# why are electrical outlets installed upside-down? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 6, 2006, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-electrical-outlets-installed-upside-down/379269 "2006-11-06T07:04:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Praetor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/58956e/32.png) [@Praetor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Praetor)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-electrical-outlets-installed-upside-down/379269/61 "2006-11-07T20:56:28Z")
[QUOTE=McNew] Is it really all that critical? In the event an electrical inspector is touring the home for some reason and checking all of your electrical outlets, the worst that can happen is that you have to flip them. [ul] [li]Unscrew face plate.[/li][li]Unscrew top and bottom screws.[/li][li]Flip outlet.[/li][li]Screw it in.[/li][li]Replace face plate.[/li][/ul] Problem solved. [/QUOTE] I sure hope you’d turn off the electricity feeding that outlet first. I know it’s possible to flip the outlet without touching the wires, but I sure wouldn’t want to do it. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-electrical-outlets-installed-upside-down/379269/62 "2006-11-07T21:00:41Z")
[QUOTE=Praetor] I sure hope you’d turn off the electricity feeding that outlet first. I know it’s possible to flip the outlet without touching the wires, but I sure wouldn’t want to do it. [/QUOTE] I have done it, depending on the outlet and the wires in the box. I have also opened up the box, stopped what I was doing to determine the correct circuit breaker. It is a judgment call and I practice some dumb unsafe habits. Jim ---
**Author:** ![Dog80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-electrical-outlets-installed-upside-down/379269/63 "2006-11-07T21:13:05Z")
[QUOTE=ShortBus] 2. If the plug is hanging slightly out of the outlet, the terminals are exposed. If something metal is dropped against the wall and it strikes the plug, it would short out, causing a spark and possible fire hazard. Turning it upside down, the object would simply bounce off the ground terminal on it’s way down. [/QUOTE] In that respect, european sockets are the best: [http://www.interpower.com/icl/images/88010610spec.jpg](http://www.interpower.com/icl/images/88010610spec.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-electrical-outlets-installed-upside-down/379269/64 "2006-11-07T21:16:55Z")
[QUOTE=Dog80] In that respect, european sockets are the best: [http://www.interpower.com/icl/images/88010610spec.jpg](http://www.interpower.com/icl/images/88010610spec.jpg) [/QUOTE] Modern British ones with plastic covering the base of the prongs also remove this issue, because if the prongs are far enough out for metal to be exposed, the circuit is broken. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:G\_plug.png](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:G_plug.png) ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-electrical-outlets-installed-upside-down/379269/65 "2006-11-07T21:32:46Z")
[QUOTE=mks57] You can still injure yourself, as anyone who has put a wrench in the wrong place while working on a battery system will tell you. Low voltage does not mean low energy. The telephone company uses -48V DC in their central offices. Future cars will be designed to use a 42V electrical system. Forget about wiring, at those voltages you will be dealing with bus bars. Do you want your house to look like an industrial plant? [/QUOTE] 48V? 12V? Wimps. I used to work around electric resistance welders that used 5V. At 20,000 amps. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-electrical-outlets-installed-upside-down/379269/66 "2006-11-07T21:39:06Z")
[QUOTE=Praetor] I sure hope you’d turn off the electricity feeding that outlet first. I know it’s possible to flip the outlet without touching the wires, but I sure wouldn’t want to do it. [/QUOTE] I replace live outlets all the time. My wife hates that I do it. It’s not going to light up my eyeballs or anything, and I’ve accidentally gotten a little buzz of a shock a couple times. But even replacing them live is pretty simple; flipping them is no biggie. Of course, if the electrical inspector is standing behind me, I’ll probably turn off the breaker for his sake. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2006, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-electrical-outlets-installed-upside-down/379269/67 "2006-11-08T19:57:14Z")
