How Japan Made Their Outlet Safe

[@Lam]

🔒Remove your personal information from the web at joindeleteme.com/LAM and use code LAM for 20% off 🙌 DeleteMe international Plans: international.joindeleteme.com CLARIFICATIONS: Jan 21st Ohhh the comments are spicy on this one. I'll be adding more details tomorrow, here's some important ones: Grounding: Yes, ground acts as a low-impedance path (in TN countries) to trip the circuit breaker and turn off the circuit. One of the best video on grounding and bonding covers this point in incredible detail: kzbin.info/www/bejne/o6HKcol7abqqfNk This is someone who has built an incredible system teaching NEC and how it actually works. Japan ≠ Best. This is not a video about who has the best system and especially not Japan having the best system. This is about how Japan solved a problem that runs opposite to America (and most countries). They required GFCI first and grounding second which no other country has done. That's the unique part, not the GFCIs in the wall. If you have a favourite electrical system and you got offended, sorry. 7W Light Bulb: I didn't do a good job with this visual / explanation. I was referring to the filament, not the wire, the filament provides the resistance and therefore due to Ohms law restricts it to 7Ws.

[@maxmisterman785]

@@Splarkszter nice thats also my first thought about them, now if that is true is another pair of shoes. Regardless, they will only be able to request deletion of your data from organizations that want to operate a lawful buissness. So they dont protect against hackers, blackmail etc. At most they make it slightly harder to find your data in the first place for the criminals. But everything on the internet can be found by people who want it bad enough, so if your credid card number is somewhere on the internet it can be found. @Lam your comment is not pinned, if you want people to see it you might want to do that.

[@maxmisterman785]

@@Splarkszter New comment cause i think i managed to delete the old one: The companys only ask others to delete your data, so if they don't want to or think the law is on their side or the law is not an issue at all like for criminals, then they can't do anything. BTW the comment is not pinned so if you want it to be seen, maybe you should change that @ andrew lam

[@maxmisterman785]

It seems i can't comment under your comment? Sorry if these all land in your approval folder. Just wanted to say that this comment is not pinned, as you migh/ want to do for visibillity. Also that incogni and co don't protect you against criminals, cause they only request deletion, so if your data is with criminals or organizitions that don't care about the law, it will remain there. Cheers

[@orodlram]

All the new construction in the state I live in requires ground fault interrupt breakers so if we're adding them to our breakers and you guys are adding grounds to your sockets you might as well just use the sockets that America uses cuz it's already got three prong ground on it

[@chloekaftan]

for the record, this isnt only japan's outlet, the philippines and a number of southeast asian countries also employ the same outlet. edit: though we dont have a "GFCI", but now im interested and i want it.

[@ebol08]

If Technology Connections watches this video, he'll trip faster than the GFCI

[@TheChipmunk2008]

nah there's no switch on the outlet, that seems to trigger him lol

[@freeculture]

Unfortunately he is very America focused. Otherwise more fun of the UK "ring" system would have been shown. And the "caltrop" plug that kids love stepping into...

[@TheChipmunk2008]

@@freeculture i've literally launched myself into a full height mirror wardrobe door after feeling my foot hit one (UK sparky)

[@TheChipmunk2008]

+the door survived so did i, but f*ck that plug

[@larryroyovitz7829]

@@freeculture I wouldn't call it unfortunate, he's American and so his channel focuses more on that. Plus, likely most of his audience is American (North American I would say, as I'm Canadian but we have the same electrical set up).

[@dvx-ze1qz]

The problem with GFCI is that (as he mentioned in the video already) it works by comparing the coming and returning current of live & neutral. It only trips when there is a mismatch, which means someone has to get shocked before it can trip. Your outlet or appliance could have had a broken live, energizing the casing for days, but you wouldn't know, and the GFCI would not trip until you touch it and shock yourself. With grounding, however, the ground-wire back to the neutral is always present, meaning the moment that live wire touches the casing of your toaster, it'll trip the breaker, and you won't be left unaware for days, until you touch it and get shocked. With GFCI: Does not trip when the live touches the casing, but trips when you get shocked -> when you reset, it won't trip again unless you touch and shock yourself again With ground wire: Trips immediately when live touches the casing -> when you reset, it'll trip again immediately, unless you fix the problem

[@altuber99_athlete]

@@dvx-ze1qz No, that's not a problem of a GFCI, that's a problem of not using a ground wire. If the appliance and the branch circuit had a ground wire back to the panel, whenever a hot wire touches a metallic chassis, the GFCI would trip, without the need of someone first briefly touching the energized chassis.

[@dvx-ze1qz]

@@altuber99_athlete right. What I meant to say was using GFCI without ground. I should been more clear. Sorry

[@dono42]

The lack of ground on outlets here (hi from Japan) has been a known problem for decades. Slowly more modern buildings and housing are including grounding.

[@IIARROWS]

Oh right, look at that... a comment disproving the premise of the video. To which I knew was false. Hello from Italy, where outlets are basically that plus ground.

[@James_Knott]

This is the situation we had in Canada when I was a kid. We only had grounded outlets near the kitchen sink and laundry tubs. Now grounded outlets are mandatory and GFI are required in areas such as near the bathroom sinks.

[@borincod]

@@Willbme4EVA no neutral?? It's hard to believe you. I doubt you have IT grounding system in the place you live in, or you have somehow 200v three-phase supply into your house, while sourcing 2 phases into each socket. Would be quite weird. Did u check your sockets with a pen tester? Do both contacts light it up?

[@James_Knott]

@@Willbme4EVA Ummm... There's no positive wire with AC.

[@geoh7777]

@@borincod You don't have to have three-phase system to have two hot outlets. In one kind of a "220V system," you would have -110V at one wire while +110V at the other. In the U.S., we have a 220V system and put one 110V leg to one set of breakers and the other 110V leg to the other set. And with both legs sent to 220V air conditioners, dryers, electrical heating units e.g. "baseboard heaters" etc. I at one time had an operating lathe that I bought from a factory that ran on 220V three-phase. (To operate, it needed a rotary phase converter RPC and an idler motor; or other people with their own preferences could use any of several other methods to operate a three-phase machine off of two-phase power.)

[@TheSeanUhTron]

As others have pointed out, this video is a little misleading. I won't repeat their comments, but I will add this. GFCI/RCD are not perfect, they will only trip if the current doesn't return to neutral. This means if the person bridges the gap between live and neutral, the GFCI will not trip and they will be electrocuted. Having a safety ground is still preferred because it increases the chances of a fault current NOT returning to neutral and thus ensuring it can trip the GFCI.

[@DeepOceanDiver]

Some current will still go to the ground and it will trip before fuse/mcb

[@quarterswede]

Hence the requirement of Tamper Resistant outlets in new builds.

[@kerel866]

I don’t see how one would touch live and neutral at the same time by accident within milliseconds. That’s quite a far sought problem

[@gmanjapan]

Tokyo Fire Department reported that electrical fires took up 35.6% of the total number of fires in 2021

[@hudsonball4702]

A few years ago, when My family moved into our latest home, I tried many times to convince them to replace all the outlets in the house because some had shown a darkening around the plugs. After hounding them they finally did it just as we were moving in. They didn't want to becasue it was already adding in more costs to a small renovation we were having done too. When the electrician came and started to replace the plugs, he flat out told my parents and sister (who were buying the house) that i potentially just saved all our lives. Out of the 50 or so plugs he replaced only 2 of them were grounded and many of them were so worn nothing would stay plugged in. Several plugs showed signs of overloading and had discolored. The guy said it was a miracle that the house hadn't burned down that entire time. He also discovered a faulty breaker that was not tripping even though it was showing signs of overloading too. needless to say all of that has been fixed and replaced. Remember if you're moving into a house over 25 years old (which we were_ ALWAYS have an electrician check over the outlets. You'll never know what you might find.

[@MMuraseofSandvich]

You have a keen eye. Discolored plastic is usually a sign of heat, UV, or ozone where it shouldn't be, and dark or black plastic around the plugs means an electrical fire waiting to happen.

[@hudsonball4702]

@@MMuraseofSandvich Yeah from a young(ish) age i looked up ways to spot potential trouble with a house. My Father was a Baptist preacher so we moved around a fair bit and some parsonages were better than others. One of them had recently had its outlets replaced becasue one of them had apparently overloaded.That's what got me interested in looking closer at stuff before we moved in. The house i mentioned before (our current one) was the second house we bought after my father retired. Needless to say after this my parents gave my opinion a bit more credence.

[@brucecarr6258]

Thing is, in an older home without ground wires running to the box, a grounding outlet is pointless. MANY electricians try to scare people into spending money, and the whole "electrocuted" or "house burned down" thing is total BS. The stats for home electrocution are zilch, and houses burn down because people screw with electrical to make meth or run grow lights or do wiring that creates dangers; the house wasn't built that way. So why do electricians install 3-prong outlets? Because they scare people into doing it, and because many home inspectors insist upon 3-prong outlets. But a 3-prong outlet without the ground connected will show up as a useless thing when you hook up a tester. How to get around that is electricians will run a wire on the outlet, connecting neutral to ground. Voila, the outlet tests as though there is a functioning ground, passes tests, you do the dog and pony show for the customer, and collect your bill and be on your way. There are a LOT of unscrupulous electricians out there doing this, and scare tactics are crazy. In our build, I didn' t tell any of the electricians who came out that I'm an electrical engineer. I just let them talk and threw out all but one. The honest company was also almost 50% cheaper than the cheapest of the dishonest ones. I called the union on the others, but of course nothing happened. Buyer beware. EDIT: The problem with whole-house GFCIs is that they are massive headaches. They trip and no one knows why about 80% of the time. Seriously, false trips are a huge problem with panel GFCIs and AFCIs (arc fault, another topic). Some appliances will trip a GFCI once a week, just because of the way they're built.

[@hudsonball4702]

@@brucecarr6258 In my house it DID have grounding wires running to the box as it should, but only two of the 50 plugs had the grounding wires hooked up to the plug. This WAS causing overloading in a lot of the plugs. a good portion of them were showing signs of dark discoloration and even possible smoke damage. They were also very loose and worn that plugs wouldn't remain seated in them. They had to be replaced anyway just for that alone.

[@Chris_at_Home]

@@hudsonball4702No, the ground doesn’t carry current and should not cause anything to over heat if it isn’t hooked up. The ground is only for safety.

[@repatch43]

Sorry but this video really misleads IMHO. MANY countries require whole house GFCI/RCD, the difference is practically all those countries ALSO require outlets to be grounded. You get the best of both worlds. Really the problem with the GFCI/RCD approach is it REQUIRES someone(or something) to touch the fault and trip the RCD/GFCI. That toaster could be sitting there, live, for hours before someone touches it. And like you mention, if that someone is a small child, a person with a heart problem, or a pet? It could easily kill them. A grounded system will trip once the fault develops. That's the point. You don't have a live surface to touch available to you. GFCI/RCD alone is safer IN SOME CASES than the grounded system, but it's nowhere near universal. I really wish they'd mandate whole house RCD/GFCI here in North America, it would drop the price of that protection allowing cheap retrofits.

