TYPES OF PLUGS AND SWITCHES IN WORLD

There are currently 15 types of electrical outlet plugs in use today, each of which has
been assigned a letter by the US Department of Commerce International Trade
Administration (ITA), starting with A and moving through the alphabet. These letters are
completely arbitrary: they don’t actually mandate anything.

1. TYPE A:
Type A is used, for instance, in North and Central America and Japan. This
ungrounded plug with two flat parallel prongs is pretty much standard in most of North
and Central America.
The plug has two flat 1.5 mm thick blades, measuring 15.9 –
18.3 mm in length and spaced 12.7 mm apart. Type A plugs are generally polarised and
can only be inserted one way because the two blades do not have the same width. The
blade connected to neutral is 7.9 mm wide and the hot blade is 6.3 mm wide. This plug
is rated at 15 A. type A and B plugs have two flat prongs with (often, but not always) a
hole near the tip. These holes aren’t there without a reason. If you were to take apart a
type A or B socket and look at the contact wipers that the prongs slide into, you would
find that in some cases they have have bumps on them. These bumps fit into the holes
so that the outlet can grip the plug’s prongs more firmly. This prevents the plug from
slipping out of the socket due to the weight of the plug and cord. It also improves the
contact between the plug and the outlet. Some sockets, however, do not have those
bumps but just two spring-action blades that grip the sides of the plug pin, in which case
the holes are not necessary.
There are also some special outlets which allow you to lock the cord into the
socket, by putting rods through the holes. In this way, vending machines and the like
cannot be unplugged.

Type A and B plugs are not insulated (i.e. the pin shanks do not have a black covering
towards the plug body like type C, G, I, L or N plugs) and the outlets are not recessed
into the wall, which means that if a plug is pulled halfway out, its prongs are still
connected to the socket. Type A and B sockets are potentially dangerous, since the
distance between the receptacle and a partially pulled-out plug is big enough to touch
the pins with your fingers or with a metal object such as a teaspoon.

2. TYPEB:
Type B is used, for instance, in North and Central America and Japan.
This class I plug is designated as American standard NEMA 5-15. It has two flat 1.5 mm
thick blades, spaced 12.7 mm apart, measuring 15.9 – 18.3 mm in length and 6.3 mm in
width. It also has a 4.8 mm diameter round or U-shaped earth pin, which is 3.2 mm
longer than the two flat blades, so the device is grounded before the power is
connected. The centre-to-centre distance between the grounding pin and the middle of
the imaginary line connecting the two power blades is 11.9 mm. The plug is rated at 15
amps.
WHY ARE THERE SO MANY PLUGS AND SOCKETS

CROSS-BORDER COMPATIBILITY NOT AT THE FOREFRONT OF NEEDS

Electricity was first introduced to households at the end of the 19th century where it was mostly used for
lighting. For decades devices had to be patched directly into a house's wiring. However, with the increasing
spread of labour-saving electro-domestic appliances in the early 20th century, manufacturers needed to find
other means to connect them to the electricity supply. And here is where the problem started: in each country
manufacturers developed their own plugs and sockets. At that time only a small percentage of people were
travelling across borders and their electric devices were generally not very portable. Country-to-country
compatibility didn't really matter much, except for voltage and ampere.

STANDARDIZATION CAME TOO LATE

Early efforts to standardize the plug had trouble taking hold. World War II put a halt to all discussions and the
issue was dropped until the 1950s. At that point countries had most of their infrastructure in place and vested
interests were built right into our walls. Most companies focused on serving their national or regional markets.
Today, in the global market having so many different plugs and sockets is highly inconvenient and costly.

IS THERE ANY HOPE FOR THE FUTURE?

The IEC issued its International Standard for a universal plug in the 1970s; so far it has been adopted by Brazil
and South Africa. It is unlikely that there will be a run on the standard in the near future. Literally hundreds of
millions of plugs and sockets have been installed and who would convince a country to invest now in changing
its whole infrastructure?
SWITCHES BY COUNTRIES

1. India
SWITCHES:
10A, 16A, 20A D.P, 32A D.P

SOCKET:
6A, 16A, 25A
2. Usa
RECEPTICAL
15A, 20A

SWITCHES:
15A, 20A

3. UK
SOCKET OUTLET
2A,5A,13A,15A

SWITCHES:
16A,10A ISOLATOR,20A