Thai power sockets: non switched = not safe?

[Encid]

Coming originally from Australia all domestic GPO's (General Purpose Outlet) have isolating switches, so it came to me as a bit of a surprise when I first came to Thailand and discovered that ALL electrical power sockets in ALL rooms including bathrooms did not have switches.

 

Here is a standard Aussie GPO:

And here is a standard Thai GPO:

 

 

All Australian power outlet sockets always have switches on them by law for safety and isolation purposes.

 

I understand that British/Australian/Malaysian sockets have switches while Americans don’t because the UK, Australia, and Malaysia use 220-240 volts to supply power, and 220-240 volts are more likely to kill you than the 110 volts used in the US.

 

But... back to Thailand.

Thailand domestic power supply is 220 volts.

Why don't Thai sockets have switches?

Is it possible to buy switched Thai GPO's here?

 

I'm thinking about these for my new house build.

If available, I think that I would like to use switched GPO's in all the bathrooms and also in the kitchen, ie. the semi-wet areas that are most likely to see an appliance short and may need to be isolated by a switch.

[Crossy]

21 minutes ago, Encid said:

Is it possible to buy switched Thai GPO's here?

 

Yes, although your choice is limited.

 

All your outlets should be protected by RCD/RCBO anyway, so a bit of damp will cause that to trip.

 

[SomchaiDIY]

europe at 220v also many socket without switch

panasonic switch power socket thailand

 

[Encid]

8 minutes ago, Crossy said:

All your outlets should be protected by RCD/RCBO anyway, so a bit of damp will cause that to trip.

AFAIK Aussie household electrical circuits are protected (by law) by RCD/RCBO too, so is having switched GPO's an overkill?

[Upnotover]

Good point.  All my sockets in the UK have switches but I cannot ever recall switching any of them off when plugging in or out.

[worgeordie]

Yes the electrical systems here leaves a lot to be desired ,wonder

how many people die or are injured with electricity here each year,

my theory is they cannot see electricity so are very carefree working

with it.

 

regards worgeordie

[Crossy]

Just now, Encid said:

AFAIK Aussie household electrical circuits are protected (by law) by RCD/RCBO too, so is having switched GPO's an overkill?

 

It certainly does no harm. In the UK switched outlets are a de-facto standard, but unswitched are still permitted.

 

This is one difference between BS7671 which is proscriptive (you need to achieve this) and AS3000 which is prescriptive (you must do this).

 

There's a lot more freedom in the system design in the UK.

 

Either way works just fine.

 

For the record, I would use AS3000 here if you need an English standard, it blows the Thai requirements out of the water.

 

 

 

[SomchaiDIY]

8 minutes ago, Encid said:

AFAIK Aussie household electrical circuits are protected (by law) by RCD/RCBO too, so is having switched GPO's an overkill?

switch socket good for easy power off when finished with equipment

some store in thailand use switch socket at customer service point ikea is example 

[patman30]

Yes you can buy with switches if you want them
switchless sockets are not exclusive to Thailand
You can, as i did throughout my house,
buy universal sockets that accept all plug types, have switches and also have 5v USB ports

[Encid]

2 minutes ago, SomchaiDIY said:

switch socket good for easy power off when finished with equipment

Also renders the socket "dead" or completely isolated so no chance of electric shock if say a child decided to poke a knife into it.

 

Also no leakage for appliances that continue to draw power in standby mode.

[Encid]

2 minutes ago, patman30 said:

buy universal sockets that accept all plug types, have switches and also have 5v USB ports

2 years ago I would have agreed, but now most modern phones/tablets etc use USB-C ports for power.

 

Where is technology going in the future?

[NanLaew]

11 minutes ago, Encid said:

17 minutes ago, patman30 said:

buy universal sockets that accept all plug types, have switches and also have 5v USB ports

2 years ago I would have agreed, but now most modern phones/tablets etc use USB-C ports for power.

 

Where is technology going in the future?

There's also issues with quality and reports of fire hazards with the integrated 5V USB stuff that comes mostly from China.

 

I recently read on these forum pages that the Thai regulatory authorities have ruled that those 'universal' type sockets will be illegal so expect them to disappear from the market. It's already been a several years since power outlet strips with 'universal' style sockets were available here.

[KannikaP]

51 minutes ago, Encid said:

but now most modern phones/tablets etc use USB-C ports for power.

 

Isn't that at the appliance end. The cable still goes into a standard 'square' USB port on the charger.

[sometimewoodworker]

1 hour ago, KannikaP said:

Isn't that at the appliance end. The cable still goes into a standard 'square' USB port on the charger.

No, unless you want a slow charge. For the maximum the power supply can deliver and the device can use, then it’s USB-C on both ends.
 

One of my devices charges at 9v 35W on USB-C -> USB-C

USB-A the “square one” you are limited to 5.5V 2.1A

[KhunBENQ]

Decades living in Germany I can't remember switched sockets.

In the house here I installed two. Nice to have but hardly ever switched off.