[@TMS5100]

it's clickbait video

[@Lam]

I'm curious about this comment because I never said Japan was the only country to require whole home RCD/GFCIs or which country has the best power system This video is how Japan approached their electrical system at the beginning in a unique way which has lead to ungrounded outlets still being allowed today. I mention that "GFCI + Grounding" is the right solution but that that Japan is "taking their sweet" time because it was working well enough. The people coming in reading into this video as some sort of attack on their favorite electrical system and that I didn't dive into the gritty nuances, sorry, that's not what this video is about. I do regret that I removed my normal frameworks and sometimes overexplaining to avoid these types of fights in the first place. I'll be more mindful next time. I've removed the title "Japan's Safer Outlets, Explained" because I understand why it could be misleading, not what I was going for.

[@RetroJack]

@@Lam Not an "update" - a correction.

[@Nemo222]

Whole home RCD breakers take rather a lot of power to activate, especially on 220/240 v circuits, if you get a shock that the RCD is protecting you from, boy howdy will you know it! A North American GFCI protected outlet is much more sensitive since they trip at

[@kirstinmorrell]

Who home GFCI, like whole home AFCI, makes diagnosing and solving faults significantly more difficult. And as others have said, it requires a lot more power to trip.

[@dazone]

Iinformative but kinda misleading since most countries in Europe and even countires close to europe (and possibly Australia) have the best of both worlds. All their circuits are protected by GFCI just like in Japan but also have outlets that accept grounded plugs like in the US/Canada.

[@Cazzar09]

I'm from Australia, and recently had some electrical work done on my house. Chatting with the electricians, and they did confirm that all new installs, and any new works is required to at least a RCD (What we call a GFCI Typically) but or, they could use a RCBO (Residual Current Circuit Breakers with Overcurrent Protection)

[@Montgomerygolfgator]

More recent code in the US also puts GFCI on specific circuits in the panel as well. Specifically, bedrooms and appliances like hot tubs. There's nothing stopping you from going full GFCI everywhere except where GFCI outlets are required (code prevents you from doubling-up GFCI)

[@KaiserTom]

​@@Montgomerygolfgator Either the circuit needs protected, or any outlet in those areas and further on the branch need protected. There is nothing in code that says you can't have a GFCI outlet on a GFCI circuit. It's just a bad idea because they can and do tend to interact with each other poorly.

[@moonasha]

@@Montgomerygolfgator bathrooms, outdoor outlets, and anything near a sink

[@Lam]

Thanks for comment dazone, I'm actually curious how people are coming to the conclusion that this video says that Japan is the only country to do this. My only point was that Japan was first to require a panel level RCD (at least from all the research I've done) but was really late to grounding because safety was mostly fine for so long.

[@izimsi]

in Poland (and probably most of Europe), we use grounded sockets even if we don't actually have a ground connection available (old wiring). You just connect neutral and earth when wiring the socket, making metal equipment safe to touch even if proper earth connection is not available. And if you have newer wiring, it's pretty much guaranteed you'll also have an RCD. So that's both methods at once with 'modern' wiring.

[@1blackice1]

Same here in the US too. We still have some old buildings and houses that don't have a external grounding rod either, ground is usually connected to the copper water pipe coming into the building from underground in these cases.

[@bradleydobie3891]

U.S. Electrician here. We are slowly incorporating more GFCIs every code cycle. We will probably achieve near 100% GFCI protection within a few more code cyles (code cycle is 3 years). GFCI protection is definitely the superior technology from strictly a safety standpoint.

[@sukhoy]

The best thing is having both configurations in place. In Europe they have GFCI but also ground pin in every outlet. Grounding also helps reducing electric noise and static.

[@TheFanatic340]

Europe isn't a country

[@AmUnRA256]

no shit sherlock! btw sukhoy never claimed that

[@l3tplayer]

@@TheFanatic340 yes but we have kinda unified standarts bruh

[@pederslothzuricho7685]

That depends on the age of the building, I have few ground sockets, because the building is from 1953. So what you say is mostly true.

[@pederslothzuricho7685]

​@@TheFanatic340correct but we do have directives that dictate laws to be implemented in each member country following the instructions in the directive, and on power installations there's a massive amount of cooperation and synchronization because of the inner market, such products can be used in all of the Union. As well as the ability to sell power across borders. Example there's not enough sun in Germany to produce enough power, but there is more than enough wind in Denmark, so Denmark sells surplus power to Germany cheaper, such that Germany doesn't need to burn coal. And it's regulated by the free market. The cooperation in The EU aka. Europe this makes it possible to align these things. In fact Europe is more accurate as Nations like Norway also comply with it even though Norway is not a member of the EU. So the statement is actually very valid, even if Europe isn't a country.

[@matthewjenkins1161]

In the UK, every socket is grounded, Neutral is connected to Earth and virtually all houses built since the 70s have RCD protection. Most older properties have been rewired and so equipped also. And in the last few years each individual circuit from the consumer unit has it's own RCD, meaning the whole house doesn't lose power, over a toaster that would trip, BEFORE anyone touched it.

[@Elesario]

Yeah, it's nice not having the lights turn off because the toaster blew out. Plus helps make the identification of the problem item much easier; find which breaker tripped, and then find what's on that circuit, turn it all off and then enable them one by one until you get a trip (assuming it's not a slow or intermittent fault).

[@cjsrescues]

Both neutral and ground go to the same place. Open the box and see.

[@zapy-85]

@@cjsrescues this depends on what cables comes from the local distrubution system, either you can have a true ground as in the video , metall bar hamered to the ground or go back to junctionbox or distrubution place, older systems piggy back on the neutral. with a true ground it should never be connected to the neutral. 4 wire system vs modern 5 wire system, at least in sweden.

[@cjsrescues]

@zapy-85 USA here, we screw everything up. LOL.

[@Omalleypike]

* On the topic of "Neutral is connected to Earth" is not always the case - The UK uses 3 grounding systems, TN-S (Earth and neutral are separate), TN-C-S (Earth and neutral are separate in the installation, and are combined at the service head), and TT (Mostly used in rural areas where other earthing systems are not available / compliant with regulations)

[@TMS5100]

Now cover japan's insane power grid, half 50hz and half 60hz, which prevents load shifting and causes bottlenecks in the grid.

[@LoveClassicMusic0205]

Is there any reason they couldn't switch to one or the other? Are there certain devices (besides clocks) that require a specific frequency?

[@samiraperi467]

@@LoveClassicMusic0205 Clocks rarely use the network frequency for reference these days.

[@cabobs2000]

They could do it with HVDC if the really had to. For a few billion only too. probably cheaper than changing all the grid over. just have two asynchronous systems connected by a DC link

[@SMGJohn]

@@LoveClassicMusic0205 Costs, stubbornness because there two massive competing electrical grid Corporations in Japan that want to keep the dual system alive. So Capitalism, essentially. Even North Korea uses the European schuko adapter, same with South Korea, the schuko adapter is much better even if its a monstrous pain in the REAR to plug in at times.

[@ItchyKneeSon]

​@@LoveClassicMusic0205There was some kind of disagreement as to which system was better back in the day, so they just split the country. lol And all appliances are made to handle either.

[@Awesomes007]

3:00 You imply that the circuit breaker in the box is to prevent electrocution. I was taught that the breakers were not designed to do that - the GFCIs are. The breakers are more to prevent fires caused by short circuits. Good video btw.

[@merlinious01]

Yeah, this guy knows just enough to sound authoritative to those less knowledgeable but is spreading misinformation.

[@GregCotton]

Agreed. Moreover, his animation at 3:35 seems to indicate that there is something "special" about the ground path that causes the breaker to trip, but it shows that the conduction path is identical to neutral. (Also, neutrals don't go through breakers) The key with ground is that is DOES create a "high speed raceway" for electricity, but that doesn't (necessarily) cause the breaker to trip - if provides an ALTERNATIVE path to a human body touching the same two points (i.e. the conductive metal side of a toaster with a short - and earth ground); therefore, the electricity will travel through the ground wire and not the person. In fact, an appliance could very likely operate for quite some time with such a fault and not trip any breakers...this is why GFCI (and/or AFCI) breakers are so important to detect these types of faults.

[@goldenhawk7800]

I’m always interested in seeing how other countries tackle similar problems. This was highly informative and to the point. Pretty cool reminder that there are different circumstances in infrastructure

[@Tensquaremetreworkshop]

In the UK we have had RCDs for years. We are now fitting them to every circuit (not just one per box). In addition we now require, in larger buildings, arc detection breakers- these prevent most electrical fires. We also have ground, for class one appliances. Class 2 are double insulated, so do not use the ground. In addition to the breaker, every appliance is fused to match its current draw. Outlets in bathrooms are not allowed, except 'shaver sockets' which are transformer isolated.- so there is no ground path. Construction sites use 110v (instead of 220) isolated and centre earthed, so potential is max 55v.

[@Bergkatse2]

Britain has the safest electrical standards and plugs but no plugs in the bathroom means no Toto washlets 😢 I couldn’t survive without mine (I brought one back to the USA).

[@Spyd77]

In Spain, having a RCD (Differential as we call them here) on the electrical panel is mandatory since 1973, this same year grounded sockets were mandatory on kitchens and bathrooms or similar places. Since 2002 sockets without grounding are banned and you can't find them for sale. The only electrical devices without ground plug that are allowed on Spain since 2002 are those that are double insulated.

[@omp0815]

Arguably the Japan outlet is just safer than an US one. But US outlets are some of the worst in the world. Puting EU outlets in the beginning of the video is kind of misleading. Most countries in the EU have both, a ground and a GFCI.

[@maxmisterman785]

Yeah i was reall confused when he said that only japan has these GFCIs.

[@danr1920]

You can't get it 100% right when you're (U.S.) first. Hard to go back and change everything.

[@rhysrail]

Yeah and the uks also has flaps covering it so you can’t stick things other than plugs into it

[@alouisschafer7212]

In most central European countries and the UK and Ireland GFCI protection is mandatory for almost everything. Ofc there are many exceptions but generally every new install has GFCI.

[@Gragagrogog]

@alouisschafer7212 As of like a 10+ years ago, every new building in EU requires GFCI/RCD protection on every outlet. In old buildings it's allowed to have it only in the bathroom.

[@Redragonytb]

10:50 don’t tell me they have GFCI but don’t put flaps on the plug 😭😭 it’s like having airbags but no seatbelts 😭😭

[@NONAME_098]

Don’t have switches on the plugs either

[@coasterfest]

In the UK we did things the other way around. We've always had grounded outlets, but wiring regulations have only recently started requiring RCD protection on almost all new circuits. I just recently had my 10 year wiring inspection, and so all circuits in my home were upgraded to RCD (All new RCBOs on every circuit.) :)

[@RK-kn1ud]

There should be an asterisk in your video around the @11:50 when you say "not only does this detect wiring faults". The truth is that it only detects MOST wiring faults. It will not detect, for example, a swapped neutral/ground. It will also not detect a high resistance neutral. Klein explicitly list the swapped neutral/ground situation in relatively fine print in their instructions for the RT210 under "Conditions NOT indicated"...among other places.

