose as quickly, and if/as they do, the hot and neutral get pushed into the receptacle even further exposing the ground only. In my opinion, if there is any potential of and of the prongs being exposed, I would prefer it be a ground.
I’m a portrait artist and I installed outlets into my studio. (I got help from my electrician friend) I had the ground down 😮 because the eyes should be on the top and the mouth on the bottom. 😊
This is the correct reason. Why would anyone want the face upside down? That seems demonic, like in those movies when holy crosses get turned upside down.
When ground is up, just the weight of the cord will, over time start to pull plug out. With ground down the ground actually provides a base for plug that keeps the cord from pulling out. Particularly with heavier cords.
As an electrician.. that comment is the dumbest thing i have heard .. ground down keeps the cord in tight.. unless your plug is 5 feet off the ground and the cord is heavy and even then plugs dont pop out like that.. how about you choose a plug and use the heaviest cord you can find and observe and take a picture every day for comparison .. you are going to be doing that for a long time.. no science in your statement
i believe exactly the opposite is true the best grip is on the ground plug and it makes contact first and i have seen first hand a piece of aluminum foil on a kitchen counter short out across the hot and neutral with ground down so it is much safer
@@darryll13 replying due to the dumbest thing ever heard - that seems unnecessarily rude. ☹️ The outlet he was demonstrating on was very loose, why he was replacing it. It clearly looked very very loose me. I see heavy extension cord plugs sagging and on occasion that is the answer to why doesn't this Outlet work.
I just addressed this on a different thread. Let me first comment that what is most common (ground down) all too often is the most influential factor, but not necessarily "the best". Let me explain. I welcome the opportunity to give my own two cents concerning one detail. While it is most common to see recepts oriented ground side down, "A LIFETIME (more than 60 years!!) OF USER EXPERIENCE" has taught me the opposite to be the most functionally advantageous in TWO ways! #1 it is MUCH easier to align a plug for insertion with the ground prong on top, especially in poor light! #2 and most important, heavier cords remain fully inserted MUCH better with the ground prong on top!! This is especially true with recepts that are no longer "brand new". I'll stand by that the rest of my years!!!
All of the outlets in our house are ground facing down. I noticed that when I plug a polarized night light in, it is right side up. If the ground were at the top the night light would be upside down.
@@UFO4X I feel ya . really do. But that "ground up" is for safety . it really shouldn't matter which way it's plugged in so just grind off the fat ended .
I'm so glad that I live in Australia. All our outlets are installed ground down. In the case of a downwards pull on the plug, it's most important that the earth (ground) stays connected. That said, our plugs don't tend to pull out of the outlets, probably because of the angled active (hot) and neutral pins. The active and neutral pins on all modern plugs are also insulated for about half their length. If they do pull out, they disconnect before the bare conductor is exposed.
54 years ago when I started as an electrician I was told always ground down because most plugs have ground down. This way there's less tension on the chord.
Ground down just seems to hold cords in better. Like it's resting on the ground, and not so easy to pull out the top. Ground up all the pull is on the one pin...
The only time I'm a put a ground on top or on the side when hanging a TV just because the plugs on a TV some lay flatter with the outlet upside down or on its side but besides that I always put the outlet with the ground facing down
When I play chords on my guitar I like tension between the chords. Makes the music more interesting. I just need to make sure there is no tension on my amplifier cord.
48 yrs ago when I started an electrical apprenticeship here in the UK, the square pin plugs were the criteria for new installalations, now not much has changed since I left the trade a few years after qualifying as a JIB(Joint Industrial Board) approved electrician, but according to the latest IEE regulations (Institute of Electrical Engineers) I am not permitted to even wire up a 3 pin plug apparently in 2021, yet in my last years in the trade, I was mostly troubleshooting problems with electrical faults in commercial and private property installations. However when I moved into my current home nearly 20yrs ago, it still had the original 1950's wiring in most of it, with an old wooden fusebox with porcelain rewireable fuses in it, only the kitchen and the cellar rooms had modern post '73 wiring. I rewired the house apart from those 2 areas, which I checked in accordance with regulations, and found them complying with insulation and earth tests with the regulations, apart from the colour of the insulation on the wires, I found no other faults, I installed a new fusebox with RCDs(Residual current devices) on each circuit. I left the old box mounted on the board to remind me of how things used to be, it is not connected to the mains, I think the latest installation guide requires ELCB's(Earth leakage Circuit Breakers), but I won't be fitting those as it is a disproportionate cost in regard to minimal extra safety, and I'm not allowed to do it anyway, so would have to call in an electrician. Yet politicians without medical degrees can tell me to wear a nose/mouth mask which cuts my intake of oxygen, and lowers my body's onboard immunity system to the detriment of said immune system; oh the hypocrisy in this modern world! Such is life.... The earth pin is on top in the UK, it's standard, and most plugs have the cable to the appliance coming out the opposite end to the Earth pin.
When I was a new home sales person for a national builder, the ground up plug indicated it was controlled by a light switch in that particular room. Helped you quickly identify where to plug in your lamps.
@@jcagy2 or you're like me and just moved into a house and nothing is labeled. I have 5 switches that don't do anything as far as I can tell. They also repurposed a switch when they added outdoor lights, so the half hots in the living room are just always dead. So, ya, it would have been nice to have little indicators like this.
I've read the comments and it would appear that most viewers prefer GROUND Down. I'm 70 yrs old and am a traditionalist, so I also prefer Ground Down. But I don't believe it's the ground pin that should be the issue but rather - Neutral (White) on the left and Hot (Black) on the right. The issue is polarized plugs on things like wall warts, night lights and right angle molded plugs. All are designed with the wider blade on the left when properly oriented. Don't fight established convention.
We have this problem at the hospital. The commercial electricians in Facilities install ground up. Most of our equipment has low profile plugs that are ground down, so we end up with cords that are oriented up the wall instead of hanging down. In my opinion, this causes a dangerous condition because of the extreme curve it forces into the cords.
Im 30(1991), my dad is 55(1967) and my grandpa is dead but would have been 85(1933)... The house I live in has been handed down from grandpa to dad to me... The house was built in 1967 same yr as my dad was born. I just looked and ALL of my plugs are 3rd hole facing up... Idk why but they are...
@@alainchristian I actually lived in a HUGE OLD house that was built in the late 1800's. The house was converted into apartments in the 1940's. Also the same time the first electric was installed into the building. Anyways, I remember the outlets where actually IN THE FLOOR! I shit you not! At first I couldn't find them because the carpet had them completely covered up!. I had to cut holes in the carpet to get access to the plugs. I had never seen anything like that. Haven't seen anything like it since either 😆 Pretty interesting tho..
Working in NYC, we always installed receptacles ground up for the reason given in the video. It will prevent an arc flash or fire if something falls onto a plug and the breaker fails to trip. I always thought that was actual code until I escaped the people’s republic of NY and found that everybody where I live now are odded out when they see ground up. I read up and found an article in a psychological mag that pointed out people like ground down because it resembles a face and faces make people happy. Just my experience with this topic.
When I wired my new house back in the 80's I failed the electrical final inspection because I installed my plugs with the ground down. The state required them to be installed ground up ( they have since deleted the requirement for ground up). After I passed the inspection, I went and changed them all to ground facing down
@@user-xh1kz7rm4j Might be. When I moved 20 years ago to a house down in rural TN, one of the first things I did was go around and swap all the outlets to "ground down", due to 90 degree male cord ends on so many appliances.
@@user-xh1kz7rm4j I live in a southern state and every house I have been in have been ground facing down; and the houses range in age from brand new to very old.
Ground-up makes more sense to me from a safety perspective, but I always install outlets ground-down because so many plugs and transformers--like the quick-90 plug you demonstrated--are designed for gound-down installation.
I have a bunch of 90 degree three prong adapters. In an outlet installed ground-up, that means the adapted cord plugs in from above rather than a more normal below.
@Almost Average ? The point is, in a ground side up wall plug, the 90 degree adapter ends up facing up, were it will be more prone to stuff falling into the holes. Also, ANY cord you plug in is going to have a rather severe bend in it because instead of a 90 degree downward bend, it now has to make a 180 degree downward bend. I don't see where the country of manufacture for any electric cord makes a difference to this fact of geometry. It has everything to do with the universe of adapters that plug into wall sockets assume a bottom position for the ground wire.
When I'm doing commercial, like hospitals, we use metal faceplates. I always install those ground up because the faceplate can come loose. If a metal plate drops, it hits the ground. I've actually seen a plate weld because one was done ground facing down but that was close to 30 years ago. I install 20 amp ground up in residential such as garages just because that's how I was taught. Same thing for switched receptacles. 8-)
Here in Puerto Rico, 90% of wall outlets are oriented horizontally. I this case, we put the ground to the right. The logic behind this is that if weight/gravity acts on the cord, the live side of the prong will be disconnected first. On the other hand, any outlet that is oriented vertically, we put the ground down so that if weight/gravity acts on the cord, ground is the last prong to be disconnected, preserving safety to the user. The odds of something perfectly catching the live/neutral prongs on the cords are very low!
In my opinion, if NEC isn't making a recommendation after this many years, there must be a consensus among the rule makers that it truly doesn't matter and there is no significant safety reason to pick one option over the other.
@Charles, or it could simply be a scenario where half of the members want up and the other half want down, each with advantages and disadvantages, and no consensus is possible in this scenario.
@@returntonature8773 The real risk is with metal cover plates on duplex outlets. Old fashioned attachments used the center screw for the ground or support, resulting it being loose or missing. When the metal plate drops, excitement or disaster. This problem doesn't occur with Decora style receptacles or simply using a plastic cover plate. Once you eliminate that risk, the very slight improvement in safety is overwhelmed by the significant decrease in safety from plugging equipment in upside-down. Every wall brick and GFCI plug expects a happy face orientation.
Never paid attention to this before. Just did a walk around and all the outlets I looked at were oriented with the ground down. I always thought the were arranged that way to help hold the plug into the socket by providing support for the weight of the cord pulling down on the plug.
I was trained by my grandfather who was a master carpenter and a member of the Masonic Lodge in Altus, Oklahoma. He told me that ground should always be down as part of a safety issue - keeping the cord from coming out of the socket. He also explained that if the outlet will not hold the plug of whatever you are plugging in, that either the outlet is old and needs to be replaced, or the plug does not meet up to code for that particular outlet and to replace the plug. He was a very smart man.
If you are using a grounded plug you will notice that the "ground" pin is always slightly longer. The reason for this is to make sure that the ground pin always makes contact with ground first while inserting the plug and is always the last pin to disconnect to while removing the plug. This ensures that you as the user are always protected from you accidentally being the ground yourself and getting a shock, if there is a faulty cord. That being said however, the receptacles need to be properly connected to a good ground internally. Therefore, it really does not matter which way the receptacle is facing because it is impossible to make contact with Hot or Neutral before the ground when inserting, or losing contact with ground before the hot or neutral when removing. I think that's how NEC gets away from actually making it code to have them installed in a particular configuration. I do understand that this does nothing for the 2 prong plugs, but then that's another discussion of why Arc Fault and GFC's or GFCI's are great things to use.
