You’re literally arguing that merely BECUSE the code needs safety devices it is therefore unsafe
“Unsafe” is not the correct term. “Unsafe” implies an absolute condition. The UK system is not “unsafe”, and I have not argued that it is “unsafe”.
“Less safe” is the more accurate description. “Less safe” implies a relative condition. The UK system is “safe enough”, even though their household wiring - the wiring between the breaker and the outlet - is significantly “less safe” than household wiring around the world.
A fault between the breaker and the outlet in most of the world develops 2000-4000 watts before a breaker can be expected to trip. Japan’s 20A @ 100V is on the lower end; EU’s 16A @ 240V is on the higher end of that scale. 2000-4000 watts arcing at a faulty terminal. 2000-4000 watts that can only be dissipated by various potentially flammable building materials around the faulty device.
In the UK, it’s not 2000-4000. It’s 7200 watts. A similar fault can deliver substantially more energy to those flammable building materials, increasing the risk of fire.
North America mitigates such risks in its 7200 watt (60A @ 120V, 30A @ 240V) circuits by minimizing the number of connections; the number of places where a fault can potentially develop. We don’t allow multiple outlets: these circuits must be dedicated to a single, special-purpose outlet only. Europe, Japan, and the rest of the world have similar requirements for such circuits. The UK goes ahead and daisychains their 7200W circuits throughout the home.
By that metric, the household wiring is, indeed, “less safe” than competing circuits around the world. By that metric, UK household circuits are, indeed, substandard, even before they eschew simple straightforward branch topology for rings, which introduce a variety of complex failure modes that can easily overload household wiring.
The “less safe” condition of UK wiring necessitates additional protections at and after the outlet. The safety measures employed in the rest of the world are inadequate to mitigate the dangers posed by the UK’s 7200 watt household circuits.
No, the topic is the UK electric code not being safe.
You’re literally arguing that merely BECUSE the code needs safety devices it is therefore unsafe, which is utter nonsense.
“Unsafe” is not the correct term. “Unsafe” implies an absolute condition. The UK system is not “unsafe”, and I have not argued that it is “unsafe”.
“Less safe” is the more accurate description. “Less safe” implies a relative condition. The UK system is “safe enough”, even though their household wiring - the wiring between the breaker and the outlet - is significantly “less safe” than household wiring around the world.
A fault between the breaker and the outlet in most of the world develops 2000-4000 watts before a breaker can be expected to trip. Japan’s 20A @ 100V is on the lower end; EU’s 16A @ 240V is on the higher end of that scale. 2000-4000 watts arcing at a faulty terminal. 2000-4000 watts that can only be dissipated by various potentially flammable building materials around the faulty device.
In the UK, it’s not 2000-4000. It’s 7200 watts. A similar fault can deliver substantially more energy to those flammable building materials, increasing the risk of fire.
North America mitigates such risks in its 7200 watt (60A @ 120V, 30A @ 240V) circuits by minimizing the number of connections; the number of places where a fault can potentially develop. We don’t allow multiple outlets: these circuits must be dedicated to a single, special-purpose outlet only. Europe, Japan, and the rest of the world have similar requirements for such circuits. The UK goes ahead and daisychains their 7200W circuits throughout the home.
By that metric, the household wiring is, indeed, “less safe” than competing circuits around the world. By that metric, UK household circuits are, indeed, substandard, even before they eschew simple straightforward branch topology for rings, which introduce a variety of complex failure modes that can easily overload household wiring.
The “less safe” condition of UK wiring necessitates additional protections at and after the outlet. The safety measures employed in the rest of the world are inadequate to mitigate the dangers posed by the UK’s 7200 watt household circuits.