[@Lam]

Yup, I should have put that in regarding bootleg grounds, etc

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

@@Lam Also, keep in mind that GFCI doesn't provide any protection against arc faults, hence the more recent AFCI breakers that will probably be standard in the US in the future. From what I understand, they're still not super reliable about false positives, but they should create safety that GFCI just doesn't in areas that don't have water.

[@thedavesofourlives1]

The newer system to protect against such faults is ARC FAULT (AFCI) protection aka DAA/DDFT in europe. GFCI/RCBO is old news in global electricity safety systems.

[@Shaker626]

@@SmallSpoonBrigade AFCI is a strange band-aid solution for non-metallic sheathed cable. The laws should mandate EMT or armoured before AFCI implementation.

[@wesleyhurd3574]

⁠​⁠@@Shaker626Can you explain your assertion? My understanding is that AFCIs detect arcing that is the result of a loose connection. All electrical systems have some sort of connection points, whether they are screw terminals, twisted wires with a wire nut, or wago connectors. I don’t see how the sheathing of the cable is going to make much difference in the case of a loose connection. I’m fairly certain that loose connections on metal sheathed cables have caused fires. Although, conduit or metal sheathed cable does have more protection from physical damage, such as someone driving a nail into a wall.

[@JamesStripling]

Running a ground wire is a passive system. Properly installed, it doesn't fail. RCD/GFCI are active systems. They eventually fail. Where I live, they're required on outside outlets and any outlets in kitchens and bathrooms within 6" (2M) of the sink/ tub, basically anywhere it's going to get wet. They're ADDED protection.

[@jovetj]

Of course, those are minimum requirements. There's nothing stopping anyone from installing GFCI protection on every single receptacle in the entire home.

[@adriankoch964]

Japan can't guarantee that grounding wiring won't fail during earthquakes, so GFCI makes sense. Both would probably be better (redundancy) but they commonly replace entire buildings before the lifespan of a GFCI breaker. Houses in JP devaluate extremely quickly & most of the value is in the lot.

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

@@adriankoch964 It's a stupid design decision. In the US, anything that has only 2 prongs is supposed to be double insulated to protect against shocks. Things with a 3rd prong don't require the extra insulation as the ground should intercept any of that current and direct it out of the building via the ground wire. Having GFCI is nice, but it doesn't protect against shocks as the video indicates, so you still need the extra insulation if you don't have the ground. In the US, GFCI is typically required in the locations that are most likely to benefit from them, mostly kitchens, bathrooms, garages and other areas likely to have moisture. You can install GFCI berakers if you like, but then you have issues related to figuring out where the fault was that triggered it, when the more typical US practice is to just include the GFCI at the outlet which helps greatly in terms of figuring out which one did it. The one that makes a bigger difference is AFCI, and that is still coming, but that protects against far bigger concerns related to arc faults that can lead to fires. As far as earthquakes go, that's BS, the west coast of the US regularly gets earthquakes and the likelihood of having any power coming in when none can get out is a rarity, to say the least, assuming it's even possible.

[@electricpaisy6045]

I don't realy get what you mean by passive and active in this context but RCDs rarely fail. They are extremely safe even to the point that they age in a way that makes them even more sensitive. So if they get older, they break the circuit at even lower currents and after even faster times. There has to be some serious and unusual damage for one to fail that might happen just as often to the classic circuit breaker. In europe they arent added protection, they are required protection. The circuit breakers are less trusted than the RCDs so we have to have both in every place where basic people who aren't electricians hang around.

[@JamesStripling]

@@electricpaisy6045 Active components have moving parts. Passive components don't. Moving things wear out. I don't suppose it gets any simpler than that. GFCI's are required by code, in addition to a ground wire and a ground rod (or rods). A breaker tripping at a current lower than it's rated value is a failure, BTW. You are proving my point about wear. Also, aluminum (or aluminium) wire is no longer accepted at least around here, because of the seasonal heat differential (-20F or -28C to 110F or 43 C) It moved far too much due to expansion/contraction. Can't have your ground wire acting like an active component, especially when it pulls itself out of its own connections. Cheers!

[@UriahStuff]

12:00 Actually, the test button is just as effective as an outlet tester because the way that the best button works is by shorting a resistor between the neutral and live, simulating a real ground fault.

[@Lam]

̶N̶o̶t̶ ̶e̶v̶e̶r̶y̶ ̶G̶F̶C̶I̶ ̶d̶o̶e̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶,̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶y̶ ̶s̶h̶o̶u̶l̶d̶,̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶s̶o̶m̶e̶ ̶o̶n̶l̶y̶ ̶r̶e̶l̶e̶a̶s̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶m̶e̶c̶h̶a̶n̶i̶s̶m̶ ̶i̶n̶s̶i̶d̶e̶ Edit: I was wrong. All GFCI test buttons create an inbalance between hot and neutral which should trip the breaker. I think I was going through some engineering discussions and it was likely a discussion on whether the testing mechanism can fail and whether an external device should be used.

[@UriahStuff]

@Lam Good to know, but basically all modern GFCIs do that.

[@synonys]

@@Lamthen it’s not testing anything

[@sirtra]

Live and ground, not live and neutral as that would be equivalent to plugging in a light bulb or any other small load. I've never seen a GFCI without a test button, for places where it's mandatory that typically includes testing every X years. But hey i'm sure Japan make flawless GFCI's which never ever malfunction or fail. I guess Japan also doesn't have lightning strikes either, or they are okay with humans becoming lightning rods. Not my definition of "safer" but each to their own.

[@jonc4403]

@@Lam When and where? Only releasing the mechanism wouldn't be an actual test, there would be no point. I'm gonna have to see some documentation that a nonfunctional test was ever allowed in a US residential GFCI. Having disassembled a GFCI from the 1970s, it was definitely a real test back then.

[@ggvider]

As an electrician in Switzerland, our electrical system is designed with a high emphasis on safety, similar to what Japan intends to implement with 3-hole sockets. Here, all our sockets have 3 holes, and both our sockets and plugs are specifically developed to prevent any contact with metal parts during the plugging process. While there are still some older installations, the use of RCDs (Residual Current Devices) has been mandatory for several years now, providing an additional layer of protection.

[@cadd9511]

Started following you when you first did dashcam reviews/tests years ago. So glad you're adding additional content to your channel!

[@nikaiwolf]

Some jurisdictions in the US require GFCI and/or AFCI breakers, there are combo breakers as well, in NEW construction only. Check the NEC, or for California, the CEC.

[@WJCTechyman]

CEC is Canadian Electrical Code, I think you mean NEC for the jurisdiction of California. Also, I think it would be more appropriate to call the NEC USNEC due to another corporation operating internationally known as Nippon Electric Company.

[@nikaiwolf]

@@WJCTechyman In California, we call it the CEC, but I totally agree it is a bad acronym in either case.

[@cTwelve]

At this point, essentially all jurisdictions in the US require these protections. The video is...yeah.

[@mitchk7655]

Not only new construction, but also in almost all instances of rework to the circuit in older panels as well.

[@prjndigo]

afair if you replace a breaker in a bedroom it MUST be an arc fault or combo AGF now - which causes a lot of hassle

[@chriscollamore5471]

Yikes a very large amount of this information is wildly incorrect. 3:53 This is not what ground is for. The whole “this is what keeps your 7w lightbulb 7w is not correct. It is 7 watts because that is the current it draws at a certain voltage. Study ohms law. It is very important to have a functioning understanding of this. Additionally, circuit breakers ARE NOT designed to stop people from getting shocked, they are to protect the wiring in the walls which could cause a fire if overloaded. As long as you don’t exceed it’s rating, it really doesn’t care what is happening. This video needs to be almost completely redone. This is extremely misleading

[@yaltschuler]

I've heard that before, yeah. Looking at the rest of the comments it seems like this is just one more thing that he got wrong in this video. It appears that he unfortunately did just enough research to find himself at the starting section of the Dunning-Kreuger effect, which is a rough place to be when you're trying to make an educational video. 😕

[@Lam]

Sorry, but you're incorrect about ground. Ground acts as a low-impedance path (in TN countries) to trip the circuit breaker and turn off the circuit. One of the best video on grounding and bonding covers this point in incredible detail: kzbin.info/www/bejne/o6HKcol7abqqfNk This is someone who has built an incredible system teaching NEC and how it actually works. The 7W light bulb analogy I was referring to the filament inside, that's not the wire outside. I could have done a better visual. @yaltschuler, is this a reverse Dunning-Kreuger?

[@StefanNuxoll]

⁠@@LamLook, I’m just a homeowner with enough knowledge of electricity and the NEC to do his own work and pass inspection, but you’re conflating system grounding with equipment grounding. We still have ground rods in the US, and just like Japan they are to provide a fault path for current that doesn’t originate from the grid like lighting and static electricity. Impedance of the soil is FAR to high for it to be a usable return path for power from your utility, and even in your Japanese builds it’s not used for that purpose. Equipment grounding conductors are protection for people using devices connected to a receptacle, and they do not require changes to anything but the wiring inside a building and using receptacles and plugs with a ground connector. Your circuit breakers / OCPD will still stop a short to ground like they would a short to neutral, because in an AC system the direction of current changes at 50/60hz so half the time it will be coming from the protected leg of the circuit and will trip. RCDs are incredible devices that bring that protection further by focusing on ground faults where current goes through a return path other than the hot or neutral conductor to further protect personnel even if the OCDP wouldn’t trip, but they work best in tandem with EGC to prevent such a fault from even having a chance to harm somebody in the event of a frayed conductor, which is why the NEC now requires combo GFCI+AFCI almost everywhere in residential buildings. Japan using TT for system earthing doesn’t really mean anything, you can just bond at the consumer unit, keep the existing grounding electrodes in place, and you have a TN-C-S system with a multiple grounded neutral at both the premises and transformer to provide a the same fault path in the event of damage to the service entry wire (just like we do in the US! Japan even uses split phase power like the US does, so they’re got the same two hots and a neutral coming in for the service entry).

[@_Msn_]

@@Lam Lol in the video you never mentioned that the resistance was due to the filament, you were comparing mains wires with the ground. Maybe have a rewatch?

[@Lam]

There's no way I would ever make a claim that we have a special 7W mains wire that makes lightbulbs work. That would be ridiculous. It was simply a visual issue. I would have connected the "twisting" wire with the light bulb filament better.