With the ground pin up, I have actually seen the ground pin pull out and lose contact causing an "open ground" connection due to the leverage of the cord. I've seen it quite regularly actually in the work environment in which I inspect.
At least from what I've seen in Arizona, all of our outlets are ground down EXCEPT for outlets controlled by a wall switch. Those outlets are ground up so that it's easier to tell which outlet to plug your lamps into.
I started as an electrician 48 years ago and the reasoning then was if you pull down on the cord with a ground up plug the ground pin can come out while the hot and neutral are still connected leaving you with an ungrounded appliance. So we always did ground down.
100% personal preference, and I've never heard of anything ever falling into an outlet as you describe. Ground up has been said to hold the plug better but appearance wise it looks better ground down and that has never caused a problem that I know of. So I always do ground down unless a customer specified otherwise.
I won't give you a vote in this manner however at 72 years of age and dealing with this issue for a long time I can tell you what i have been taught . The " ground lug " is there for a reason and should be the LAST thing to come un-plugged so this lug or prong must be on the bottom . If and when the cord gets pushed or pulled down this prong will the still serving it's purpose . As for you comment about something falling across both prongs if the grounding prong is on the bottom , the circuit will be protected because the grounding prong is still in place and doing it's job. I think your fishing for thumbs up !
If something conductive lands across the blades of a plug in a ground-down-oriented outlet, it becomes a matter for the gfci/breaker/fuse protecting the outlet, the _plug's_ ground lug's connectivity (or even lack thereof) is irrelevant.
I've always installed plugs with the ground on the bottom. Most plugs are designed for that configuration, especially the low-profile plugs. They are all oriented so the wire immediately proceeds in a downward manner. I don't buy the safety issue, as it is a rare three-prong plug that DOESN'T fit snuggly. I should mention that I am from Canada and I've heard that in the province of Quebec, they prefer the ground to be in the upward position. Even knowing this, when I renovated my home in the Gatineau Hills of Quebec, I insisted that all the plugs be installed with the ground down. I think Quebec is bucking the norm because, well, basically, that's what they love to do. If English Canada does something one way, they want exactly the opposite . . . just because. I hear they're thinking of changing the driving lanes to the opposite side, like the U.K. - just because. I'm kidding, of course . . . but just imagine the chaos when crossing the border between provinces. Ha-ha!
It could be argued that ground up makes stresses in the cord where it leaves the outlet greatest in the ground wire, making an open ground the most likely cord failure mode. I've never known that to happen, though, and I will be 70 next month.
Forty + years ago, I was told ground down. Most damage to plugs and sockets occurred when someone stepped on the cord near the outlet and the ground prong would be the last connection out (safety). Since then, grounded cords have had the ground prong lengthened, so it doesn’t matter anymore. I like them installed the old way, l think it looks better and I always install switched plugs ground up.
My grandfather (an electrician for over 30yrs and even worked at "ratscat" military radar base) would always install ground up. He said it was to prevent something from having the chance of falling between the plug and outlet shorting it between the load a neutral (like a metal picture frame or a metal service sign etc
That's actually a damn good argument. Seems like stuff never slides down a wall and hits an outlet but duh, easy to see that happening. I'm sure someone has made little top shrouds for shop outlets. Or maybe you use recessed outlets. Actually I suspect the reason for ground up is that if something strikes the plug or someone steps down on the cord pulling the plug down, the plug gets rotated into the power blades keeping them secure. The ground will get pulled out first which is a concern but in some situations losing power is more of a concern.
I worked in a soda factory for a while as a maintenance mechanic and the plant electrician taught me to go ground down for most residential situations but ground UP for commercial situations when the outlet faceplate was metal for the reasons mentioned at 3:30 in this video. It seemed like an unlikely scenario even when he explained it to me 30 years ago and it still does. I haven't done any commercial wiring since then but I always go ground down in my home.
@@nealkeach4367 It's hard to take such a maxim seriously without hearing the reasons behind it. If anything, hospitals have a compelling reason for the ground pin to be on top, and if it's good enough for the hospital, it's good enough for your home.
Put it the way you wish. I'm almost 40 years in industry, taught by someone who taught Edison. His saying was, if you have to bend down. Ground down. If you can stand up to pull the plug, ground up. Humans have a bad habit of not pulling cords out straight. Usually bending the ground prong and breaking them off when they are ground prong up when the are low pluggins
When I was taught back in the early 70's it was taught to us to have the ground lug down so if the cord sags and hangs down, the ground lug would be the last one to pull out.
Ground-down has a safety argument I was expecting you to present - if the top half of your plug comes out, with ground-up, you have an ungrounded plug, which people will use unsafely. With ground-down, you have a disconnection, which you will fix immediately. This seems like a much more likely scenario than people dropping screwdrivers or butter knives along the wall.
What about all the sheet metal pieces people store in their houses along the walls? Anyways, just looked around my house quickly and the vast majority of things that are plugged in don’t even have a ground on them, except or two power bars that are designed with ground down plugs on them.
This was a rule before plastic covers were used. It was installed this way for appliance dedicated outlets that had a grounded plug. If a metal cover came off and yes they did come off it prevented it from contacting the hot and neutral.
In many commercial installations such as an office environment, it is very common for a paper clip, or staple to fall off of the edge of a desk. The staple/clip could fall onto the blades of an inuse outlet with a cord-cap partially removed. If the outlet is installed ground down the clip could easily cause a short across the hot & neutral blades. Ground up it would simply roll off the blade and continue safely to the floor with no problem, and go completely unnoticed until someone walks around barefoot. Also, most medical facilities will use the ground up installation method for the same reason.
When I started my Electrician career back in 1993,the Journeyman that I worked under installed the outlet ground Down.That is how I have installed them since....
Back in the day, when I worked as a Leadman Yacht Electrician, for Atlantic Yachts, I installed outlets with the ground up, because the ground pin is longer than the blades, and the plug held them more securely in the outlet. If the plug sagged, the blades were forced into the outlet. When the outlet ground was down, the plug had a tendency to sag downward, exposing the hot and neutral. Maybe new outlets were looser in the seventies. I don't know. On occasion, the yacht owner would have me turn the grounds down, which I was happy to do because the customer is always right!
@@sleazybtd If you are a regular household: paper end over the top of the roll. If you have cats, paper end out the bottom. Why: cats slapping at the roll to make it spin will roll paper out on the floor the “regular” way. Rolled out the bottom, they can paw at it and spin the roll, and the paper stays put.
When I went through school to be an electrician, they taught us to put the ground up, or if the outlet is sideways, face the neutral up. They also said it isn’t a requirement so don’t get bogged down over it if a job wants it the other way.
In Florida the the ground up outlet is controlled by a switch or switches on half of the outlet is controlled and the other is not. Ground down is a normal outlet. In Michigan we had no such rule and so you needed to figure it out by checking each plug. Its a smart idea. Makes it simple.
Some appliances have the cord where they angle down, so if you plug them into an “upside down” outlet, the wire goes up in a big loop and then down, instead of neatly close to the wall with a normal outlet.
My dad is a licensed electrician. Unless there is a specific reason to be installed ground up, his standard orientation is ground down. His reason for this is that should that outlet become weakened in the future and a connected cord sags, the ground prong will remain secured due to physics. The odds of something falling in the tiny gap and tripping the breaker are lower (and only an annoyance) than the odds of someone being turned into the ground themselves when unplugging a loose connection.
Always ground down. Mostly this is for consistency as ground up is the universal indicator for switched outlets. One can enter a room and immediately spot the plug that is connected to the light switch by the door. I have also seen ground up where a 20 amp outlet has been introduced to a 15 amp room. Keep up the good work with these videos. The more consistent we all get the easier it is to work in an environment that other (possibly many other people) have previously worked.
@@druegillis1744 My late uncle was also an electrical engineer and worked for the City University of NY for many years. I learned a lot about electricity and working with switches and receptacles from him and inherited a number of tools from him before he passed away four and a half years ago. He didn't have any preference which way the ground faced as long as the outlet worked.
Would love it if they made receptacles with ground up on top and ground down on the bottom. With so many 90 degree plugs and wall warts out there, it would be incredibly useful.
That would not work because the neutral prong is wider than the hot prong. This is called a polarized plug. If there were holes for ground prongs both above and below there would always be one way that would be impossible to plug in.
I had heard that ground up was the intention because the ground pin gave better mechanical support to the cable. Having said that, every home I've owned in Canada has had all outlets with ground down.
When I was a child, virtually no residences had grounding receptacles. I did see them in schools and stores, and my Dad explained function of the prong. Though all two-prong receptacles were polarized, most citizens never noticed. Then came the 1980s. Lamps in particular would only plug in one way. The polarization safeguard had been there all along. Here in the northeast, new construction always had the ground prong down. I never knew there to be a "correct" way -- it's just what I always saw.
As the company electrician for a sawmill that was under construction, I got to choose ground up or ground down on the reciprocals. I chose ground up because the ground on a plug is longer and must go in first. With the ground down you may not see the mali or female parts and have a little trouble matching those parts. The receptacle has beveled guides for the hot and identified blades.
To each his own! I just notice my ground prongs break off on my cords much easier when they are plugged into a ground up recepticle vs. a ground down so I go with ground down.
Ground facing down adds more support to the plug itself of vertically mounted receptacles. However its a totally mute point for receptacles mounted horizontally.
When I'm in Mass. many places have ground up and I was told it was a state or local code to install this way. I like the European Schuko plug where ground always makes contact first and the plongs are always shielded by the recessed face of the actual outlet. It is almost impossible to have shorts across the terminal as when the plug is pulled out far enough to reveal the prongs they are already disconnected from the power. US Codes are somewhat behind on outlet safety.
When people plug things in, they often have their fingers touching the plug on the bottom, and if it is ground up, you will get shocked. I've never dropped anything on a plug slightly unplugged where it would short. I ALWAYS make sure the appliance is fully plugged in.
This is what I've taught my guys for the last 30 years... A smiley face saying, "Oh, you've done such a good job!", instead of a guy with a bullet hole in the forehead.
I was an MEP Supervisor in a Hospital. We were required to install all receptacles with the ground up. When I did commercial, industrial, and residential work we installed them ground down. Receptacles were also tested monthly with tension gauges during electrical preventative maintenance. They were replaced if they failed tension testing.
Used to be we installed all outlets with the ground down, unless it was in a room that was controlled by a wall switch, then we would install that one ground up so that the homeowner would know which outlet was controlled by the switch and it was usually just a two-prong table lamp going there anyway so it worked out just fine.