[QUOTE=Green Bean] There seems to be some sort of discrepancy between what **What Exit** ’s plant electrician is telling him and what is actually happening out there. If we can’t come up with an answer here, I could call my electrician and ask him about it. [/QUOTE] At an election night party last night, I asked an official of the State Electricians union about this. He had an interesting explanation. 1. There is NOT any requirement in the Code about this. Some states or towns might have added this, but it would be unusual. He didn’t know of any such addition anywhere in Minnesota. 2. But in the training & apprenticeship program run by their union, they DO encourage the ground-up, neutral-up-if-sideways as a SUGGESTED ‘good practice’. And many electricians, from experience, tend to treat these ‘good practices’ just as if they were legal requirements. Might even forget the distinction, and confuse them with Code requirements, he said. (He also said one of the reasons for suggesting this is to make sure all the outlets are installed the same way throughout the house – homeowners get annoyed if they are installed differently in different rooms.) 3. So I asked him why inspectors would require this, if isn’t in the Code. He replied with several comments: - Inspectors confuse ‘good practices’ with requirements just like electricians do. (And nobody fights them about this, since it’s simple to change.) - The best electricians are busy wiring houses; mediocre ones have time to become inspectors. - Inspectors can be jerks; many of them are. Some of them like to exercise their authority by always finding at least one thing needing change. (His language was a bit stronger on this.) He said just because an inspector says it’s Code requirements doesn’t mean it’s so. But starting a fight with an inspector over a minor point like this will lead to them finding lots more ‘violations’ on the next job. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2006, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-electrical-outlets-installed-upside-down/379269/68 "2006-11-08T20:29:53Z")
[QUOTE=t-bonham@scc.net] …snip… He said just because an inspector says it’s Code requirements doesn’t mean it’s so. But starting a fight with an inspector over a minor point like this will lead to them finding lots more ‘violations’ on the next job. [/QUOTE] Thank you, so much for the information. This matches to what I have been told as I have definitely never seen such a code in writing. Sounds like a good explanation of the discrepancy. Jim ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-electrical-outlets-installed-upside-down/379269/69 "2006-11-09T02:21:22Z")
The answer lies in NEC 90.4 > [@](#): > > The authority having jurisdiction for enforcement of the Code has the responsibility for making interpretations of the rules, for deciding on the approval of equipment and materials, and for granting the special permission comtemplated in a number of the rules. The short read is that if the AHJ will only give you a final sticker with ground up, then so be it. You won’t get a U&O without it. I’ve had AHJs mandate stuff that IMO was nuts, but they hold the cards. ---
**Author:** ![Rhubarb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/59ef9b/32.png) [@Rhubarb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhubarb)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-electrical-outlets-installed-upside-down/379269/70 "2006-11-09T04:07:52Z")
My 2¢ worth. I first noticed the “upside-down” plug phenomena 3 or 4 years ago in the commercial buildings trade. My comment at the time was “What idiot electrician installed all of the plugs upside-down?” An electrician on that job, and definitely not an idiot, explained it to me. According to him, the practice started in hospitals where there are a whole lot of metal objects - trays, instruments, etc. - that could slide down the wall and come in contact with the exposed hot and neutral if the plug was installed in the standard orientation. As pointed out earlier, the main result is a flash-burned receptacle and a tripped breaker. Only in a hospital setting, that breaker might be powering a respirator or other life-critical device. So in a hospital setting, it is required to install the plug with the ground facing up to prevent this fairly rare occurence. The practice is slowly expanding out to other industries. Probably because of the “good practices” reasons outlined by **t-bonham**. ---
**Author:** ![MizGrand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cdc98d/32.png) [@MizGrand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MizGrand)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-electrical-outlets-installed-upside-down/379269/71 "2006-11-09T13:02:04Z")
What a great thread. Thanks all for the enlightenment! FWIW, when we painted the inside a few months back I bought all new “gold” switchplates and outlet covers. There’s a bunch of different metals (meaning finishes) available for this purpose still. And they look purty! ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-electrical-outlets-installed-upside-down/379269/72 "2006-11-09T15:08:14Z")
You can install your sockets ground-side up, but then you have a problem-most appliance cords are designed with ground side down. this makes for akward plug-ins, if you want to have two appliances plugged in. Speaking of electrical codes, we have a very old house-its been rewired, but a few ceiling fixtures still use the old armored "BX’ style cable-is this safe to mix with romex 3-wire systems? ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-electrical-outlets-installed-upside-down/379269/73 "2006-11-09T16:07:17Z")