[@adrianio1000]

GFCI is supplemental protection. Grounding is basic protection. You absolutely cannot replace basic with supplemental protection. Also gfcis are proven to be less effective in 2 wire systems. 2 wire systems don't provide adequate protection when operating properly and absolutely zero protection in case of failure. All it takes is a loose or burnt neutral wire at the breaker panel and all metal parts of electrical devices become live. I would honestly expect a second video correcting this one, as the level of electrical safety knowledge you demonstrated is abysmal.

[@Roi-su8mo]

NEC and CSA don't think so. They approve GFCI receptacles as a safe 3 prong retrofit for 2 prong ground-less K&T or old Romex wiring.

[@adrianio1000]

@Roi-su8mo well the IEC does not.

[@KB99KraYziE]

GFCI in Europe is ALSO BASIC.. NOT SUPPLEMENTARY... in an exposed wire or damaged device that discharge in your table's legs or in a ... plasterboard frame of ...american papier-mâché houses ...with the cables around and not inside the corrugated... probably the ground cable are your little son... and your 20.. 32 or 64 Amps circuit breaker isn't adequate for save your unaware ground cable called probably YOUR SON.... 🎉🤗🥳😅 Or not?

[@zeddpilsner4]

@@Roi-su8mo I can vouch this is true in Canada. From the Canadian electrical code book 2018(I dont have the latest): 26-702 2) - At existing outlets where bonding means does not exist in the outlet box, grounding type receptacles shall be permitted to be installed, provided that each receptacle is protected by a ground fault circuit interrupter of the class A type. Appendix B for that rule goes on to describe that the GFCI can be of the type that is intergrated into the receptacle, incorpirated into an upstream receptacle, dead end front type or by GFCI circuit breaker.

[@jovetj]

That's BS. GFCIs don't need or care about a ground connection and are not "less effective" without one. That's like saying your speedometer in your car is "less effective" without a passenger.

[@nsayer]

Fun fact: Japan has two electric grids that operate at different frequencies. After WW2 half the country contracted with GE and got 60 Hz equipment, and the other half contracts with Siemens and got 50 Hz equipment. The two can exchange energy only through DC interties, which became very very important after Fukushima was destroyed.

[@redbird7724]

They used different frequencies even before ww2. In 1880s ,Germany(50hz) and US (60hz) helped them to build their power grid.

[@arivaldarivald3212]

Well, GFCI is an active element. It may fail to work. It is why you are required to test it once or twice annually (who does?). Ground wire with over current breaker works passively, and always provide some protection. But of course having both of them is the best solution.

[@WraithlingRavenchild]

You confused ground with grounded. The ground is a low impedance path back to the overcurrent protection device. That enable high voltage spikes that actuates the magnetic coil in the breaker to break the circuit. Grounded is completely different. Look up corner grounded delta transformers. The first means of disconnect is also the only point where the neutral and ground are bonded. No overcurrent flows past that bond point.

[@jsurace]

And I have seen many a novice trip over that "grounding" vs "grounded" when reading the NEC for the first time!

[@thedavesofourlives1]

Earth and ground are different things.

[@Patrick-vh7sw]

Your explanation of how breakers work in the US is wildly incorrect to the point of misinformation. In the 4th minute you haven't gotten to GFCI (or AFCI) breakers yet and you're talking about thermal trip breakers. Those DO NOT require grounding to function. It's typically a bimetallic strip that heats up if you're over-current (either a very high transient load, or long term being above 80% of the nameplate amperage). GFCI breakers (and outlets) don't directly protect you from touching the hot wire, they trip when current passes through the ground wire, or when an imbalance happens. So if a hot wire touches the metal case of an appliance that is grounded, it trips. If you drop a hair dryer in the tub, that's an imbalance and it can trip. If you touch a wire and the imbalance is low enough it may not trip. Japan's GFCI system is LESS safe than the modern systems in use elsewhere with a ground wire - the Japanese system works solely on the disparity of current in vs out - they cannot protect you from the metal case of an appliance becoming energized UNTIL something touches that case and is shocked causing an imbalance. It should also be noted that in most countries you now are required to use combination breakers that are both arc fault AND ground fault, which is remarkably safer. Japan could easily fix this by simply running ground wires in buildings even if they don't bond neutral to ground. Additional fun fact: in a home that has no ground run to the outlets you CAN install a GFCI outlet and be protected. The appliance ground is connected to the GFCI's ground so it can detect ground faults and the GFCI's imbalance protection also functions.

[@phillipsusi1791]

No, he was pretty much spot on. In the event of a ground fault in a toaster, there isn't any current flowing without a safety ground, so the breaker doesn't trip. Current only flows when someone touches it, and then it takes much less current to kill the person than it does to trip the breaker. It is the presence of the safety ground that ensures that the breaker will likely trip before someone touches it and dies. You said that you can touch a wire in a GFCI and the current may be low enough that it wont' trip, but iirc, they are required to trip with only a 5 mA imbalance, so if you can feel it, it will trip.

[@MCA0090]

In Brazil we usually use the grounding connected on the neutral in the electric panel, but our regulations also allow the TT grounding, but people avoid it because GFCI is mandatory on every circuit that is installed with TT grounding (because otherwise the grounding would be useless for protection). We also use the GFCI in the electric panel like Japan does (GFCI is mandatory for kitchen, bathrooms, outside areas and any other areas that are subject to be wet or too humid). But you still can be electrocuted in a groundingless circuit protected by a GFCI if you touch both wires at the same time (live and neutral) and the current pass through you body from one wire to the other wire and doesn't escape to the ground, in this case GFCI will not detect it.

[@michelcolman314]

Another reason to have ground is that on ungrounded equipment, there will usually be a very tiny amount of voltage which you can barely feel but can notice for example if you gently stroke the metal surface of a laptop. It's a slightly "buzzing" local feeling, as if the surface was not quite smooth. Most people don't pay attention to this, but over a long period of time, the tiny amount of current traveling through the surface will damage the finish, with lots of small pits slowly apearing. So if your laptop is showing pitting on the places where you rest your hands, it has nothing to do with your personal hygiene (as some people claim) but you should just use a grounded power cable. It's quite stunning how few people know about this, even some producers of USB charging equipment are oblivious to this and claim grounding is not needed in their products. It is.

[@dj1NM3]

The interesting thing is that Australia has done almost exactly the same thing since the early 1990s, with every domestic circuit RCD/GFCI protected and the only difference is that we have an earth wire as well, because that was already there and provides that Neutral/Earth connection at the fusebox to trip from faulty appliances, without some-one having to touch it.

[@mmcfly1025]

Electrician from Melbourne, Australia here. We used to have similar house wide RCD's fitted (mandatory since late 90's / early 2000's on new installations). They were eventually banned due to small faults such as a filament (incandescent) light globe blowing and taking out the whole house supply. Eventually power and light circuits had to have separate RCD/MBO's combo (Residual Current Device - Miniature Breaker Overload) to break them up. These can be separate devices. There are also 4 different types of RCD's, but that's getting technical and has to do with an obsolete type with 3 new replacements, that operate on different currents and frequencies, depending on what's required. Now every separate circuit has it's own RCD-BO installed with a recommended 2 lighting circuits through the house (though not mandatory). That way, faults are isolated to individual circuits, not the whole house, especially lighting. The next evolution in electrical protection will be AFD devices or Arc Fault Detection that will start being implemented soon. These detect arching between active conductors and disconnect before the circuit, hopefully before a fire takes hold. As mentioned in another comment, I'm coming up to 30 years in the biz, so have seen a few changers in my time. I find other countries electrical systems interesting though, so thanks for making the vid - Cheers!!

[@fireaza]

I live in Japan, and for whatever reason, power strips nearly always have a ground pin hole, despite basically no appliances having the pin. Also, many appliances that have a ground wire, don't have the fancy metal connector. It's just a bare wire, and you're expected to just sorta, shove it into the ground plate.

[@drtekrox]

Likely just re-use of American designs. In Australia many plugpacks coming from China are 'upside down' since China uses a very similar (but not quite the same) outlet as we do, but they have the earth pin on top, so if the plugpack pulls away from the wall slightly, the earth pin is the exposed pin, where in old Australian appliances, active and neutral would have been exposed. in 2003 it was mandated in Australia that the first half of the flat pins (the half at the back of the plug, not the half first inserted into the socket) is insulted to prevent that issue. Different solutions to the same problem, but since we share an outlet and do it differently, sometimes the plugpacks are just upside down - happens the same for China too, sometimes a plugpack released in the local Chinese market will be Australian standard with insulated pins but upside down for Chinese sockets.

[@MCA0090]

It's a bad design. They should have just started making outlets with the 3rd pin as well as the plugs that need it. They could have done that decades ago.

[@rerolledDK]

In the Philippines, we use Japanese style ungrounded outlets but blast 220v through them and don't use GFCI. Life is more exciting when your outlets have no safety features and are physically compatible with the plugs of appliances that use about half the voltage.

[@NotExpatJoe]

I swear my house in the Philippines is wired with phone cable. There are also a lot of wires in public that hang very low. My wife is only 4'6" and strolls under them without a care in the world, while myself at 5'10" catch them in the throat or they drag across the top of my head. Scary stuff.

[@jounlow]

@@NotExpatJoe welp at least the Filipino kids are probably smart enough no to touch a bare HV powerline . not the case in the US. found a news story online [there were highly vivid pics of the scene] the line was hanging about 4ft off the ground. i was aggravated by how much they were praising the person who dragged his i assume unconscious butt away. they made it seem like it was a highly dangerous endeavor. i don't remember but i believe the football field sized area they had yellow Caution tape strung up along was there when it happened.

[@Cotronixco]

@@NotExpatJoe Is there no NEC there?

[@NotExpatJoe]

@@Cotronixco Yes, the Philippines has an electrical code, known as the Philippine Electrical Code (PEC). The PEC is part of the Philippine Grid Code (PGC) and the Philippine Distribution Code (PDC). However, there is a lot of corruption and little desire to enforce the code, especially with residential housing.

[@phillipsusi1791]

Oh my God, how the heck did that happen? I mean, while they are almost never used in the US, we did design outlets for 240v with the blades turned sideways so they wouldn't be physically compatible with 120v outlets. Why would the Philippines not just use those?

[@Hando316]

I was an electrican for 16 years when I lived back home in the states. I find it interesting seeing how other countries work the same craft from instalations to theories. Good job. Circuit breakers trip when the load hits 80%.

[@denton8047]

Had a freezer icemaker element short in front of me, I was luckily touching a plastic handle. It never blew the breaker, as it was only a few hundred watts, but no GFCI/AFCI. Fortunately, I have a good ground, and it just went right into that. Leakage from the freezer element was lower than the GFCI tripping current until the timer caused a spike (300mah, below the 500mah required to trip), replaced it and it's fine. It now lives on a GFCI/AFCI, if they trip, something is broken, but they still didn't catch the low level ground leakage.

[@Eli-s7d]

US requires arc fault interrupters (AFCI) on pretty much on every circuit now, that's not protecting against electrocution but it helps prevent fires.

[@MobileTaz]

No they don't, they're legislated profits for manufacturers. GFCIs save lives. AFCIs are nothing but a nuisance.