I dislike the practice of upside-down plugs for switches because It is unprofessional to be inconsistent. It's the wrong solution to the "problem". You should install receptacles that are marked as switched. Such as www.hubbell.com/wiringdevice-kellems/en/Products/Electrical-Electronic/Wiring-Devices/Straight-Blade-Devices/ConstructionCommercial-Receptacles/DR15C1WHITR/p/2608245
Most anything that you'd plug in (ie night light or the plug in this video) that itself has an up/down orientation, needs to have the ground down, so it can be in its upright orientation. I prefer ground down because 1. I have never seen the situation where something falls on the prongs. 2. That's what breakers are for. 3. You shouldn't be using outlets that are weak and can't hold a plug. 4. Ground up the weight of the plug pivots on the bottom two prongs leaving only one point of contact (the ground) on top to hold it from sagging. Ground down the weight of the plug pivots on the bottom ground, leaving two points of contact (the prongs) on top to hold it from sagging. Thus the ground down is stronger and will last longer.
I have. In our hospital, with stainless steel face plates, and ground down, an appliance that was not fully plugged in (human error) it happened that the face plate fell on the hot/neutral and caused one hell of a bang, complete with sparks. Why was the SS plate loose? Poor maintenance, but it happened. One in a million chance. Yes, it blew the breaker and no one was hurt BUT all the stainless steel face plates in the building, hundreds of them, were changed out to plastic. It happened. I couldn't believe the perfect storm that caused this . . but it happened.
Just for fun. When I was a junior in HS a penny had fallen off my nightstand and just happened to land in the gap between my alarm clock plug and the outlet. No real damage other than a charred faceplate and outlet but the breaker saved any further damage. Another 1-in-a-million. ;)
@@stu_164_minitruckin You're right, 1 in a million. Thats crazy, and the breaker did its job. Also had someone noticed the plug sagging from the outlet, prior to the penny incident, THAT would have been the time to change the outlet and inspect the outlets in the rest of the house as chances are they are all about the same age. I suspect in your case only that outlet got replaced.
In my house, they are installed horizontally in the baseboards. I prefer the ground on the bottom when they are installed vertically. It works better with cords that have a profile plugs. If your plugs are falling, the outlet should be replaced.
When grabbing a plug to disengage it from the electrical outlet, a person’s index finger generally reaches around the bottom of the plug. Therefore, their finger would be more likely to come into contact with the ground plug rather than the live prongs. In addition, many household items like lamps, chargers and timers are oriented for plugging into a prong-down outlet. GFCI electrical outlets are also meant to be installed ground pin down, as they feature text on the test and reset buttons that orient in this way.
The advice I once received was that for residential - ground down, for industrial - ground up. I liked your take on being able to distinguish between switched & unswitched.
I prefer gound down for two reasons: 1) You know which way to install a plug even when you can't see the outlet, like when it is behind a couch, bed or desk 2) having the ground down tends to help hold the plug tighter to the wall when the cord is pulling it down. This being said, I follow the "practice" of ground up when the outlet is switched, so you can recognize a switched outlet. Also, when only half of the outlet is switched, I follow the "practice" of having the switched side on the bottom..
@@sunstyle52 The holes are just for a bar to hold the prongs in a straight line during production. The receptacle normally clasps behind them further on the prongs.
We bought a house in Arizona that all outlets were ground down, EXCEPT the receptacle attached to a switch to turn on one receptacle. Like you mentioned at the end! haha
@@donhurst8459 Thats how all new homes are built near me now here in s. Florida. Im talking 600k+ homes and all the switched outlets are upside down. Looks so stupid to me
ok , I didint read 5000 coments on this , but as an electrical contractor from california I installed quit a few of this in the last 40 years. you are right about you explnation regardind ground prone on top or butom . the only time we put grond on top is in hospitals .for the resone you mention.residential, comercial and industrial ground prone on the boutom.
Same here. My house in Ohio and my house in Arizona both have ground down unless that outlet is controlled by a wall switch then the switched outlet is identified by being installed ground up.
Klein Tools is premium electric tool manufacturer. Their outlet testers are designed to be easily read if ground is DOWN. Therefore, ground down is preferred installed method.
I've always installed ground down. I'm not an electrician but have been doing electrical work around the house since I was 13, I'm now in my late 30s. I also like the idea of using ground up to signal switched outlet.
Great video, thanks. A few years ago, in the bathroom, I did drop a metal necklaces and it shorted the outlet and made a mess. Also the GFCI never tripped. I think the ground up would have been better for this incident. For myself, I put the ground up in utility areas(Attic/Garage) and for places that are finished and visable, I put the ground down. The biggest reason ground down is so that people don't keep telling me my outlet is upside down.
The GFCI is not meant to trip for that condition (hot to neutral short). Secondly, if the ground was up and you dropped a necklace on it, it's flexible and will likely still contact the hot and neutral blades in addition to the ground pin. Or the ground and hot blade... Same result.
@@FunWithBits the neutral and ground are connected to the same place at the panel. The difference between them is that the neutral carries current in normal operation and the ground only carries current when there is a fault, specifically called a ground fault. Hot to neutral, or hot to ground short should trip the breaker unless the necklace provided enough resistance that the current flow doesn't exceed the breaker rating (or a faulty breaker or federal Pacific stab lok breaker which is notorious for not tripping at it's rating) which is entirely possible. GFCI is designed to monitor the current on the hot and neutral conductors and trip when the difference in current on the 2 conductors is around 4-6 milliamps. A sample scenario would be, you are energized by the hot conductor on a frayed wire and touch the sink with your other hand. The GFCI sees that current is flowing somewhere that it shouldn't be (through you to ground) and trips. A GFCI does not protect against a direct short between hot and neutral or hot and ground, that's the circuit breaker's job. GFCI doesn't need the equipment ground conductor to operate as intended. Only monitors the difference in current flow between hot and neutral conductors.
@@IrrationalBstrd Got it. Thanks for the clarification. I was thinking it would help in this case but it sounds like since they are tied together it wouldn't qualify. It's good to know how this stuff works and do things correctly and safely. Off topic, I'm surprised they trip with so little current... that is pretty good as I know 4-6 ma is very small.. but then again it only takes 10-50ma (just did a quick google search) to be dangerous. Thank you again for taking the time to share and reply.
My VoEd teacher used to say to us, "Ground down" and it's stuck with me ever since. And like others said, Night lights, Air Fresheners all like to have things correctly oriented. Plus, NFPA/NEC doesn't care as long as you get the polarity right.
I recently purchased two: Square D X Series 125-Volt Tamper Resistant Duplex Decorator Receptacle Outlet, 15 Amp, Matte Black, from Amazon. They are marked "TOP" with ground up. Our home was constructed with most duplex receptacles ground down. There are some exceptions, where they were installed rotated 90 degrees with ground to left and some to the right. I installed the new Square D receptacles with ground to the right. All the rotated receptacles were in locations where vertical was not an option, due to limited space. So, as the saying goes, the plot thickens.
I usually see ground-up on outlets that use a metal cover like you often see in commercial buildings, schools, etc. That way, if the metal plate comes loose, it will fall on the ground pin.
That is a pathetic excuse to put the ground up. If something is plugged in then it fall on the chord cap which is insulated. If it falls of when nothing is plugged in it fall on the floor. Like I said pathetic.
@@stevieg.4816 what if the plug is pulled out just enough for the plate to make contact with the plug prongs? Not saying one is right or wrong but you put no thought process into the scenario what so ever, simply stated you said it was a black or white scenario when the reality of it is, there is multiple colors to the spectrum. Anything is possible, nothing is impossible!
@@chrisdavis3475 anything is possible but the likelihood of that happening and if it did happen causing substantial injury or property damage is so much smaller than many things we do on a daily basis. Just goes to show how many of us have nothing better to do........
In a lot of newer homes (last 20 years) the builders will put receptacles that are connected to light switches ground up and all the rest ground down. That way you can easily tell where to plug in floor lamps.
When I wired my home, I installed ground down on all plug-ins not energized by a light switch. I installed my plug-ins ground up on receptacles energized by a wall light switch to have a visual ID on those plugs that control lamp lights being turned on at the room entry.
That works except that a common electricians choice is to split the outlet with the little side tabs. Then wire lower outlet to the wall switch. Plug nearby lamp there. That leaves the top - and most accessible plug easy to reach for plugging in your phone charger - or your vacuum, fo temporary use.
I can't stand ground up, trying to align plugs ground down is way easier because your thumb registers against the flat part of the plug rather than the more rounded part of the plug.
Most “wall warts” (power cubes)especially higher wattage ones have the wider blade (neutral) so that the best orientation is ground down. Ground up causes them to fall off or at least pull away from.
This is the correct answer for homes. Because the assumed orientation for consumer electronics is ground down, wall warts will properly hang and simple things like a night light will stand upright, instead of hang. The safety angle for ground up is so remote that it essentially is no benefit in a home.
I have to say the scenario with metal objects falling on the plug in a receptacle is very unlikely, though possible. 1)Ground down insures the load attached to the plug will loose the ground connection last if the plug begins to droop out of the receptacle, whereas a ground up orientation could cause the load to be ungrounded before the plug falls out completely. 2)Molded angle plugs tend to be intended for ground down. 3)Ground down is more familiar for me. 4)I agree with the suggestion to utilize different color receptacles for switched outlets.
agreed, and to add its way more likely a ground incident towards the plate is going to touch either hot or neutral (about 50/50) so flipping, and having a problem, you might propagate a hot ground. That's not necessarily a safer situation. It seems like an arbitrary distinction to me and its less aesthetically pleasing. Also, someone who didnt know any better might just always assume ground was closest ... to the ground. I think this is one of the reasons it isn't becoming code.
Always seemed kinda far-fetched to me as well. Could it happen? Sure. Does it warrant turning every outlet upside down putting stress on cords and plugs and being a general pain in the ass to plug most things into? No.
Metal objects like faceplates _do_ fall on plugs. It's the reason commercial buildings like hospitals install ground up. A patient once died after a plate shorted an outlet and cut off his life support.
I've always installed them ground facing down because if you ever want to make a face from the outlet, you just have to draw a mouth below the ground (nose).
40 years ago. I had a professor teaching factors of safety. he gave an interesting method that he deemed correct: "you want a smiley face, not a frowny face"
When I was doing my apprenticeship some 40 years ago, the chief electrician told me that if water was to get into a basement and flood up to the electrical plug, installing it ground down will add safety to trip the circuits...
For basements you should put under a gfci receiptical first or a gfci breaker is the best way to go get rid of mights and probably’s power doesn’t care you have to be smarter
@@tomnelson6978 If you truly used common sense , and you were not a fool, you wouldn't want the electricity on while your house is flooded. Can you really picture yourself wading around inside your home turning on light switches and with the refrigerator and heating system kicking on? In a flooding situation the substation breakers would trip off well before your home's floor even got wet. Don't be silly.
The ground is connected to the metal mounting tabs on each end; either way up, the water would contact the ground first. Just take an old one apart and you can see.