[SomchaiDIY]

5 hours ago, KannikaP said:

Isn't that at the appliance end. The cable still goes into a standard 'square' USB port on the charger.

yes correct many quick charge system have big usb-a socket only at charger end

 

some fast charge system use usb-c both end

 

different standard can make much confusion

 

best to check device specs before making charger port choice

 

****************************************************************************

usb-a port can go over standard 5v if connected to quick charge circuit

 

here i show photo of qc 3.0 module with big usb-a socket only

 

device can make request to module for required charge volts with usb-a to usb-c cable

 

[patman30]

14 hours ago, Encid said:

2 years ago I would have agreed, but now most modern phones/tablets etc use USB-C ports for power.

 

Where is technology going in the future?

correct, however the other end of the cable is still usually USB-A
my devices use USB-C and i can charge them via the wall socket which is USB-A
however for mobiles i use the adapter for quickcharge, which the wall socket does not have
they are good for plugging in small stuff like lamps etc.
just handy to have them all around the house, not that they get used much

[patman30]

11 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

One of my devices charges at 9v 35W on USB-C -> USB-C

USB-A the “square one” you are limited to 5.5V 2.1A

Incorrect, USB-A are not limited to 5v as you state
look up quickcharge and huawei fast charge, you will find they use dynamic voltage
and the adapter still use USB-A
you are likely just looking at the output of your power adapters
that does not reflect the limits of a cable connecter

[patman30]

13 hours ago, NanLaew said:

There's also issues with quality and reports of fire hazards with the integrated 5V USB stuff that comes mostly from China.

 

I recently read on these forum pages that the Thai regulatory authorities have ruled that those 'universal' type sockets will be illegal so expect them to disappear from the market. It's already been a several years since power outlet strips with 'universal' style sockets were available here.

"comes mostly from china" what doesn't these days......????‍♂️

Yes they have the TIS standard since 2018
Universal products are STILL widely available here,
definitely not "several years since"

[carlyai]

I use those switchable power outlets like a manual change over switch. If one of my aquaponic air or water pumps fails, just a matter of turning one off and one on. 

Easy for Wifey (when I'm away) as doesn't need to plug a power cable in and take the other one out.

I should have used one in the kitchen for my coffee machine as I have to unplug it after I use it as the units on/off switch is easy to bump on while cleaning up the Farang kitchen. ????

[sometimewoodworker]

32 minutes ago, patman30 said:

Incorrect, USB-A are not limited to 5v as you state
look up quickcharge and huawei fast charge, you will find they use dynamic voltage
and the adapter still use USB-A
you are likely just looking at the output of your power adapters
that does not reflect the limits of a cable connecter

It’s certainly possible that the fast charge USB-A devices exist. However the overwhelming percentage of USB-A charging sockets (a guess but probably correct at 99.9999%) are not capable of fast charging and are limited to 5v 2.1A high power and 5v 1A normal

 

So that unicorns exist doesn’t mean that you will ever find one, though you can buy one yourself. ???? 

 

however with USB-C 28V/5A is possible and 20V/3A is likely and all the chargers I’ve seen are adaptive power.

 

then of course there is the advisability of powering a USB charging socket 24/7/365

[Crossy]

2 minutes ago, carlyai said:

 

 

But what about all of the electricity that's pouring out of the "on" but unused outlet?

[carlyai]

1 minute ago, Crossy said:

 

But what about all of the electricity that's pouring out of the "on" but unused outlet?

Got a plastic bucket underneath to catch and store it. 

Warning: bucket must be plastic. ????

(light on for show while I took the pic. Quite nice little power sockets though.)

[The Fugitive]

15 hours ago, Upnotover said:

Good point.  All my sockets in the UK have switches but I cannot ever recall switching any of them off when plugging in or out.

Maybe it became less important during the 1980's when our plugs had their live and neutral pins half-sleeved?

[Daffy D]

These switched power outlets are all well and good, unless wired the wrong way.

 

But, Hey!  this is Thailand, what are the chances  

[brianthainess]

3 pin Switched power outlets are available from Lazada, I can only recommend PANASONIC.  

[IvorBiggun2]

The right-hand socket cannot be used at the same time as the left-hand with that type of plug. It won't fit.

 

[mahjongguy]

2 minutes ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

The right-hand socket cannot be used at the same time as the left-hand with that type of plug. It won't fit.

 

True, in that your photo shows a 90 degree plug. Many appliances have them; others have straight-on plugs that don't have this problem. You can also buy duplex outlets where each socket is 180 degrees rotated from the other. That's a nice solution for some locations.

[lopburi3]

16 hours ago, NanLaew said:

I recently read on these forum pages that the Thai regulatory authorities have ruled that those 'universal' type sockets will be illegal so expect them to disappear from the market. It's already been a several years since power outlet strips with 'universal' style sockets were available here.

I have had no issues buying universal power outlet strips this year.  What have gone are the cheap, loose fitting, easy to catch fire, 100 baht type units that used to be sold by supermarkets.  Those being sold now are much higher quality and higher priced.  Below is one of the cheaper strips with examples of plugs it will accept.

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/t11-3ac-socket-usb-3-port-2-3000w100-750-i2112650854-s7098076176.html

[carlyai]

1 hour ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

The right-hand socket cannot be used at the same time as the left-hand with that type of plug. It won't fit.

 

Double insulated pumps with no earth pin. 

Plugs with earth pin will not fit (but there's always a way to DIY fit a plug.)