[@prjndigo]

the funny thing about AFCI alone is it isn't actually going to stop even 2/3 of electrical circuit fires in a home but it WILL detect faults in the circuit as installed... it can't actually detect smooth-load grounding like a GFCI and in my experience most good GFCI breakers have already been quite effectively protecting us against arc-faults since the GFCI was invented GFCI saves lives, now that we have AGFCI breakers the world is a better place because you don't have to worry about code enforcement _forcing_ you to use breakers in your bedroom that will definitely kill you.

[@enexsix]

Isn't that only on new construction? Most people are living in homes that are 10+ years old and predate those changes.

[@MobileTaz]

@enexsix New construction or any circuit that is extended or modified beyond changing devices (switches/receptacles/luminaires) must be brought to current code.

[@phillipsusi1791]

I thought AFCI was a superset of GFCI, so it also protected against shocks? And of course, they trip all the time for no reason just to annoy you.

[@Alexis-lt3zy]

Important note: outlet testers in the US usually can't check if your ground circuit is actually wired correctly! They usually just look for a connection between neutral and ground, because, as mentioned here, the two are actually connected (usually). So, if skimping builders just wired the ground of an outlet to neutral instead of doing things properly, everything will appear good... but you won't have the same protection as with real grounding.

[@Lam]

Yeah bootleg grounds can't be detected! I'll probably write up a longer article on it!

[@Dee_Just_Dee]

Can confirm. When my brother and I were still living with our parents, my brother was wise enough to invest in a surge protector to keep his PC safe. But, our parents had been cheap getting the family home "updated" to have "three prong outlets" without properly earth-grounding them - they had a retired electrician who didn't give any shits do the bare minimum work replacing the receptacles. A close lightning strike somehow spared my PC but fried the motherboard in my brother's PC despite the surge protector. Years later, it turned out that the guy had failed at more than properly earth-grounding my brother's outlet: Just this year my parents had most of that circuit go dead, and the electrician they called in to troubleshoot it determined that the outlet in my brother's bedroom was wired in reverse, and very poorly at that. Anything you would plug into that outlet would have a live chassis and risk losing power altogether if a heavy truck drove by. And it sat that way for twenty years. Blows my mind that it never started a housefire.

[@WraithlingRavenchild]

The fuck they can't the 3 LED are easier to use than the 3 seashells.

[@LND3947]

​@@Dee_Just_DeeBuy Cheap, Buy Twice. Honestly, if you're so limited on funds that you need to call in somebody that inexperienced and dangerous to do the job then you might as well just buy a book and learn how to do the job properly yourself. Buying a book and learning how to do a task properly as a professional is how my parents saved thousands in the 1980's & 1990's by doing the work themselves using the correct standard of hardware and then have a accredited professional come in, check their work, then sign it off if it was up to standard, which it always was because if they were ever unsure then they'd call up family friends who worked as tradesmen and query if they were doing something correctly or not. It pays to have friends who are tradesmen, and it pays to do a job properly the first time. I'm glad nobody got killed by that idiots dangerous wiring job, it sounds like your brother was very lucky not to have been harmed or even killed by the socket in his room.

[@James_Knott]

@@Dee_Just_Dee Maybe he wasn't really an electrician. When I was a kid, I had a friend whose father thought he was one. It's a wonder his house hadn't burned down.

[@cidercreekranch]

Ground and neutral should only be bonded in the main panel. Sub-panels between different building that are linked with metal piped should isolate the neutral and the ground bus bars and a separate grounding rod must be installed at the sub-panel location.

[@jonyemm]

Sounds right. I put a sub panel in my house and even for that the ground and neutral had to be isolated

[@okaro6595]

Grounding systems vary country to country. As far as I know Japan has TT where the ground and neutral are not connected.

[@SLeeSG]

To be fair, the Japanese grid is insanely reliable, so from the device perspective I don't see much of a problem, unless the device itself has some major issue. We shouldn't forget that by making the connection to the ground a default thing, whatever device you connect becomes reliant on that ground socket. If this has an old plug, you don't connect it to the ground, and there is a fault, you may die if you touch it, while in the Japanese system the device can break but you don't die. Not all, especially old devices have a ground-ready plug. I don't think thinks is easy to judge. Would be great having both systems at the same time, which is not necessarily common anywhere.

[@NaStEric]

8:11 needs an oscars

[@3beltwesty]

Japan use to not have gfci protection. Ie it just was a 2 prong socket with no ground.. Lots of mid 1980s stuff was that..just like usa 1940s and 1950s homes..

[@nick78698]

Only need to take a look at Japanese vintage 2 prong audio equipment from the 70's/80's. Definitely not double isolated.

[@SLeeSG]

Dude, by looking at the way you write, I don't think you actually understand what a cable is.

[@3beltwesty]

@@SLeeSG This video is about the Receptacle; not a cable. ie lay terms the Receptacle is the outlet

[@borincod]

Why so misleading? 7:10 1) it is easy to convert TT to smth like TNC-S, and you don't need to upgrade "substation infrastructure" for this. In opposite, converting TN to TT is more troublesome as this requires independent extra grounding system of the house. 2) while many countries in Europe practice TT grounding (not just France), their sockets have 3 contacts now. Having or not having the ground contact is not really depends on TT or TN - both grounding systems allow having extra grounding contact. At least, GFCI can do its work better in this case 3) as you have shown yourself, some Japanese sockets have a cumbersome inconvenient ground contact, so it seems Japanese engineers see that their plug-socket design is inferior, but instead of really solving the problem, they decided to use a weird crutch solution

[@JerseyTom]

yeah, this guy doesn't know what he's talking about

[@okaro6595]

No, it is not easy. It is not just that you connect the ground to the neutral. In TT and TN the second letter tells where the grounding conductor is connected so the connects would make no sense without grounding conductor. Teh Japanese separate grounding system is so that you can plug for example a PC to the outlets without the hole. Yes, from European perspective the idea of optional grounding whether you remember to hook it is horrible. The system requires more from the user.

[@borincod]

@@okaro6595 your point is not clear. Are u sure you have accounted grounding rods location for TT and TN ?

[@okaro6595]

@borincod what do grounding rods have to do with anything?

[@borincod]

@@okaro6595 they have smth to do with difference between TN and TT... It is not so nice to tell anybody to search themselves, but I have actually already mentioned this earlier

[@davida1hiwaaynet]

Thanks! I have always enjoyed looking at the different electrical systems and standards in the places I travel. Everyone has good ideas, and it is great to stay with what is familiar to the people using it.

[@AntaresRequiem]

Argentina here. And I can confirm here is exactly that way same as Japan. Unfortunately regular people are unaware of how important is a GFCI (we call it DISYUNTOR here) but good electricians does and they implement it with ground at the main house panel. Cool video about Japan systems very similar to Argentina too hahahaha

[@GregJoughin]

"Business Expense Dessert (Hello CRA)" is one of the funniest things I've ever seen in a KZbin video.

[@akassasin5768]

I could be wrong but with the ground wire being the same size as the neutral actually wouldn't allow more current. The ground is usually connected to metal cases of components. This means that if any hot wires (neutral can carry current aswell) touch a metal component you don't get shocked. Instead it shorts to the breaker. This actually usually creates an electromagnetic collapse in the breaker which tripps it. That's why pulling 17 amps from a 15 amp breaker might take 30 seconds to trip but a short will trip right away. Also you may have mistaken earthing rods for grounding rods. The rods that go into earth take and energy from lightning hopefully back into the earth (where the lightning is trying to go) that's an earthing rod not a grounding rod from what I understand. Last thing. You can actually see for yourself that grounding is simply mean to short accidental hot wires touching what they aren't supposed to. Inside your bathroom often by your gfc you have the ground connected to the copper plumbing. Why would a wire meant to carry an immense amount of current at home voltage be connected to plumbing l. That is because if a hot wire touches plumbing it will trip instead of staying hot. By the way sticking a fork into one side of an outlet won't shock you often times because your resistance is to high. Now that changes if you are in the shower.

[@prjndigo]

the ground and the neutral are both actually bound to the ground, its a method of neutralizing a building charge on the neutral and keeping the wiring from appearing like a target to lightning as well... very few people understand the lightning thing because house wiring is "do as we wrote or you get fined"

[@aaron_11111]

Pulling 17 amps from a 15A breakers takes awhile trip because a bi metallic strip takes a while to warm up and open the circuit. When you short a 15A breaker it trips immediately because all that current passes through a coil which will pull the breaker contacts a part when the magnetic field is strong enough. This is by design so something like an air-con unit with its large compressor does not constantly cause tripping because for a few hundred milliseconds motors tend to pull a high current just as it accelerates its rotor from stationary. In a RCD / GFCI there is another coil where neutral and live passes through. In normal operation no electricity will be induced in that coil as the outflow and return cancel each other out, but when you stick a knife in the toaster and make contact with the element some of the energy is not returning via the neutral, which induces electricity in the GFCI coil, the tiny bit of electricity is passed on to a TRIAC (or something similar) which then basically shorts the breaker causing it to open almost immediately.

[@foogod4237]

It's not about the size of the wire. It's about the fact that there's no resistance _in the device_ between the hot line and the ground (when a fault develops), so in that situation the _device_ will allow a lot more current to flow than is supposed to, which trips the breaker. The same thing would be true if there was a fault in the device connecting live to neutral, too. It's just that ground is a dedicated connection that's always guaranteed to be safe to touch, so it can be connected to things like metal exterior bits (live and neutral are often inadvertently swapped, and in some fault situations, neutral can actually end up with voltage on it too, so neutral isn't always guaranteed to be safe). Also, at least in the US, there is no difference between a "grounding rod" and an "earthing rod" (technically, in standard US terminology, there is no such thing as an "earthing rod" at all. They are officially always called "grounding electrodes".) Grounding rods (or "earthing rods") are also not intended to protect against lightning (this is a common misconception). The grounding conductors are actually nowhere near large enough to be effective in the case of a direct lightning strike anyway (they'll probably just be vaporized). Grounding electrodes are actually intended only to dissipate _static charges_ and eliminate _differences in ground potential_ from one location to another, and also to ensure that the ground wires (and neutral) are always kept close to the same potential as surrounding things that are not part of the electrical system (they are not allowed to "drift up" to accumulate high voltage potential on them, which might otherwise be possible if they weren't tied to anything else).

[@jovetj]

Earthing rod, ground rod, same thing; earth wire, ground wire, same thing.

[@fatguy9]

I could see the benefit of saving copper wire by not having a ground wire but the safest thing is to have both which is not too hard to do in the US since most modern buildings have grounding wires already and you could install a gfci outlet or gfci breaker a lot easier than running ground wires in already built buildings

[@mediocreman2]

Yeah, unfortunately there's some pretty bad information in this video. US outlets with GFCI are incredibly safe. If you combine them with AFCI, they are one of the safest in the world.