While working at a hospital. The ground was placed up, due to that most of the cover plates were metal and sometimes they got loose and fell off. With the ground facing up this prevented a short circuit.
@@glennschmidt9276 Who is loved one? Huh? Those items are not only on alarms, but they are plugged into red emergency outlets, which always have plastic covers. Are you a complete idiot, or just a lazy adult at a first-grade spelling level?
@@Cotronixco Definition of loved one : a person one loves and especially a member of one's family Many of her friends and loved ones visited her in the hospital.
I dislike this practice because It is unprofessional to be inconsistent. It's the wrong solution to the "problem". You should install receptacles that are marked as switched. Such as www.hubbell.com/wiringdevice-kellems/en/Products/Electrical-Electronic/Wiring-Devices/Straight-Blade-Devices/ConstructionCommercial-Receptacles/DR15C1WHITR/p/2608245
@@TonyPombo The photo on the Hubbell site shows the receptacle with the ground up. However, that makes the “on-off” symbol on the receptacle upside down. I guess Hubbell is suggesting that the ground should really go down. The problem I can see for the Hubbell is that they’re a specialty item. You won’t be able to pick them up at the local Lowe’s or HD. They’ll also be more expensive than the usual 15A U-ground, so the DIY folks will probably stick with what they can get easily and cheaply for home use. I could see them being used more in commercial facilities.
@@keithmills778 Yes, you are right. They don't stock them at big-box stores. You can special order them, or buy them from a supply house, but they do cost a couple dollars more than a regular outlet. Other brands may be easier to find. I've seen the power logo in either orientation, so that shouldn't be a concern. If you are remodeling a room/house, then the slight cost/delay in obtaining these receptacles shouldn't be a concern. Regardless, I expect many DIY people won't bother, but at least you now know there is a better way. But, if you hire a professional (at $$/hr), they shouldn't cut corners. :)
I prefer ground-down for most outlets. I like the practice of reversing to ground-up for switched outlets. That's how my builder did it. Sure beats walking around the room with a lamp to figure out which one is switched.
For sure! Also, nice channel I have ran across your content in the past and you are doing a great job 👍. Keep up the good work.
Yeah, but, I have outlets in my living room where the bottom outlet is connected to a wall switch, so I can turn a lamp on or off by the wall switch, and the upper outlet has constant power, like where we plug in a clock or Alexa device. Something that we do not want to be affected by the wall switch.
I prefer a color change for switched receptacles, but inverting the orientation is a common practice. The problem is that of only one plug in the receptacle is switched, then you still have to guess which half is switched.
Colored faces address this problem as you can get receptacles with only one outlet colored.
Love it, Never heard of it, Every house I do now will have that.
@@robb0995 Electrical standard practice. outlets that are split and one half is switched, the switched should be on the top half. I have been doing that since the 70's when I started the trade as I was taught.
The way the electrician in our new construction home did it, the ground faced up only on outlets controlled by a wall switch. Makes it easy to tell which one is controlled by a switch in the room.
Came to make a similar comment
That is a very good idea
This is correct. Ground facing up is half hot. On a switch
That's a common practice that I've seen. My house is wired like that.
That is exactly the way ALL of the new homes are wired that I have looked at here in Southern California in the last 20 years. It is so common that I have assumed there is a local code that specifies ground down UNLESS it is a switched outlet.
Ground-down for three (more*) reasons: 1. Most plugs with grounds are shaped for your thumb to be flat on top as your index finger wraps around the bottom, making your index finger more likely to touch the bottom prong(s), 2. Electrical outlet extenders (especially the ones with usb ports) now come with a shelf on top to lay your cellphone on and are oriented for ground-down outlets, and 3. In case of flooding, you'd want rising water to contact the ground prong first.
* I wanted to mention 90-degree plugs favoring ground-down outlets, but you covered that.
Nailed it with the flood. Should have stated that first. And if the plug backs out over time you will most like break the L line first.
Reason no. 1 happened to me when I was about 10 yrs old. My index finger touched the bottom prongs and I got a reality check.
Charles - I agree! I like the flooding comment. All plugs that I installed are groundown.
That third one is really stupid. If floodwater ends up reaching an outlet, I'd want the breaker to trip sooner rather than later.
@@Cotronixco Good point. There's a chance that the person who installed the outlet upside-down is standing in the water and Darwin wins!
Our entire house was wired with the ground up, and I had never seen this done before. At first I didn't think much of it, but in the 5 years of living here and using the plugs I have found it to be a pain in the neck, since most things that need to be plugged in are manufactured for ground down. Case in point, my son got me a small wall outlet air purifier for the kitchen and because of the plug being ground up the purifier had to sit upside down and wouldn't hold into the plug. So I just flipped the power off and turned it around so I could use it. It's been like that for so many things. Now as I renovate different rooms I take that opportunity to flip the plug orientation because it just doesn't work for us.
Most commercial equipment with 90-degree plugs arranges them for the ground pin to be on top. This is also the case with commercial equipment for which receptacles are preinstalled: consider, for example, the General Electric GE1LU532SS RV Outlet Box. And, of course, modern medical facilities almost invariably use the standard ground-pin-up orientation: see IEEE Std. 602-1986 (Electric Systems in Health Care Facilities).
In other words, when it counts, the ground pin orientation matches that specified in the drawings in ANSI/ NEMA WD 6-2021, _Wiring Devices-Dimensional Specifications_ (2022-02-22) and recommended by the the National Electrical Contractors Association's National Electrical Installation Standards (NECA 130-2010) and IEEE Std. 602-1986 (Electric Systems in Health Care Facilities).
In residential installations, it's more of a free-for-all, driven more by aesthetic considerations (laypersons seem to prefer the "unhappy face" look of a NEMA 5-15R receptacle) than anything having to do with sound engineering or safety practices. The domestic appliance marketplace responds as you'd expect, prioritizing customer demand above all else. It's also worth noting that upside-down NEMA 5-20R receptacles look less like "unhappy faces" than upside-down NEMA 5-15R receptacles, but for historical reasons, homes tend to have far more NEMA 5-15R receptacles than NEMA 5-20R receptacles -- even on 20 A circuits, so the inertia of the "unhappy face" style of installation continues to dominate.
If a certain plug orientation is incompatible with an appliance's intended application, it doesn't automatically mean that the receptacle's orientation is "wrong." However, if the easiest solution is for the receptacle to be installed upside down, then by all means, install it with the equipment ground pin down, but that doesn't imply that, as a rule of thumb, all receptacles should be installed that way.
There's a lot of folk wisdom masquerading as informed opinion when it comes to receptacle orientation. More examples include horizontally installed receptacles having the equipment ground hole on the right (popular in Chicago, Illinois) and installing only switched outlets with the equipment ground pin up. As far as I know, there is nothing in any electrical code that requires either of these practices. (Please correct me if I'm wrong.).
Anything that mounts directly on the outlet, such as a nightlight or similar device, is clearly made to prefer ground-down orientation. Same with appliance cords, such as refrigerators. The overwhelming majority of outlets I've seen in my life are installed that way.
Exactly. While there is some logic to ground upward, nearly all right angle plugs are designed for ground downward (I’ve used a few that could be adjusted, but those plugs are not cheap). So I still install ground downward.
Plus if you plug one of those right angle plugs into a plug with the ground up, it puts a sharp strain on the wire because of how it bends.
Most nightlights manufactured now have rotating plugs that make the ground orientation of an outlet irrelevant.
@@chrisk926 Most? Not really. There's a few. Most don't.
Timers seem to expect ground down as well.
I have been working on electrical wiring about 65 years. I usually go ground down with the 3-pronged plugs.
I have never dropped a tool or any other metal item across the hot and neutral leads.
It is better to go ground down for most plugs to reduce stress on the wiring, since most 3-prong plugs are set up for ground down.
We had a number of plugs that are ground up in our home. A few I have changed to ground down.
I hope the NEC continues to allow the option of ground up, down or sideways.
I have a box of new electrical parts. If I find a loose duplex receptacle, I replace it. That is a matter of safety.
Thank you for your video.
I believe in 2011 NEC it said in commercial applications ground was up but in the 2015 they took it off
This is an ongoing argument. I find that ground up secures the plug better since the ground pin tends to be more snug and less likely to rock like the two spades tend to do which in my experience tend to sag more often when ground is down.
plugs are male connectors, receptacles are female
@@davidzamorano3339 Your wrong it's never been in there. want me to send you my 2011 code book. I have code books all the way to 76, it's never been in the code.
@@stevieg.4816 There are probably numerous NFPA 70 examples of "public input" regarding this topic that didn't make it into the first draft. It might be interesting to see the reasons for and against such nonsense.
When I was in school for electronics I was taught the ground goes down because the plug could come loose and with the ground down it will be the last connection to disconnect. With ground up and loosening condition will disconnect the ground first giving you a potentially dangerous false sense of security.
Nice, that is a good point I had not heard before. Appreciate you sharing 👍
I've also heard something similar, but about how people tend to pull plugs out; generally towards themselves (out and up if the outlet is below, out and down if chest level or higher), though I don't know if it makes much of a difference
From another perspective, your three prong plug comes out/loose more easily with the ground on bottom. As it becomes loose, you now have a hot and neutral exposed. 3 prong plugs with ground on top are more stable and do not come loose as quickly, and if/as they do, the hot and neutral get pushed into the receptacle even further exposing the ground only. In my opinion, if there is any potential of and of the prongs being exposed, I would prefer it be a ground.
I don't buy that argument as it's solved with the longer ground pin. Even at a tilted angle the ground should still lose connection last.
@@danbert8 An exposed ground doesn’t matter if the cord is not in use. But an exposed hot is alway live even if the plug is not being used!
I’m a portrait artist and I installed outlets into my studio. (I got help from my electrician friend) I had the ground down 😮 because the eyes should be on the top and the mouth on the bottom. 😊
This is the correct reason. Why would anyone want the face upside down? That seems demonic, like in those movies when holy crosses get turned upside down.
That would be my answer also, but I’m not an electrician. 😄
This is the correct answer
When ground is up, just the weight of the cord will, over time start to pull plug out. With ground down the ground actually provides a base for plug that keeps the cord from pulling out. Particularly with heavier cords.
As an electrician.. that comment is the dumbest thing i have heard .. ground down keeps the cord in tight.. unless your plug is 5 feet off the ground and the cord is heavy and even then plugs dont pop out like that.. how about you choose a plug and use the heaviest cord you can find and observe and take a picture every day for comparison .. you are going to be doing that for a long time.. no science in your statement
i believe exactly the opposite is true the best grip is on the ground plug and it makes contact first and i have seen first hand a piece of aluminum foil on a kitchen counter short out across the hot and neutral with ground down so it is much safer
@@darryll13 replying due to the dumbest thing ever heard - that seems unnecessarily rude. ☹️
The outlet he was demonstrating on was very loose, why he was replacing it. It clearly looked very very loose me. I see heavy extension cord plugs sagging and on occasion that is the answer to why doesn't this Outlet work.