[QUOTE=ralph124c] You can install your sockets ground-side up, but then you have a problem-most appliance cords are designed with ground side down. this makes for akward plug-ins, if you want to have two appliances plugged in. Speaking of electrical codes, we have a very old house-its been rewired, but a few ceiling fixtures still use the old armored "BX’ style cable-is this safe to mix with romex 3-wire systems? [/QUOTE] The only problem I note with “BX” style cable (referred to as type AC in the NEC) is improper ground termination-failure to wrap the wire back around the armor, wrong style entrance connector, not securely fastened. Grounding and bonding of the device or fixture box is dependent on all of that being observed at every connection/box along the branch circuit, so the quality of a ground can easily deteriorate. There is no prohibition on extending/adding with “Romex” (type NM) in a residential application other than exceeding the capacity of a device box-many older boxes were small, and using all of the knockouts may go above the limit regarding maximum number of conductors. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-electrical-outlets-installed-upside-down/379269/74 "2006-11-09T16:30:43Z")
[QUOTE=Crafter\_Man] I have a pdf version of the 2002 NEC. (All 718 pages.) Article 406 of the NEC covers all the details on how to properly install a receptacle. I read Article 406 in its entirety. It says nothing about the orientation/configuration of the receptacle. [/QUOTE] In California, or at least in San Bernardino County, the final electrical inspection doesn’t even cover how the outlets and switches are installed, except for GFI outlets. You leave the boxes open with the leads hanging out so the inspector can see them, again excepting GFI outlets. GFI outlets are required for kitchen, exterior, and garage outlets. Don’t ask me why garages are included. After the inspection you install the switches and outlets and call the utility to hook you up. ---
**Author:** ![Galileo007](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e274bd/32.png) [@Galileo007](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galileo007)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-electrical-outlets-installed-upside-down/379269/75 "2012-10-04T22:45:33Z")
All, The 2011 NEC _IS_ available online… in a public forum, it is supposed to be read-only, but if you visit [archive.org](http://archive.org) and search for 2011 NEC you will find a PDF there to download. Enjoy! Also, I have heard the same thing concerning ground up on receptacles. A broom (or similar object) can slide down the wall along with a metal object, the broom can loosen the plug and the metal object can touch the live contacts and start a fire. Another thing to note from the NEC is that outlets below 5 1/2 feet in height must be replaced with tamper resistant receptacles now… I personally hate them. Cheers. ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-electrical-outlets-installed-upside-down/379269/76 "2012-10-04T23:13:48Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > Heh - Britside, the socket is always oriented earth-side up. I’ve never found out why. I think it is to do with the shutters in the socket, and how the mechanism works. I don’t have a spare socket kicking about or I would experiment. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-electrical-outlets-installed-upside-down/379269/77 "2012-10-04T23:25:51Z")
> [@Galileo007](#): > > All, > > The 2011 NEC _IS_ available online… in a public forum, it is supposed to be read-only, but if you visit [archive.org](http://archive.org) and search for 2011 NEC you will find a PDF there to download. Do they have a 2006 zombie edition? ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-electrical-outlets-installed-upside-down/379269/78 "2012-10-04T23:40:53Z")
> [@OneMoreThing](#): > > I’ve always thought that plugs should be installed upside down so that they don’t look like a face and would be less tempting to kids. Realize that this a zombie thread but this made me think of this little bit of outlet graffiti. [http://www.obviouswinner.com/storage/post-images/electrical-outlet-sex.jpg](http://www.obviouswinner.com/storage/post-images/electrical-outlet-sex.jpg) (Mildly NSFW) I first saw it on George Takei’s twitter. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-electrical-outlets-installed-upside-down/379269/79 "2012-10-04T23:48:45Z")
> [@OneMoreThing](#): > > I’ve always thought that plugs should be installed upside down so that they don’t look like a face and would be less tempting to kids. zombie or no That baby-proofing crook wanted to sell us safety covers for the electrical outlets. But I’ll just draw bunny faces on them to scare Maggie away. ---
**Author:** ![Michael63129](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-electrical-outlets-installed-upside-down/379269/80 "2012-10-05T00:35:58Z")
I haven’t read the whole thread (being a zombie), but one of the first posts talks about GFCIs tripping if you make contact with the GROUND (as an argument for having outlets upside-down), which I call BS on, because no current is going to flow unless the outlet is seriously miswired. Indeed, many appliances with metal cases have the case connected to ground for safety reasons. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-electrical-outlets-installed-upside-down/379269.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-electrical-outlets-installed-upside-down/379269.md?page=5)