[@HeathenGeek]

In the UK TT systems usually have a 300mA RCD upfront to protect the whole installation. This is then time delayed, that is: it won't detect a fault for the first 100ms or so. This is because each circuit is then protected by its own 30mA RCD, so the circuits are protected twice over, and the circuits still have an Earth. Some types of systems in UK have Earth and Neutral connected. These are called PME (protective multiple Earth) and still have to have 30mA RCD protection. So, usually, they're safer. Still the best plugs and sockets in the world. . . unless you stand on them 🙂

[@jonc4403]

Yeah, I maintain that UK plugs are the most dangerous in the world. It hurts to step on a US plug, a UK plug will send you to the hospital with a puncture wound. In both countries the death rate is practically nothing. Turns out the vast majority of US electrocution deaths are caused by fractal wood burning - a hobby that effectively requires all safety mechanisms to be intentionally defeated.

[@Nemo222]

Australian plugs are better. All the same safety features in a much smaller package. But the Australian plug doesn't work with ring main circuits with a fuse for every device. The fuse for every device isn't needed if you have spoke circuits with appropriately sized breakers in the panel. The UK plug is the 4th best plug and is wildly overrated.

[@edrose5045]

​@@Nemo222Fuses in plugs have nothing to do with ring final circuits, that's a myth. They are beneficial to be used anywhere. Take a look at a small lamp cable and compare it to your kettle cable. Do they look like they should be protected by the same 15A/20A breaker? The breaker protects the wires in the wall, but cannot protect that little lamp cable. A fuse in the socket is needed to protect it

[@ImprobableWizard]

@@Nemo222 What is the ranking?

[@leerman22]

@@Nemo222 I like aussie plugs, they are so simple how they all lock out of being plugged into a lesser circuit, just change the pins' GIRTH instead of a completely different layout of pins.

[@2-old-Forthischet]

I was a telecom tech for over 30 years. Here are several times a ground source was an issue. A good ground source was essential in the operation of telecom equipment as well as safety because our equipment actually worked on negative power and positive ground. For some reason, one building's ground source was different from the water and electrical panel. Another time, a junk yard had so much oil in the dirt, I couldn't get a good ground source even with a 6 foot ground rod! I literally had to run a wire up to the strand on the pole! Once, an electrician installed a brand new circuit for our equipment. The new circuit breaker failed right out of the box! And the worse one was a 700 volt transformer was being replaced at a commercial site and the electrician was testing the ground source and found no ground on the wire. He pulled the wire and it went nowhere. It wasn't even connected to anything. Be safe out there.

[@flywithkay1]

Very interesting video. Thank u! We (Germany 🇩🇪) use both systems. Using a GFCI and the grounding via neutral wire and earth. Since ~1985, we had to install a GFCI in the bathroom and emmm ~2000 for the complete house.

[@Kosh-g7l]

2:33 what you are demonstrating here is a type of grounding system called TT system and a RCD (RCBO or RCCB) are mandatory to be installed for the whole circuit (it can be 100mA or 300mA (selective or non-selective) on the input to protect from fire. The rest are normal 30mA or 10mA), because this type of grounding will not pass enough current during short circuit to trigger the coil in magneto-thermal switch (it will not trip from currecnt spike) on the ground which will cause fire. The TN-S is the mostly used in Europe (but the real TN-S requires a ground wire from distribution box and a wire from the rod in apartments distribution box on same bar in every apartment). In TN-S system the ground wire comes from step down transformer box which is on the same bar as neutral wire and during a short circuit, it will handle short circuit current. Furthermore, the ground wire is also used for lightning arrestors, surge protection, noise filtering, reference, screening the source of noise and other usefull things. So, by removing the grounding from the sockets, during the sudden leakage of the current to the case of the device, in Europe it would trip the RCD or magnetotehrmal switch, in Japan it will either shock you (slightly) or shock you massivly in case if RCD got broken (sometimes it happens) or case a short circuit if you move your i.e toaster to the water tap.

[@charmio]

Good explaination! I've always hated the names TT, TN, IT, etc... So unintuitive (Perhaps it would make more sense if I read into the history of the names but a good name is self explanatory). And yeah, I prefer to still have a ground with an RCD for anything that isn't explicitly double insulated. I've had tingles from a wet coffee maker on a steel bench before. Rather than chuck away the coffee maker or rely on the RCD, it was easy to just add a ground from behind the nearest power socket to the bench. I've also seen faulty RCD's before when anual RCD testing. Granted, only 1 out of 300, but still it happens, as you said.

[@emily36130]

@@charmio It's intuitive if you're french

[@edfx]

No ground is still bit sketchy. Notice the "push monthly" button on GFCI? What if you didn't push it monthly and didn't realize GFCI has failed.

[@bassyey]

They always fail. I've had failures a lot.

[@sticker89]

0:58 best book you ever found

[@rikschaaf]

Here in the Netherlands we've had both of these for decades. Kitchens, bathrooms and laundry rooms had grounded outlets since I can remember, with the GFCI/RCD in the breaker box as well. Buildings from the past 20 years or so also have all the other outlets grounded, probably for extra safety and possibly to protect sensitive electronics as well.

[@VB-bk1lh]

I'm in the U.S. and my house, which was built in 1954 had mostly two prong outlets, only a handful of 20a outlets were three prong grounded type outlets with several small fuse boxes in the basement.. It was rewired in 1972 with newer style wire, circuit breakers replaced fuses, and most outlets were replaced with three prong type outlets, but not all. Outlets that only powered things like lamps, wall clocks, and overhead lighting were left as two prong outlets and wired with 12/2 wire with a ground. The majority of those outlets now have been abandoned or just aren't used either due to newer style hardwired lighting or inaccessibility of their location. All new outlets were wired with 12/3 or 10/3 wire and with 20a breakers on single run lines. I do remember several appliances with those pigtails leads for a ground connection on them here. A former microwave, had one, several window air conditioner units, and some power tools. The instructions used to say to back off the center screw in the cover plate and attach the screw to that point. Which made no sense if the box was in a home without grounded boxes, or plastic boxes. Some of the older two prong outlets have a grounding terminal on the back, but no third grounding pin. Likely for the same purpose? I also found some really old Bakelite two prong outlets in the basement that have tabs that connect their neutral side screws to the mounting bracket via a tab that can be broken away. Sort of a thin brass or copper plate set under both screws with at tang that reaches around to the rear bracket edge where its riveted to the back of the outlet. Most of those had that tab severed, but not all. Those which were on the downstairs washing machine circuit still had the neutral connected to the box, which had been grounded with the bare ground of 12/2 Romex cable back in '72. There are no GFCI outlets, every attempt to use one results in an outlet that blows constantly. The bathroom has no outlets, just two hardwired florescent tube fixtures at face level above the sink. The kitchen has one outlet on each counter about 4ft to the left and right of the sink. They were installed in 1972 and are set about 10 " above the counter top, moved from the front of the counters at that time. (The old outlets would shock you if you leaned against the counter with a wet towel or loose clothing and the old, original outlets were full of dirt and debris. The one side bar counter had an upward facing outlet that had been packed full of crumbs and dirt over the years. That all was just eliminated completely I've got a large box of Leviton GFCI outlets that I had intended to use in the kitchen, on the porch, and for two outdoor outlets but they blow as soon as anything is turned on, blender, toaster, microwave, vacuum, etc. regardless of it being a two or three prong cord. The only answer I've ever gotten on why the GFCI outlets won't work is that either all my appliances are defective, (unlikely), my wires are all bad and need to be replaced, (Highly unlikely), or my service needs to be updated, completely and every last bit of wiring, the main panel, and meter pan need to be replaced, (sounded like scammer to me). As an experiment, I made up an extension cord with a metal outlet box, metal cover plate, and a GFCI outlet on one end. I plug that cord into any of the outlets in the house and it works fine with everything but a drop light, which when I touch the metal bulb shield, it pops the outlet but no other appliance triggers it. The outlet is wired the same as the outlet its plugged into which I wired myself.

[@johncarter1137]

Ex OSHA Compliance Officer here. The United States uses a 3 wire system for AC (altering current) power in houses. The three wires are identified as the grounded conductor (neutral), the grounding conductor (ground wire), and the ungrounded conductor (positive). None of these actually prevents a person from being shocked, they allow power to flow back to the power source, which allows the breaker to trip in an overcurrent condition. The breaker works by heating up and opening the circuit. The ground wire can help to lessen a shock to someone that touches an energized part that isn't supposed to be energized. It will prevent a shock to a person as long as the grounding path back to the power source is better than the path through the person, which is the most likely scenario. I've investigated fatalities where the ground wire actually contributed to the person dying. A Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter is the device that will prevent a person from being shocked and possibly electrocuted on an AC electrical system. It works by sensing an imbalance between the grounded wire (positive) and the ungrounded wire (neutral) and tripping. Two wire systems still exist in older houses in the United States and can still be safe by being equipped with a GFCI breaker in the power panel box.

[@James_Knott]

I used to work for a telecom. They have a lot of grounds. There's AC power ground, DC power ground, frame ground, cable rack ground and signal ground. They are all separate except at the common point where they connect to the building ground.

[@HDRW]

"The breaker works by heating up and opening the circuit." - in the USA, perhaps. In the UK (and probably Europe) the CB has two trip mechanisms - the thermal one you mention for slight/long-term overloads, and a magnetic one for short-circuits (ie Heavy Overloads!) which trips it incredibly fast. If you were daft enough to hold the two wires by the insulation and "strike" the conductors briefly together, it *would* trip the CB! (Don't try this at home...)

[@xfloodcasual8124]

Devices which detect current imbalances seem to be a good idea. But there is also the issue of shunting different potentials or capacitative coupling in poorly designed circuits that the earth wire can do.

[@ChimeraActual]

I have an older house with a 2 wire system. But all the wires are 10 gauge, and I didn't want to replace them. I think I've solved the problem by using breakers with GFCI and AFCI on all circuits. Have I?

[@wh0_am_152]

@@HDRW The magnetic one is also standard in all modern breakers used in modern US households, for basement, bathroom, kitchen, and etc. arc fault and/or GFCI are required by code (in new or upgraded installations).

[@leerman22]

That whole hassle of getting a screwdriver out to ground something is very redundant when you could just use a basic north american socket.

[@bitskit3476]

But then it wouldnt be kawaii anymore. Baka.

[@jovetj]

I'm pretty sure Japanese plug blades are just a slightly different size than the US/Canada's.

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

@@jovetj Why would they be? Japan uses basically the same power standard as the US and Canada do, at least with respect to amperage and voltage, and most modern electronics are designed to handle both 50 and 60hz. Anything in any of those countries with just 2 plugs is supposed to be double insulated as there's no ground to direct stray current to other than through the body.

[@hambone8820]

How often are you moving your refrigerator or washing machine around the house? Those are the only thing people ground. I have a welder with the 3rd prong and just use the 3 to 2 converter and don't ground it, I have cut the 3rd prong off some of my other things

[@leerman22]

@@hambone8820 kettle toaster air firer lots of kitchen stuff. gaming pc and monitor

[@Bigrignohio]

Just started watching, can already say it is because of the GFCI protection.