@@darryll13 Any 70-80s wall wart that had a ground usually had a huge heavy transformer, I could totally see this argument through those years.
If the recpt. is that loose than replace it!
I just addressed this on a different thread. Let me first comment that what is most common (ground down) all too often is the most influential factor, but not necessarily "the best". Let me explain. I welcome the opportunity to give my own two cents concerning one detail. While it is most common to see recepts oriented ground side down, "A LIFETIME (more than 60 years!!) OF USER EXPERIENCE" has taught me the opposite to be the most functionally advantageous in TWO ways! #1 it is MUCH easier to align a plug for insertion with the ground prong on top, especially in poor light! #2 and most important, heavier cords remain fully inserted MUCH better with the ground prong on top!! This is especially true with recepts that are no longer "brand new". I'll stand by that the rest of my years!!!
All of the outlets in our house are ground facing down. I noticed that when I plug a polarized night light in, it is right side up. If the ground were at the top the night light would be upside down.
Still works
@@killhacker5776 Of course it still works, but it looks like hell! Lol
@@UFO4X I feel ya . really do. But that "ground up" is for safety . it really shouldn't matter which way it's plugged in so just grind off the fat ended .
Sounds like you got yourself a bunch of Australian nite lites
If I put them all in upside down, my wife can’t put those scentsy burners all over the damn place. Brilliant!
I'm so glad that I live in Australia. All our outlets are installed ground down. In the case of a downwards pull on the plug, it's most important that the earth (ground) stays connected. That said, our plugs don't tend to pull out of the outlets, probably because of the angled active (hot) and neutral pins. The active and neutral pins on all modern plugs are also insulated for about half their length. If they do pull out, they disconnect before the bare conductor is exposed.
Where you live there everything start with down under. Even the land you are is in bottom part of the earth 😂. Just my opinion.
54 years ago when I started as an electrician I was told always ground down because most plugs have ground down. This way there's less tension on the chord.
Ground down just seems to hold cords in better. Like it's resting on the ground, and not so easy to pull out the top. Ground up all the pull is on the one pin...
The only time I'm a put a ground on top or on the side when hanging a TV just because the plugs on a TV some lay flatter with the outlet upside down or on its side but besides that I always put the outlet with the ground facing down
When I play chords on my guitar I like tension between the chords. Makes the music more interesting. I just need to make sure there is no tension on my amplifier cord.
If ground down and cord comes out then ground wire will be the last thing to come out.
48 yrs ago when I started an electrical apprenticeship here in the UK, the square pin plugs were the criteria for new installalations, now not much has changed since I left the trade a few years after qualifying as a JIB(Joint Industrial Board) approved electrician, but according to the latest IEE regulations (Institute of Electrical Engineers) I am not permitted to even wire up a 3 pin plug apparently in 2021, yet in my last years in the trade, I was mostly troubleshooting problems with electrical faults in commercial and private property installations. However when I moved into my current home nearly 20yrs ago, it still had the original 1950's wiring in most of it, with an old wooden fusebox with porcelain rewireable fuses in it, only the kitchen and the cellar rooms had modern post '73 wiring. I rewired the house apart from those 2 areas, which I checked in accordance with regulations, and found them complying with insulation and earth tests with the regulations, apart from the colour of the insulation on the wires, I found no other faults, I installed a new fusebox with RCDs(Residual current devices) on each circuit. I left the old box mounted on the board to remind me of how things used to be, it is not connected to the mains, I think the latest installation guide requires ELCB's(Earth leakage Circuit Breakers), but I won't be fitting those as it is a disproportionate cost in regard to minimal extra safety, and I'm not allowed to do it anyway, so would have to call in an electrician. Yet politicians without medical degrees can tell me to wear a nose/mouth mask which cuts my intake of oxygen, and lowers my body's onboard immunity system to the detriment of said immune system; oh the hypocrisy in this modern world! Such is life.... The earth pin is on top in the UK, it's standard, and most plugs have the cable to the appliance coming out the opposite end to the Earth pin.
When I was a new home sales person for a national builder, the ground up plug indicated it was controlled by a light switch in that particular room.
Helped you quickly identify where to plug in your lamps.
Yup. That's how we install them for half hots. 👍🏽
Same in my house. The only other time I install switches ground up is for facilities that have them all installed ground up.
Where I grew up, a ground up plug indicated that you needed a new electrician who didn't come to work high.
If you live in a house and don't remember what each receptacle is for, your senile!
@@jcagy2 or you're like me and just moved into a house and nothing is labeled. I have 5 switches that don't do anything as far as I can tell. They also repurposed a switch when they added outdoor lights, so the half hots in the living room are just always dead. So, ya, it would have been nice to have little indicators like this.
I installed every outlet in my house ground down. Just seems more natural and I think aesthetically looks better.
Hey, ground down has a smiley face ... it’s just happier
I've read the comments and it would appear that most viewers prefer GROUND Down. I'm 70 yrs old and am a traditionalist, so I also prefer Ground Down. But I don't believe it's the ground pin that should be the issue but rather - Neutral (White) on the left and Hot (Black) on the right. The issue is polarized plugs on things like wall warts, night lights and right angle molded plugs. All are designed with the wider blade on the left when properly oriented. Don't fight established convention.
We have this problem at the hospital. The commercial electricians in Facilities install ground up. Most of our equipment has low profile plugs that are ground down, so we end up with cords that are oriented up the wall instead of hanging down. In my opinion, this causes a dangerous condition because of the extreme curve it forces into the cords.
Im 30(1991), my dad is 55(1967) and my grandpa is dead but would have been 85(1933)... The house I live in has been handed down from grandpa to dad to me... The house was built in 1967 same yr as my dad was born. I just looked and ALL of my plugs are 3rd hole facing up... Idk why but they are...
@@alainchristian oh okay I got ya...
@@alainchristian I actually lived in a HUGE OLD house that was built in the late 1800's. The house was converted into apartments in the 1940's. Also the same time the first electric was installed into the building. Anyways, I remember the outlets where actually IN THE FLOOR! I shit you not! At first I couldn't find them because the carpet had them completely covered up!. I had to cut holes in the carpet to get access to the plugs. I had never seen anything like that. Haven't seen anything like it since either 😆 Pretty interesting tho..
@@alainchristian That makes sense. But Have you seen them like that in a residence?
Working in NYC, we always installed receptacles ground up for the reason given in the video. It will prevent an arc flash or fire if something falls onto a plug and the breaker fails to trip. I always thought that was actual code until I escaped the people’s republic of NY and found that everybody where I live now are odded out when they see ground up. I read up and found an article in a psychological mag that pointed out people like ground down because it resembles a face and faces make people happy. Just my experience with this topic.
When I wired my new house back in the 80's I failed the electrical final inspection because I installed my plugs with the ground down. The state required them to be installed ground up ( they have since deleted the requirement for ground up). After I passed the inspection, I went and changed them all to ground facing down
I have always seen this in the south. Do you live in a southern state?
@@user-xh1kz7rm4j Might be. When I moved 20 years ago to a house down in rural TN, one of the first things I did was go around and swap all the outlets to "ground down", due to 90 degree male cord ends on so many appliances.
@@user-xh1kz7rm4j I live in a southern state and every house I have been in have been ground facing down; and the houses range in age from brand new to very old.
Ground up by code.
@@henrydycha3738 Ground up is not "code"
Ground-up makes more sense to me from a safety perspective, but I always install outlets ground-down because so many plugs and transformers--like the quick-90 plug you demonstrated--are designed for gound-down installation.
I have a bunch of 90 degree three prong adapters. In an outlet installed ground-up, that means the adapted cord plugs in from above rather than a more normal below.
@Almost Average ? The point is, in a ground side up wall plug, the 90 degree adapter ends up facing up, were it will be more prone to stuff falling into the holes. Also, ANY cord you plug in is going to have a rather severe bend in it because instead of a 90 degree downward bend, it now has to make a 180 degree downward bend.
I don't see where the country of manufacture for any electric cord makes a difference to this fact of geometry. It has everything to do with the universe of adapters that plug into wall sockets assume a bottom position for the ground wire.
When I'm doing commercial, like hospitals, we use metal faceplates. I always install those ground up because the faceplate can come loose. If a metal plate drops, it hits the ground. I've actually seen a plate weld because one was done ground facing down but that was close to 30 years ago.
I install 20 amp ground up in residential such as garages just because that's how I was taught. Same thing for switched receptacles.
8-)
Me personally I prefer ground up
There it is,. Someone did mention it.
If the plate loosens and falls down it trips the breaker, so no safety issue. Ground is always on the BOTTOM
@@garyvcole What if the thing plugged into the outlet is keeping you alive?
@@Timothy003L If it's that important it should be on a UPS.
Here in Puerto Rico, 90% of wall outlets are oriented horizontally. I this case, we put the ground to the right. The logic behind this is that if weight/gravity acts on the cord, the live side of the prong will be disconnected first. On the other hand, any outlet that is oriented vertically, we put the ground down so that if weight/gravity acts on the cord, ground is the last prong to be disconnected, preserving safety to the user. The odds of something perfectly catching the live/neutral prongs on the cords are very low!
Interesting 🤔 Thanks for the insight from Puerto Rico. I am a bit jealous of your weather this time of year while living in the Midwest.
But exposing the hot and neutral is risky for children!
Good to know
@@howtodoitdude1662 if you have children, the only safe thing is to use outlet slot insert cover.
Same in Chicago!
In my opinion, if NEC isn't making a recommendation after this many years, there must be a consensus among the rule makers that it truly doesn't matter and there is no significant safety reason to pick one option over the other.
59 years and never seen anything fall on an outlet and short out.
@@returntonature8773 you never met my kid when he was 5... long story.
@Charles, or it could simply be a scenario where half of the members want up and the other half want down, each with advantages and disadvantages, and no consensus is possible in this scenario.
@@returntonature8773 The real risk is with metal cover plates on duplex outlets. Old fashioned attachments used the center screw for the ground or support, resulting it being loose or missing. When the metal plate drops, excitement or disaster.
This problem doesn't occur with Decora style receptacles or simply using a plastic cover plate.
Once you eliminate that risk, the very slight improvement in safety is overwhelmed by the significant decrease in safety from plugging equipment in upside-down. Every wall brick and GFCI plug expects a happy face orientation.
Isn't that the truth!
Ground is down the world around.
45 year Master Electrician and I have always installed them ground down.
Never paid attention to this before. Just did a walk around and all the outlets I looked at were oriented with the ground down. I always thought the were arranged that way to help hold the plug into the socket by providing support for the weight of the cord pulling down on the plug.
Interesting idea.. I wonder if european or british outlets have the ground up or down. or we could be like the japanese and have them all on a switch
I was trained by my grandfather who was a master carpenter and a member of the Masonic Lodge in Altus, Oklahoma. He told me that ground should always be down as part of a safety issue - keeping the cord from coming out of the socket. He also explained that if the outlet will not hold the plug of whatever you are plugging in, that either the outlet is old and needs to be replaced, or the plug does not meet up to code for that particular outlet and to replace the plug. He was a very smart man.
If you are using a grounded plug you will notice that the "ground" pin is always slightly longer. The reason for this is to make sure that the ground pin always makes contact with ground first while inserting the plug and is always the last pin to disconnect to while removing the plug. This ensures that you as the user are always protected from you accidentally being the ground yourself and getting a shock, if there is a faulty cord. That being said however, the receptacles need to be properly connected to a good ground internally. Therefore, it really does not matter which way the receptacle is facing because it is impossible to make contact with Hot or Neutral before the ground when inserting, or losing contact with ground before the hot or neutral when removing. I think that's how NEC gets away from actually making it code to have them installed in a particular configuration. I do understand that this does nothing for the 2 prong plugs, but then that's another discussion of why Arc Fault and GFC's or GFCI's are great things to use.
With the ground pin up, I have actually seen the ground pin pull out and lose contact causing an "open ground" connection due to the leverage of the cord. I've seen it quite regularly actually in the work environment in which I inspect.
At least from what I've seen in Arizona, all of our outlets are ground down EXCEPT for outlets controlled by a wall switch. Those outlets are ground up so that it's easier to tell which outlet to plug your lamps into.
I started as an electrician 48 years ago and the reasoning then was if you pull down on the cord with a ground up plug the ground pin can come out while the hot and neutral are still connected leaving you with an ungrounded appliance. So we always did ground down.
100% personal preference, and I've never heard of anything ever falling into an outlet as you describe. Ground up has been said to hold the plug better but appearance wise it looks better ground down and that has never caused a problem that I know of. So I always do ground down unless a customer specified otherwise.
Thanks for the feedback Doug 👍
I won't give you a vote in this manner however at 72 years of age and dealing with this issue for a long time I can tell you what i have been taught . The " ground lug " is there for a reason and should be the LAST thing to come un-plugged so this lug or prong must be on the bottom . If and when the cord gets pushed or pulled down this prong will the still serving it's purpose . As for you comment about something falling across both prongs if the grounding prong is on the bottom , the circuit will be protected because the grounding prong is still in place and doing it's job. I think your fishing for thumbs up !
If something conductive lands across the blades of a plug in a ground-down-oriented outlet, it becomes a matter for the gfci/breaker/fuse protecting the outlet, the _plug's_ ground lug's connectivity (or even lack thereof) is irrelevant.
I've always installed plugs with the ground on the bottom. Most plugs are designed for that configuration, especially the low-profile plugs. They are all oriented so the wire immediately proceeds in a downward manner. I don't buy the safety issue, as it is a rare three-prong plug that DOESN'T fit snuggly. I should mention that I am from Canada and I've heard that in the province of Quebec, they prefer the ground to be in the upward position. Even knowing this, when I renovated my home in the Gatineau Hills of Quebec, I insisted that all the plugs be installed with the ground down. I think Quebec is bucking the norm because, well, basically, that's what they love to do. If English Canada does something one way, they want exactly the opposite . . . just because. I hear they're thinking of changing the driving lanes to the opposite side, like the U.K. - just because. I'm kidding, of course . . . but just imagine the chaos when crossing the border between provinces. Ha-ha!
It could be argued that ground up makes stresses in the cord where it leaves the outlet greatest in the ground wire, making an open ground the most likely cord failure mode. I've never known that to happen, though, and I will be 70 next month.
Forty + years ago, I was told ground down. Most damage to plugs and sockets occurred when someone stepped on the cord near the outlet and the ground prong would be the last connection out (safety). Since then, grounded cords have had the ground prong lengthened, so it doesn’t matter anymore. I like them installed the old way, l think it looks better and I always install switched plugs ground up.
Ground down is definitely the best bc it makes the outlet look like a surprised face.
Huh?
Yep and your kids will play with it.
@@dougiefresh9618 Well then they will learn a valuable lesson.
That is what I was thinking all along. Down, so I can see all the faces. Especially when sitting on the toilet looking at stuff.
obviously
My grandfather (an electrician for over 30yrs and even worked at "ratscat" military radar base) would always install ground up. He said it was to prevent something from having the chance of falling between the plug and outlet shorting it between the load a neutral (like a metal picture frame or a metal service sign etc
That's actually a damn good argument. Seems like stuff never slides down a wall and hits an outlet but duh, easy to see that happening. I'm sure someone has made little top shrouds for shop outlets. Or maybe you use recessed outlets.
Actually I suspect the reason for ground up is that if something strikes the plug or someone steps down on the cord pulling the plug down, the plug gets rotated into the power blades keeping them secure. The ground will get pulled out first which is a concern but in some situations losing power is more of a concern.
3:30….
I worked in a soda factory for a while as a maintenance mechanic and the plant electrician taught me to go ground down for most residential situations but ground UP for commercial situations when the outlet faceplate was metal for the reasons mentioned at 3:30 in this video. It seemed like an unlikely scenario even when he explained it to me 30 years ago and it still does. I haven't done any commercial wiring since then but I always go ground down in my home.
My father was an electrician at Corning Glass Works for 40+ years. His motto regarding this was always: “ Ground down or to the right “.
@@nealkeach4367 It's hard to take such a maxim seriously without hearing the reasons behind it. If anything, hospitals have a compelling reason for the ground pin to be on top, and if it's good enough for the hospital, it's good enough for your home.
Put it the way you wish. I'm almost 40 years in industry, taught by someone who taught Edison. His saying was, if you have to bend down. Ground down. If you can stand up to pull the plug, ground up. Humans have a bad habit of not pulling cords out straight. Usually bending the ground prong and breaking them off when they are ground prong up when the are low pluggins
Where there three prong receptacles when Edison was around?
@@jimmac1185 Yes, they were around well before his 1931 death.
Ground down is easiest to insert. The ground prong is longer and can be visibly inserted, then your eyes can follow the flats into the plug.
When I was taught back in the early 70's it was taught to us to have the ground lug down so if the cord sags and hangs down, the ground lug would be the last one to pull out.
This is exactly correct, 40 years as an electrician, you want your ground the last to pull out thus ground down always.
That is because the ground is protect the plugged in equipment, not to protect the plug.
TRUE GROUND SHOULD BE FIRST TO MAKE LAST TO BREAK
Then the standard should have them much longer and not almost the same.
The ground lug is longer for this reason.
Ground-down has a safety argument I was expecting you to present - if the top half of your plug comes out, with ground-up, you have an ungrounded plug, which people will use unsafely. With ground-down, you have a disconnection, which you will fix immediately. This seems like a much more likely scenario than people dropping screwdrivers or butter knives along the wall.
3:02 the ground pin is longer than the other two, for this reason. there is no way for the ground pin to come out before the power pins come out.
What about all the sheet metal pieces people store in their houses along the walls? Anyways, just looked around my house quickly and the vast majority of things that are plugged in don’t even have a ground on them, except or two power bars that are designed with ground down plugs on them.
This was a rule before plastic covers were used. It was installed this way for appliance dedicated outlets that had a grounded plug. If a metal cover came off and yes they did come off it prevented it from contacting the hot and neutral.
In many commercial installations such as an office environment, it is very common for a paper clip, or staple to fall off of the edge of a desk. The staple/clip could fall onto the blades of an inuse outlet with a cord-cap partially removed. If the outlet is installed ground down the clip could easily cause a short across the hot & neutral blades. Ground up it would simply roll off the blade and continue safely to the floor with no problem, and go completely unnoticed until someone walks around barefoot. Also, most medical facilities will use the ground up installation method for the same reason.
Thank you Dave,.. I didn't know why ground down was better until I read your comment!👌
When I started my Electrician career back in 1993,the Journeyman that I worked under installed the outlet ground Down.That is how I have installed them since....
Back in the day, when I worked as a Leadman Yacht Electrician, for Atlantic Yachts, I installed outlets with the ground up, because the ground pin is longer than the blades, and the plug held them more securely in the outlet. If the plug sagged, the blades were forced into the outlet. When the outlet ground was down, the plug had a tendency to sag downward, exposing the hot and neutral. Maybe new outlets were looser in the seventies. I don't know. On occasion, the yacht owner would have me turn the grounds down, which I was happy to do because the customer is always right!
My dad told me that if the plugs sagged, it's time to replace the receptacle. I've followed that advice for 50 years now.
Ml
Thank
@@wotysgtb4348 u
Having ground up just always feels wrong to me... like putting the toilet paper roll on backwards
Since you went there, which way is technically "backwards" on a toilet paper roll?
@@sleazybtd on the holder so it comes down the back near the wall, instead of over the top and down the front lol just ask Hank Hill
@@sleazybtd If you are a regular household: paper end over the top of the roll. If you have cats, paper end out the bottom. Why: cats slapping at the roll to make it spin will roll paper out on the floor the “regular” way. Rolled out the bottom, they can paw at it and spin the roll, and the paper stays put.
Pointless debate of the day. It's like red on right. A unofficial rule that helps if followed but not "required"
@@sleazybtd Over the top to the front, so you do not have to do the pickle claw to reach it in the back,lol..
When I went through school to be an electrician, they taught us to put the ground up, or if the outlet is sideways, face the neutral up. They also said it isn’t a requirement so don’t get bogged down over it if a job wants it the other way.
In Florida the the ground up outlet is controlled by a switch or switches on half of the outlet is controlled and the other is not. Ground down is a normal outlet. In Michigan we had no such rule and so you needed to figure it out by checking each plug. Its a smart idea. Makes it simple.
Your explanation is exactly how I learned it over 40 yrs ago. I always went ground down unless it was specified otherwise.
simply put Earth points to Earth.
Some appliances have the cord where they angle down, so if you plug them into an “upside down” outlet, the wire goes up in a big loop and then down, instead of neatly close to the wall with a normal outlet.
I'd say since the writing on a GFCI outlet is oriented with ground down, that would be the most logical for any outlet.
so the Eaton tr7755 plugs I installed today the writing on the face would have the ground up.
A GFCI has that short-circuiting safety built in, so that logic would not apply.
@@JeffreyGVny The logic wasn't about fault protection.
My dad is a licensed electrician. Unless there is a specific reason to be installed ground up, his standard orientation is ground down. His reason for this is that should that outlet become weakened in the future and a connected cord sags, the ground prong will remain secured due to physics. The odds of something falling in the tiny gap and tripping the breaker are lower (and only an annoyance) than the odds of someone being turned into the ground themselves when unplugging a loose connection.
Agree good argument. Ground up argument of something falling onto prongs makes sense and it’s something I figured out myself..!!
Plus, if something metal fell on it, you should WANT the breaker to trip immediately.
My dad told me the same. I always install them ground down.
Father knows best!
The ground prong cannot disconnect while the device is still powered.