[@flyviawall4053]

Fact: many contries require ground and GFCI the be installed. This not only makes it even safer, but 30mA is really lethal! It’s actually starting to be lethal from a few mA, so 30mA is REALLY hurt if you’re not dead. And it still won’t trip if you’re at 29.99mA🤣

[@monteglover4133]

Please correct me if I’m wrong! Per NEC (National Electric Code) Tamper resistant outlets Are required on new builds. I also believe that GFCI and arc faults are required on many of not most circuits. My woodworking shop is detached from our house if I understand the code my shop would require about $1,000 in just circuit breakers by current code. None metallic sheeted cable (aka Romex) is not a good electrical system as it is very susceptible to damage both mechanical and rodents. EMT (metal thin wall pipe) should be required for electrical wiring even in houses FYI I am a retired industrial electrician

[@almosthuman4457]

not quite. lots of areas in the US require Ground fault/Arc fault breakers in new homes and remodels for all living areas

[@jonc4403]

Which most Americans will promptly replace with normal breakers as soon as the inspection is done, because nobody wants those nuisance trips.

[@robinhammond4446]

The diagram at 3:33 shows us a [US?] breaker that is somehow connected to a transformer twice, also a neutral bar, and finally a load. I'm not aware of any breaker that does this, and seeming creates a neutral out of thin air.

[@jonc4403]

Not sure what you mean by "neutral out of thin air". US neutral and ground are bonded at the main breaker box. And yes, the two hots and neutral are connected to the transformer - that diagram doesn't show the 2nd hot phase.

[@xugro]

normally there is a second hot in the US, but the diagram showed would work as that's how AC works...

[@stickyfox]

I believe the diagram is in error, which would certainly make it confusing. Most US breakers are single-pole and connect only to the "hot" side (either one). Current returns through the neutral and not the breaker. High-power circuits like HVAC/induction cookers use two-pole breakers and do not connect at all to the neutral. The diagram shows kind of a mix-up of single and two-pole breaker wiring practices.

[@foogod4237]

@@stickyfox Actually, noawadays there are a lot of breakers that connect to both hot and neutral (in particular, this is required for any combination GFCI or AFCI breakers to function properly, which are increasingly being required by newer electrical codes). This is typically done with an extra "pigtail" wire that comes out of the breaker and attaches to the circuit neutral. Though this is generally done _after_ the neutral bar, not before it, but this all seems pretty nitpicky since the point he was actually explaining still applies in any case...

[@Cotronixco]

@@jonc4403 Leg, not phase. There is only one phase in play here.

[@magnifikus3]

It's a common misconception that a GFCI limits the current to 30mA, it trips at 30mA but needs some time, until when the failure current is not limit. To be honest GFCI + protective earth (ground) connection is the best solution practiced in many countries, common is to mandate ground connection if you have a metal enclosure to prevent touch shock, the GFCI detects that + any other leakage/touching. Also this is independent from TN/TT nets :)

[@benharris4436]

Cutoff is normally up to 40ms trip time, for a 50Hz power that is within 2 cycles. Class I appliances are protected with 1 level of safety (basic insulation), but all exposed conductive parts are attached to earth. Class II appliances have 2 layers of protection (reinforced insulation) and do not have an earth. Some things like toasters would be too expensive to design for Class II, and things like laptop chargers don't want to be linked to ground so can't do Class I.

[@randacnam7321]

GFCI/RCD trip currents depend on the country and application. American residential and commercial GFCIs are always rated at 5mA. Equipment protection GFCIs can have trip currents in the hundreds of mA.

[@tlhIngan]

Europe actually has a mix of grounding systems. As a result, all consumer units have a GFCI/RCD because a ground fault could turn the ground system into a TT by accident. TT systems require a GFCI at the input. North America uses TN-C-S (Earth("Terra")-Neutral-Combined-Split) where Neutral is put at Earth potential by bonding at various points in the circuit, while Europe uses a whole mix depending on basically the jurisdiction. The UK especially has a huge mix of grounding systems at play. Incidentally, it's code-compliant in North America to retrofit a 2-prong outlet (no ground) with a 3-prong outlet as long as a GFCI is installed (and the notation "No Equipment Ground" is labelled on all outlets with such a "dead ground"). There are enough legacy outlets where this is necessary and having a 3-prong outlet is often required without resorting to things like cheater plugs.

[@MakeKasprzak]

Thank you! I collect lots of strange electronic devices, and Japanese style grounded power cables confused me. While it was obvious the stray wire was a ground, the whole fear of sticking metal contacts in random power socket holes we are taught made me "fear" there was something wrong. I'm glad to see certain Japan power plugs have a small cover over the terminal. Knowing this puts me at ease, and makes me more comfortable with the idea of replacing the cable with a 3-prong.

[@FatSn8ke]

I got saved by a GFCI once when I was 3. I poked a long screw into the live wall socket while sitting on the floor wearing shorts. My finger got burnt and was shaking a lot. Luckily, no other injuries were caused. I probably would have been dead if the GFCI didn’t work as intended. Real life-saver!

[@jovetj]

Yes they are!

[@morphingjar]

1:38 proceeds to demonstrate a made in china toaster that did not have a properly installed ground wire and damaged electrical wiring.

[@capdew]

He's not as affluent as u to use a Rolls Royce for an electrical demo, why not u strip out your made-in-Japan or made-in-America toaster and make a better video? Talk is cheap and sometimes vicious and dispicable

[@jimlocke9320]

A single GFCI breaker for the entire house would plunge the entire house into darkness if that breaker were to trip. If the fault were to spontaneously occur somewhere in the electrical system, it would be hard to track down. It is bad enough when several outlets are on the same GFCI and one causes the GFCI to trip. A strategy would be to switch all circuit breakers off, reset the GFCI, then switch the breakers on, one at a time. The GFCI should trip when the faulty circuit is powered up. I prefer to have the GFCIs at each outlet. Then, a fault will only disrupt power to devices plugged into that one outlet. A downside mentioned in the video is that the GFCI outlets should be replaced every 10-15 years. Few homeowners will think to do that. If the homeowner does the replacement, wiring errors might make the system more dangerous than if the outlets were left alone. An electrician could be expensive and there is no guarantee that the electrician won't make errors.

[@oldtwinsna8347]

The worst part is your refrigerator will go out. If you don't catch it in time, hundreds of dollars of food will go bad, plus a stench so strong you'd have to throw the whole thing out and get a new one.

[@marcfruchtman9473]

I found it fascinating. I think the takeaway tho, is that having the ground plug (with an EGC) IS in fact safer than the no ground version simply by virtue that a device with a ground-fault is still "hot" until you get shocked, and the GFCI breaker (finally) detects the imbalance. The NEC is moving toward having BOTH for nearly every circuit in a home, which seems the best of both worlds. Now, I do wish the code would allow for some mechanism to allow certain appliances such as deep freezers where it is important to keep the food cold long term to have a auto-reset after some time, such as 15 mins so that if it was a nuisance trip, you don't lose all that stored food.

[@paparoysworkshop]

I can remember as a kid that the outlets had no ground here in Canada too. It wasn't until around 1962 when all new construction had to have a grounded receptacle. You can sometimes still find outlets with no ground in very old homes. But for the most part, they too have been upgraded over the years.

[@remko2]

the majority of the outlets in the Netherlands are ungrounded, only in kitchens or rooms for for example washing machines, so where there is a chance of moisture, there are grounded outlets

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

A detail that he failed to mention is that devices with a ground are often single insulated, whereas ones with only 2 prongs are typically double insulated to make it that much less likely that you'd be shocked by them. Even in the US where it's standard for outlets to have 3 prongs, a good chunk of the stuff we plug into those outlets has only 2 prongs. Probably for the same reason that most of our stuff has the ability to run on 115/230v an 50/60hz, a good chunk of the stuff these days is designed to work anywhere in the world with as few modifications as possible.

[@no-trick-pony]

... yeah everything in central Europe is grounded. All sockets, ceiling lamps, even bathtubs and shower trays have to be grounded. Japanese is just years behind, there is no "debate" on which is better.

[@JoaoSilva-t5i]

I wonder how much safer does that makes the whole system. Not theoretically but practically. Being living in Japan for a long time, but have never heard anyone dying of a electric shock...does that extra grounding REALLY make a difference in real life?!

[@flutterwind7686]

​@JoaoSilva-t5i It happens, they just hush it up

[@JoaoSilva-t5i]

@@flutterwind7686 source my a$$ 😂🤣

[@TheDplo]

Yes, having both grounding and RCD is a much better combo, as the RCD doesn't only trips when someone touches a live surface (and takes a quick shock), but "detects" as soon as said surface becomes live and trips instantly before someone touches it.

[@JoaoSilva-t5i]

@@flutterwind7686 what is your source?

[@xenuburger7924]

I lived in Japan once when I got lightly zapped by the refrigerator. I reversed the plug and it stopped zapping.

[@mmotsenbocker]

it probably helps that Japanese voltage is 15% lower than US and less than half that of China/Europe. Construction workers in the UK use transformers/110V power tools sometimes because 220v is so god awful and 110 is much safer.

[@okaro6595]

Either that was a normal leak or there was some random fault that did not manifest when the plug was the other way.

[@mathiasanders3946]

Hi from an electrician in germany...just to tell the difference here and japan from a technical view. Every houshold here use grounded outlets. The source ist not a transformer for every single house, we get instead 400V in our distribution boxes, 3 Phases each 230v to ground/neutral. Deliverd in a cable hiden in the ground with three live wires and one or two neutral or ground wires. The ground/neural wire is connected to the transformer´s ground wich is essential for low resistance to trip any kind of fuse. The RCD is a different story, sometimes you have these just for bathrooms, outdoor outlets, sometimes it is to protect your whole house with one, or especially in old houses you wont´t find any of them. There are no deadly accidents in japan with electricy? I think just 100V~ ist a good reason for that too..

[@altuber99_athlete]

There are two disadvantages I see in the Japanese electrical installations: 1. Since no ground wire is at the receptacles, equipment is not grounded. So if the metallic chasis of some loads adquired static charge, it could discharge through you when you touch it. 2. Since no ground wire is at the receptacles, when a live wire touches a metallic chassis, it won't immediately trip the breaker, only when you touch it. Sure, the GFCI/RCD will trip and save you, but you will stip feel a shock briefly. If instead there was a ground wire, the GFCI would trip before you touched the chassis.

[@aaron74]

Super interesting! I've wondered for YEARS why Japan has non-grounded receptacles, and the few that do exist have the screw terminal. This video answered this nagging question. The Japanese panels are interesting--they're sort of like the Euro DIN panels, but not.

[@ativerc]

10:44 All hail the FULL BRIDGE RECTIFIER!