Always ground down. Mostly this is for consistency as ground up is the universal indicator for switched outlets. One can enter a room and immediately spot the plug that is connected to the light switch by the door. I have also seen ground up where a 20 amp outlet has been introduced to a 15 amp room. Keep up the good work with these videos. The more consistent we all get the easier it is to work in an environment that other (possibly many other people) have previously worked.
I did not know that...still learning every day...and,Loving It !
Many extension cords have their plugs oriented so that the cord will face downwards when plugged into an outlet which has the ground at the bottom.
My late uncle was an electrical engineer and worked for a power company. He always said that the ground was at the bottom.
@@druegillis1744 My late uncle was also an electrical engineer and worked for the City University of NY for many years. I learned a lot about electricity and working with switches and receptacles from him and inherited a number of tools from him before he passed away four and a half years ago. He didn't have any preference which way the ground faced as long as the outlet worked.
@@druegillis1744 I would say your Great Uncle was NOT a man anyone should have argued with.
Would love it if they made receptacles with ground up on top and ground down on the bottom. With so many 90 degree plugs and wall warts out there, it would be incredibly useful.
That's a great idea!
Then you'd have hot and neutral on opposite sides from the top and bottom receptacles, creating other design and installation consequences.
@@UpnorthHere I think they mean dual grounds so it can be plugged in either way.
That would not work because the neutral prong is wider than the hot prong. This is called a polarized plug. If there were holes for ground prongs both above and below there would always be one way that would be impossible to plug in.
@@ksman9087Was thinking it would be just upside down for the top plug. Like so:
G
LN
NL
G
I had heard that ground up was the intention because the ground pin gave better mechanical support to the cable. Having said that, every home I've owned in Canada has had all outlets with ground down.
When I was a child, virtually no residences had grounding receptacles. I did see them in schools and stores, and my Dad explained function of the prong. Though all two-prong receptacles were polarized, most citizens never noticed. Then came the 1980s. Lamps in particular would only plug in one way. The polarization safeguard had been there all along.
Here in the northeast, new construction always had the ground prong down. I never knew there to be a "correct" way -- it's just what I always saw.
As the company electrician for a sawmill that was under construction, I got to choose ground up or ground down on the reciprocals. I chose ground up because the ground on a plug is longer and must go in first. With the ground down you may not see the mali or female parts and have a little trouble matching those parts. The receptacle has beveled guides for the hot and identified blades.
To each his own! I just notice my ground prongs break off on my cords much easier when they are plugged into a ground up recepticle vs. a ground down so I go with ground down.
It's in the NEC 2020 code to have the ground up.
Ground facing down adds more support to the plug itself of vertically mounted receptacles. However its a totally mute point for receptacles mounted horizontally.
When I'm in Mass. many places have ground up and I was told it was a state or local code to install this way. I like the European Schuko plug where ground always makes contact first and the plongs are always shielded by the recessed face of the actual outlet. It is almost impossible to have shorts across the terminal as when the plug is pulled out far enough to reveal the prongs they are already disconnected from the power. US Codes are somewhat behind on outlet safety.
In terms of electrical safety, the US has so many countries to be jealous of for so many reasons,
That Euro standard is for 220v. We use slightly less lethal 110v.
We also use slightly more lethal 60 herz.
When people plug things in, they often have their fingers touching the plug on the bottom, and if it is ground up, you will get shocked. I've never dropped anything on a plug slightly unplugged where it would short. I ALWAYS make sure the appliance is fully plugged in.
This is what I've taught my guys for the last 30 years... A smiley face saying, "Oh, you've done such a good job!", instead of a guy with a bullet hole in the forehead.
Haha😝😛😜
Plug is MALE ! Recpt is FEMALE.
...why do I get the feeling that your construction company is a front for the mob?
@@docferringer well, the Hells Angles do live nearby..... lol!
@@docferringer lol! I guess we could be!!!! I know a guy who knows a guy...
I was an MEP Supervisor in a Hospital. We were required to install all receptacles with the ground up. When I did commercial, industrial, and residential work we installed them ground down. Receptacles were also tested monthly with tension gauges during electrical preventative maintenance. They were replaced if they failed tension testing.
Our last home had ground up, very, very annoying. Finally fixed all of them.
Regarding proper outlet orientation, you are very well grounded. Cheers!
Has anyone ever seen the box installed sideways ?
@@rubencohen2936 Yes. Usually in older homes where the outlets are in the baseboard.
@@rubencohen2936 Yes, the first home I owned had plaster walls with wood lath and all the outlets mounted ‘sideways’.
Used to be we installed all outlets with the ground down, unless it was in a room that was controlled by a wall switch, then we would install that one ground up so that the homeowner would know which outlet was controlled by the switch and it was usually just a two-prong table lamp going there anyway so it worked out just fine.
I dislike the practice of upside-down plugs for switches because It is unprofessional to be inconsistent. It's the wrong solution to the "problem". You should install receptacles that are marked as switched.
Such as www.hubbell.com/wiringdevice-kellems/en/Products/Electrical-Electronic/Wiring-Devices/Straight-Blade-Devices/ConstructionCommercial-Receptacles/DR15C1WHITR/p/2608245
Most anything that you'd plug in (ie night light or the plug in this video) that itself has an up/down orientation, needs to have the ground down, so it can be in its upright orientation.
I prefer ground down because
1. I have never seen the situation where something falls on the prongs.
2. That's what breakers are for.
3. You shouldn't be using outlets that are weak and can't hold a plug.
4. Ground up the weight of the plug pivots on the bottom two prongs leaving only one point of contact (the ground) on top to hold it from sagging.
Ground down the weight of the plug pivots on the bottom ground, leaving two points of contact (the prongs) on top to hold it from sagging.
Thus the ground down is stronger and will last longer.
I have. In our hospital, with stainless steel face plates, and ground down, an appliance that was not fully plugged in (human error) it happened that the face plate fell on the hot/neutral and caused one hell of a bang, complete with sparks. Why was the SS plate loose? Poor maintenance, but it happened. One in a million chance. Yes, it blew the breaker and no one was hurt BUT all the stainless steel face plates in the building, hundreds of them, were changed out to plastic. It happened. I couldn't believe the perfect storm that caused this . . but it happened.
@@davidoickle1778 who's the idiot that decided on metal face plates?
Just for fun. When I was a junior in HS a penny had fallen off my nightstand and just happened to land in the gap between my alarm clock plug and the outlet. No real damage other than a charred faceplate and outlet but the breaker saved any further damage. Another 1-in-a-million. ;)
@@stu_164_minitruckin You're right, 1 in a million. Thats crazy, and the breaker did its job.
Also had someone noticed the plug sagging from the outlet, prior to the penny incident, THAT would have been the time to change the outlet and inspect the outlets in the rest of the house as chances are they are all about the same age.
I suspect in your case only that outlet got replaced.
In my house, they are installed horizontally in the baseboards. I prefer the ground on the bottom when they are installed vertically. It works better with cords that have a profile plugs. If your plugs are falling, the outlet should be replaced.
I'm used to it being down, but I like the idea of using it as an identification tool for light controlled switch.
You know what works better? Putting a "Switched" tag on the cover.
When grabbing a plug to disengage it from the electrical outlet, a person’s index finger generally reaches around the bottom of the plug. Therefore, their finger would be more likely to come into contact with the ground plug rather than the live prongs. In addition, many household items like lamps, chargers and timers are oriented for plugging into a prong-down outlet. GFCI electrical outlets are also meant to be installed ground pin down, as they feature text on the test and reset buttons that orient in this way.
1 or 2 brands of GFCI outlets have text that can only be read ground up. Some brands have text oriented both directions.
@@williamlewandowski5053 Most GFCI receptacles have lettering for both ways and some even have it SIDEWAYS for mounting left-to-right.
The advice I once received was that for residential - ground down, for industrial - ground up. I liked your take on being able to distinguish between switched & unswitched.
I prefer gound down for two reasons: 1) You know which way to install a plug even when you can't see the outlet, like when it is behind a couch, bed or desk 2) having the ground down tends to help hold the plug tighter to the wall when the cord is pulling it down. This being said, I follow the "practice" of ground up when the outlet is switched, so you can recognize a switched outlet. Also, when only half of the outlet is switched, I follow the "practice" of having the switched side on the bottom..
Isn't that why there's holes on the connecting prongs? When inserted there's something that holds that in
@@sunstyle52 That is true, but they can loosen over time.
@@sunstyle52 The holes are just for a bar to hold the prongs in a straight line during production. The receptacle normally clasps behind them further on the prongs.
Plus it looks like a face
All I know for is whenever I use a Klein outlet tester I can’t see the lights when the outlets have the ground up!
That's the exact reason I got one with lights on the end.
Lol, great point David 😁😂
Sounds like you need a noncontact tester.
@@Ron-oe7hg That doesn't verify polarity, ground, or test GFI's, but yeah, I love a prox tester! Everyone should have one!
Newer ones have wrap around lens. I have a couple of older ones with that problem. Need a mirror to see lights
We bought a house in Arizona that all outlets were ground down, EXCEPT the receptacle attached to a switch to turn on one receptacle. Like you mentioned at the end! haha
Must of been installed by Mexicans
@@donhurst8459 Must of? Try must have or must've, lol.
@@donhurst8459 Thats how all new homes are built near me now here in s. Florida. Im talking 600k+ homes and all the switched outlets are upside down. Looks so stupid to me
Ground down is the proper orientation for my Kill A Watt meter and my outlet tester.
ok , I didint read 5000 coments on this , but as an electrical contractor from california I installed quit a few of this in the last 40 years. you are right about you explnation regardind ground prone on top or butom . the only time we put grond on top is in hospitals .for the resone you mention.residential, comercial and industrial ground prone on the boutom.
the "upside down" outlets in my home identify any switched outlets to make life easy.
Same here. My house in Ohio and my house in Arizona both have ground down unless that outlet is controlled by a wall switch then the switched outlet is identified by being installed ground up.
I find this very interesting
Not a bad idea. Label maker works too.
This seems to be a thing some installers do, I've seen it in FL too.
I went and looked an my place is the same. I had thought it was all of them. Tks for the heads up.
Will have to ask my wife. She always knows. I prefer down.
Ask a teenager. They know everything 😒
@@tman3399 .
@@lucioglez3768 aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!aaqq!×
said sideways Jimmy!
Golden rule, ask the wife!! If mamas not happy, nobody's happy!!
Klein Tools is premium electric tool manufacturer. Their outlet testers are designed to be easily read if ground is DOWN. Therefore, ground down is preferred installed method.
I've always installed ground down. I'm not an electrician but have been doing electrical work around the house since I was 13, I'm now in my late 30s.
I also like the idea of using ground up to signal switched outlet.
I like ground down cause it looks like a “woah” smiley face.
😮
I was gonna say, the eyes should be above the little mouth. 😃
I think it's called Pareidolia, seeing faces on inanimate objects. Maybe unconsciously that's why many prefer ground down.
Clearly great minds think alike.
I agree: I remember seeing that face on the outlets as a kid and I associated it as 'beware'.
Great video, thanks. A few years ago, in the bathroom, I did drop a metal necklaces and it shorted the outlet and made a mess. Also the GFCI never tripped. I think the ground up would have been better for this incident. For myself, I put the ground up in utility areas(Attic/Garage) and for places that are finished and visable, I put the ground down. The biggest reason ground down is so that people don't keep telling me my outlet is upside down.
The GFCI is not meant to trip for that condition (hot to neutral short).
Secondly, if the ground was up and you dropped a necklace on it, it's flexible and will likely still contact the hot and neutral blades in addition to the ground pin. Or the ground and hot blade... Same result.
@@IrrationalBstrd If the GFCI was upside though wouldn't it have shorted via the ground and tripped?
@@FunWithBits the neutral and ground are connected to the same place at the panel. The difference between them is that the neutral carries current in normal operation and the ground only carries current when there is a fault, specifically called a ground fault. Hot to neutral, or hot to ground short should trip the breaker unless the necklace provided enough resistance that the current flow doesn't exceed the breaker rating (or a faulty breaker or federal Pacific stab lok breaker which is notorious for not tripping at it's rating) which is entirely possible.
GFCI is designed to monitor the current on the hot and neutral conductors and trip when the difference in current on the 2 conductors is around 4-6 milliamps. A sample scenario would be, you are energized by the hot conductor on a frayed wire and touch the sink with your other hand. The GFCI sees that current is flowing somewhere that it shouldn't be (through you to ground) and trips. A GFCI does not protect against a direct short between hot and neutral or hot and ground, that's the circuit breaker's job.
GFCI doesn't need the equipment ground conductor to operate as intended. Only monitors the difference in current flow between hot and neutral conductors.
@@IrrationalBstrd Got it. Thanks for the clarification. I was thinking it would help in this case but it sounds like since they are tied together it wouldn't qualify. It's good to know how this stuff works and do things correctly and safely. Off topic, I'm surprised they trip with so little current... that is pretty good as I know 4-6 ma is very small.. but then again it only takes 10-50ma (just did a quick google search) to be dangerous. Thank you again for taking the time to share and reply.
@@IrrationalBstrd But if it shorted hot and ground, the GFCI would trip.
My VoEd teacher used to say to us, "Ground down" and it's stuck with me ever since. And like others said, Night lights, Air Fresheners all like to have things correctly oriented. Plus, NFPA/NEC doesn't care as long as you get the polarity right.
NFPA does "care" if grounding pin up causes a violation of the appliance manufacturers' instructions.
I recently purchased two: Square D X Series 125-Volt Tamper Resistant Duplex Decorator Receptacle Outlet, 15 Amp, Matte Black, from Amazon. They are marked "TOP" with ground up. Our home was constructed with most duplex receptacles ground down. There are some exceptions, where they were installed rotated 90 degrees with ground to left and some to the right. I installed the new Square D receptacles with ground to the right. All the rotated receptacles were in locations where vertical was not an option, due to limited space. So, as the saying goes, the plot thickens.
I’ve always been used to grounds down in residential, grounds up commercial and industrial
Where are you roughly located Eddie?
20 amp plugs recommended ground up commercial
I usually see ground-up on outlets that use a metal cover like you often see in commercial buildings, schools, etc. That way, if the metal plate comes loose, it will fall on the ground pin.
That is a pathetic excuse to put the ground up. If something is plugged in then it fall on the chord cap which is insulated. If it falls of when nothing is plugged in it fall on the floor. Like I said pathetic.
@@stevieg.4816 what if the plug is pulled out just enough for the plate to make contact with the plug prongs? Not saying one is right or wrong but you put no thought process into the scenario what so ever, simply stated you said it was a black or white scenario when the reality of it is, there is multiple colors to the spectrum. Anything is possible, nothing is impossible!
@@chrisdavis3475 anything is possible but the likelihood of that happening and if it did happen causing substantial injury or property damage is so much smaller than many things we do on a daily basis. Just goes to show how many of us have nothing better to do........
look at the red "reset" button on ground fault outlets. It has the word "reset" molded into the button so it can be read in either direction.
Good point.
In a lot of newer homes (last 20 years) the builders will put receptacles that are connected to light switches ground up and all the rest ground down. That way you can easily tell where to plug in floor lamps.
My wife would hate that :)
In my shop quad boxes, do one of each so when you pick up a cord, you don’t need to flip it.
When I wired my home, I installed ground down on all plug-ins not energized by a light switch. I installed my plug-ins ground up on receptacles energized by a wall light switch to have a visual ID on those plugs that control lamp lights being turned on at the room entry.
Clever. 👍
@@EDHBlvd I workd for a home builder who also installed them this way. (Beazor)
That works except that a common electricians choice is to split the outlet with the little side tabs. Then wire lower outlet to the wall switch. Plug nearby lamp there. That leaves the top - and most accessible plug easy to reach for plugging in your phone charger - or your vacuum, fo temporary use.
The average homeowner would not know this distinction. Therefore, I think this is a ridiculous reason.
@@joneshome2688 If you are commenting on my post....As we sold new homes only, it was part of the initial tour to explain this to them.
The "ground" has always been below me as I work, and the best course for electricity is the "shortest distance between two points."
I like the wood paneling.
I can't stand ground up, trying to align plugs ground down is way easier because your thumb registers against the flat part of the plug rather than the more rounded part of the plug.
Most “wall warts” (power cubes)especially higher wattage ones have the wider blade (neutral) so that the best orientation is ground down. Ground up causes them to fall off or at least pull away from.
This is the correct answer for homes. Because the assumed orientation for consumer electronics is ground down, wall warts will properly hang and simple things like a night light will stand upright, instead of hang. The safety angle for ground up is so remote that it essentially is no benefit in a home.
I have to say the scenario with metal objects falling on the plug in a receptacle is very unlikely, though possible. 1)Ground down insures the load attached to the plug will loose the ground connection last if the plug begins to droop out of the receptacle, whereas a ground up orientation could cause the load to be ungrounded before the plug falls out completely. 2)Molded angle plugs tend to be intended for ground down. 3)Ground down is more familiar for me. 4)I agree with the suggestion to utilize different color receptacles for switched outlets.
agreed, and to add its way more likely a ground incident towards the plate is going to touch either hot or neutral (about 50/50) so flipping, and having a problem, you might propagate a hot ground. That's not necessarily a safer situation. It seems like an arbitrary distinction to me and its less aesthetically pleasing. Also, someone who didnt know any better might just always assume ground was closest ... to the ground. I think this is one of the reasons it isn't becoming code.
Always seemed kinda far-fetched to me as well. Could it happen? Sure. Does it warrant turning every outlet upside down putting stress on cords and plugs and being a general pain in the ass to plug most things into? No.
Plugs where it's possible to disconnect the ground first are not up to code and thus illegal.
Metal objects like faceplates _do_ fall on plugs. It's the reason commercial buildings like hospitals install ground up. A patient once died after a plate shorted an outlet and cut off his life support.
I've always installed them ground facing down because if you ever want to make a face from the outlet, you just have to draw a mouth below the ground (nose).
40 years ago. I had a professor teaching factors of safety. he gave an interesting method that he deemed correct: "you want a smiley face, not a frowny face"
When I was doing my apprenticeship some 40 years ago, the chief electrician told me that if water was to get into a basement and flood up to the electrical plug, installing it ground down will add safety to trip the circuits...
For basements you should put under a gfci receiptical first or a gfci breaker is the best way to go get rid of mights and probably’s power doesn’t care you have to be smarter
It is literally less than a half inch. You can't be serious.
In areas that may flood use common sense. Raise the outlet up above potential water line and don't listen to fools.
@@tomnelson6978 If you truly used common sense , and you were not a fool, you wouldn't want the electricity on while your house is flooded.
Can you really picture yourself wading around inside your home turning on light switches and with the refrigerator and heating system kicking on?
In a flooding situation the substation breakers would trip off well before your home's floor even got wet. Don't be silly.
The ground is connected to the metal mounting tabs on each end; either way up, the water would contact the ground first. Just take an old one apart and you can see.
I prefer my toilet paper to be put on the roll coming over the top.
Savages hang TP the other way...
The American way. Its gotta go over
Scottym3 for the win!
Ever reel off a massive amount of toilet paper and try spinning it in reverse to roll it back on? I thought you have. It doesn’t work does it.
The original patent drawring for the roll holder shows otherwise. Like the position of the ground... it doesn't really matter one bit.
As an Electrician I have always installed receptacles with the ground facing down except in hospitals.
While working at a hospital. The ground was placed up, due to that most of the cover plates were metal and sometimes they got loose and fell off. With the ground facing up this prevented a short circuit.
Yes. I was looking to see if anybody mentioned hospitals and stainless cover plates. Ground up.
That makes no sense at all. I'd want the breaker to trip immediately if the plate fell, not hang there ready for a problem.
@@Cotronixco I will be sure to pass that along to the families who's loved one has life support equipment plugged in.
@@glennschmidt9276 Who is loved one? Huh?
Those items are not only on alarms, but they are plugged into red emergency outlets, which always have plastic covers. Are you a complete idiot, or just a lazy adult at a first-grade spelling level?
@@Cotronixco Definition of loved one
: a person one loves and especially a member of one's family Many of her friends and loved ones visited her in the hospital.
We used the orientation of the outlet to indicate if it was “switched” or “unswitched”.
thats a great idea.
I dislike this practice because It is unprofessional to be inconsistent. It's the wrong solution to the "problem". You should install receptacles that are marked as switched.
Such as www.hubbell.com/wiringdevice-kellems/en/Products/Electrical-Electronic/Wiring-Devices/Straight-Blade-Devices/ConstructionCommercial-Receptacles/DR15C1WHITR/p/2608245
@@TonyPombo The photo on the Hubbell site shows the receptacle with the ground up. However, that makes the “on-off” symbol on the receptacle upside down. I guess Hubbell is suggesting that the ground should really go down.
The problem I can see for the Hubbell is that they’re a specialty item. You won’t be able to pick them up at the local Lowe’s or HD. They’ll also be more expensive than the usual 15A U-ground, so the DIY folks will probably stick with what they can get easily and cheaply for home use. I could see them being used more in commercial facilities.
@@keithmills778 Yes, you are right. They don't stock them at big-box stores. You can special order them, or buy them from a supply house, but they do cost a couple dollars more than a regular outlet. Other brands may be easier to find. I've seen the power logo in either orientation, so that shouldn't be a concern. If you are remodeling a room/house, then the slight cost/delay in obtaining these receptacles shouldn't be a concern. Regardless, I expect many DIY people won't bother, but at least you now know there is a better way. But, if you hire a professional (at $$/hr), they shouldn't cut corners. :)
I would like to see one up and one down. I’ve had some plugs that were just large enough that prevented another plug from using the second one.
I would choose grounð Up to allow for better physical connectivity of grounded cords. Two prong cords do not matter.