[@osgeld]

I also have a second question, in the USA GFCI devices trip at 4-6 ma difference between neutral and ground, why is 30 "so much safer" 25 across the heart is enough to kill. In my 1992 house in the USA we have one GFCI device connected to all wet locations and outdoor locations in the garage. Just plugging in an outdoor device with condensation in the plug is enough to trip it! I would much rather take a 5 mA average zap than a lethally 30 mA zap on the circuits that actually matter IMO. Ground is better, and even here in the USA most appliances under a certain wattage is still 2 pronged but expected to be used in protected zones ... defined damn near 50 years ago

[@mediocreman2]

Yep, there's some really bad information in this video. Full house GFCI doesn't make sense because you can shut down the entire house with one outlet. The U.S. with an AFCI breaker, ground, and GFCI outlets, safer voltage than Europe, but still have 220 if you need it, is pretty hard to beat.

[@lonewulf0328]

My house is funny because they put the GFCI circuit in my master bath on the same circuit as the outlet in my garage, on the other side of the house, and also the same as the outdoor outlet meant for plugging in Christmas lights. The funny part about this that the GFCI plug is the one in the bathroom and the rest are regular outlets, even though they share the same circuit. So when the outlet outside eventually got water intrusion and corroded, it kept tripping the GFCI in my master bath. I recently installed a new GFCI outlet, along with a new weatherproof box, over the outside outlet. It also has that little green light to indicate the selftest status.

[@JakeRoot]

I live in Japan (Okinawa Prefecture), my apartment was built in 2023. I have numerous outlets throughout the apartment, the standard design is 1x3 (3 outlets, no groundings). As in the video, there are grounding connections in specific rooms (for the washer and dryer, in the toilet room for the washlet, and in the kitchen), but also overhead for the mini-split air conditioners. The outlets for the air-con have three-prong "American style" plugs with a built-in neutral prong, with a regular outlet with cable-style neutral connection below it. Other outlets (such as for the washer and gas dryer) use the cable-style neutral plugs. The only reason I'm mentioning this is to give you some idea of what outlets are like in a modern apartment built within the last year. Part of me appreciates the 1x3 plugs, but the whole situation seems really old-fashioned.

[@FIGHTTHECABLE]

I would never solely rely on a RCD tripping. I've had RCDs get stuck. Also important is to use RCD that can detect mixed overlay frequencies and DC-faults, as electronics these days can blind an RCD. That's why a fuse or breaker should be in first line to trip if there is an amp spike. I'm not sold on japans approach, it seems to me it was a hot fix.

[@magnifikus3]

That's why you need a special RCD when DC overlay can occur like frequency inverters etc.

[@cat22_a1]

Doesn't the central GFCI kill power to the whole panel (in effect the whole house) Which means if you have one bad/leaky circuit in the middle of the night, your left in the dark

[@MrSummitville]

Yes. That is problem with Central GFCI. And fridge is off while at work.

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

It kills power to the entire circuit, that won't usually cut power to the whole house, but it's enough to be really annoying as now you've got not just one outlet to check, but possibly all of the outlets on that circuit and you can't just walk up and look to see if there's a light and some incriminating object next to it like you would if they were putting GFCI into the outlets.

[@oldtwinsna8347]

@@SmallSpoonBrigade The singular one they show in this video shuts the entire house down. There are individual breakers that have GFCI that are the smarter way to go, albeit more expensive overall. The Fridge is a prime example where GFCI can get triggered and you'd never know it until you get back to a smelly fridge with hundreds of dollars of spoiled food.

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

@ I missed the word central. Yes, if it's central, it's going to cut the power to everything. That sort of thing is why it's best to think a bit about whether everything needs to be behind the same GFCI circuitry. Personally, I keep a thermometer in the refrigerator to help me know if it's been unplugged too long, but it would be nice to have something to warn me if that's the case. If I ever add GFCI protection to that circuit. Which isn't a priority as the outlet for that is well away from water sources and at eye level.

[@dohabandit]

Too many devices have small leakage current to ground, smart outlets, yadda yadda. As a result the whole home GFCI has to have 30ma or higher threshold and that makes it still dangerous for human safety. It's better to put individual GFCI breakers or GFCI outlets with a lower threshold voltage around 5ma or less. Japan is saving 30% or more in copper costs though!

[@coffeecake7998]

Brazilian here. That's how we used to do before the 90s, when ground became a requirement for new houses. Neutral was used as ground, plus a circuit breaker. Obviously, using the neutral as ground is a horrible choice, but was done due to the extreme poverty. Unfortunately, it is still pretty common to see this setup in old houses and that's why we sometimes get those small electrical shocks when touching the shower handle. It doesn't kills you (i used to get them everyday growing up since i was a little kid), you get used to experience them every day, but it's not ideal. Electric shower heads + hanging wires + neutral as ground + body and floor wet = fun shower!

[@cpiche4733]

In north america we have some problems associated with the 5 years plus of Aluminum wiring introduced over copper when the price of metals went up in late 1968. This caused a good system with the three wire system, hot, neutral and ground problems that did not exist before.This was due to corrosion from the aluminum. In the video there was no mention of why the introduction of polarized outlets are used dealing with hot and neutral avoiding a grounding system. Double insulated appliances only require a dual prong connector. In Canada, most toasters and other kitchen appliances are dual wire plugs with a handful with the grounding plug system. Third is a GFCI as a master breaker set up, means when it is night time you are fumbling in the dark to find the circuit breaker box and flashlight, increasing the possibility for injury. It is cheaper but not a significant cost difference to either have a GFCI breaker to a specific circuit or an outlet GFCI. You will save in the amount of cost to install a 2 wire system for the inconvenience later that requires a bond to ground to an additional installed or placed in appliance later on. Japan has a nice system but it was a long way to be inconvenient to bigger requirement changes down the road, such as tamper proof outlets we have in north america for some time now.

[@ruffrydasean]

@0:16 How dare you cut off marv's scream, I had to go look for the video with the full scream lol

[@asaturn]

USA has fuse box mounted GFCI circuit breakers. this is superior to Japan because every outlet also has ground built-in. no need to manually wire it in. and this can always be added in to older homes without the need to re-wire anything.

[@xonx209]

In usa, residential GFCI trips at 4-6mA

[@alouisschafer7212]

What? In Central Europe and UK+Ireland the standard is 30ma to avoid nuisance tripping on ground leakage/stray currents that occur naturally in electronic devices.

[@hburke7799]

@alouisschafer7212 the big difference is American GFCIs are protecting only one branch circuit, and stray currents are likely to be reduced at 120v (as compared to 230v).

[@retrozmachine1189]

10mA RCDs are available but are only used in certain settings. They can trip from 5 to 10mA but always at 10mA or more.

[@jonc4403]

@alouisschafer7212 But we just have to push the reset button on the nearby outlet to reset it if it trips - and devices here DO NOT have that kind of leakage current under normal conditions.

[@retrozmachine1189]

@@jonc4403 You can have a GFCI outlet protecting additional sockets downstream though so potentially you still have to contend with aggregate leakage pushing close to the trip point and potentially have to go walkies to reset the device anyway. 6 of one, half a dozen of the other really.

[@fujimotosan9123]

I think grounding is added as the residual current circuit breaker will not trip if the washing machine's faulty live goes on the water mains while it's off, until someone in the bath tub gets shocked.And that's why all the pipes and tubes or anything conductive within reach, even bank safes, metal doors, have to be earthed

[@MrHack96]

In Italy, the legislation provides both to put the GFCI for the whole house and to put the ground in every socket. But it does even more, it plans to size the ground system in such a way that in case of broken GFCI, the voltage to which you are exposed is low, only 50V.

[@grife3000]

TLDW: Japan uses GFCI's everywhere, except for where they don't (because high currents are needed for motor kick-offs).

[@maxmisterman785]

As far as i know, you can programm them so they are also used in industrial settings, or what do you mean with motor kick-offs?

[@cc-to]

@@maxmisterman785 Motors are notorious for tripping GFIs not because of high currents as such, but because when a motor starts there is a split-second mismatch between the current it draws and the current it passes back to the panel on the neutral wire. Basically the motor is very briefly storing electrical current, which exactly simulates the fault that the GFI is supposed to protect against. In some US/Canada jurisdictions, you're allowed (or required) to *not* use GFI's where a nuisance trip would cause property damage (sump pumps) or food spoilage (freezers). However, I'm not seeing that Japanese grounded outlets avoid this. They can't be wired to bypass the GFI because they also seem to accept 2-prong plugs. I'm thinking that these whole-house RCDs are set with a high enough threshold (to avoid whole-house nuisance trips) that they just aren't effective in protecting human life in certain high-risk conditions, so the ground path (even a high-resistance one) will let the GFI trip in a hot-chassis fault condition before a person has a chance to grab it.

[@ddjohnson9717]

yeah clickbait 100%. its basically just like the 100-year-old homes that lacking ground so we put gfci outlets, but the Japanese did it to the entire house.

[@Lam]

Exactly that, I'm glad I didn't have to explain nuisance tripping Japan sells GFCIs for motors! www.amazon.co.jp/Panasonic-Breakers-Notebook-Protection-bjw3303/dp/B00IX8DQ4I/

[@sorin-vn3mc]

You need GFCI with a current curve for your appliance. In Europe you have curve A, B, C... The trip for one is 30mA. Doesn't matter if it's for motor or your laptop.

[@SonOfZeusGaming]

I hate one main GFCI. One a-hole can just trip the entire place. I love the idea of a GFCI per outlet, more expensive but less stupid.

[@Basement-Science]

yeah its just a cost saving measure, and one that comes from a time when GFCIs were a lot more expensive by comparison. Unfortunately GFCIs with less than 30mA are not really a thing for breaker panels, I think something like 5-10mA per room would be much better.

[@sbdpro2]

Over here in germany there at max six circuits allowed per GFCI by the newest code. In a modern house, you not only have one GFCI but many of them, one for lighting, one for every high power application, one for the outlets and even a own GFCI for the bathroom and outdoor area. So no, if you have doen it right your whole house isnt without pwoer. And by doing it like that, we have a GFCI protection for EVERY outlet and circuit in the house. In older homes, you regularely have not so many 3 GFCIs but more than one, for exacmple one per floor and then one for the outside area.

[@tdgdbs1]

That is how you bring old house up to code; replace all 2 hole outlets with GFCI outlets.

[@BuzzinsPetRock78]

Or do it like here (netherlands): one per breaker. Individual sockets can't really be fitted with it here, mostly because we have always done it on the central panel. Works fine and is cheaper than doing it on each and every socket.

[@sootikins]

@@tdgdbs1 Where are you going to get the ground (earth) wire for that third hole? It won't be there in the outlet box (why would it in a "2-hole" system).

[@dachmachunabachuna123]

12:12 what if the LED is broken and you think there is no power on circuit while there is?

[@charlesbridgford254]

UK now also has a requirement for Arc Fault Detection in the panel, as arcing is a major cause of fire, but would not be detected by either GCFI or an overload trip.