Editing AC power plugs and sockets (section)

=== Australasian AS/NZS 3112 and compatible plugs (Type I)<span class="anchor" id="Type I"></span> ===
A number of countries in [[Oceania]] as well as China and Argentina use a plug that has two flat pins at an angle, forming a V-shape, as well as a flat vertical grounding pin. While the exact pin dimensions and the polarity vary between different countries, these plugs and sockets are all compatible to each other and are known as ''Type&nbsp;I''.

==== Argentina IRAM 2073 and 2071 ====
[[File:I plug.jpg|thumb|Type&nbsp;I grounded plug and socket, both rated for 10&nbsp;A. Insulating sleeves around the power pins are optional in Argentina and in this case missing. The socket is installed with the earth receptacle down, as usual in Argentina.]]

The plug and socket system used in [[Argentina]] is defined by several standards of the [[Instituto Argentino de Normalización y Certificación|Argentine Normalization and Certification Institute]] (IRAM). IRAM&nbsp;2071 defines two sockets that have the same form factor, but differ in size and rating.<ref>{{cite web |last1=IRAM |author1-link=Instituto Argentino de Normalización y Certificación |title=IRAM 2071:2009 – Tomacorrientes bipolares con toma de tierra para uso en instalaciones fijas domiciliarias, de 10 A y 20 A, 250 V de corriente alterna |url=https://catalogo.iram.org.ar/#/normas/detalles/2640 |website=IRAM: Catálogo de Cursos y Normas |access-date=26 March 2025 |date=12 November 2009}}</ref> The smaller, more common socket is rated for 10&nbsp;[[ampere|A]]. The larger variant, rated for 20&nbsp;A, is mostly used for higher-power appliances such as air conditioners. IRAM&nbsp;2073 defines the corresponding plugs used for [[Appliance classes#Class I|Class&nbsp;I]] appliances (that require earthing).<ref>{{cite web |last1=IRAM |author1-link=Instituto Argentino de Normalización y Certificación |title=IRAM 2073:2009 – Fichas bipolares con toma de tierra para usos domiciliarios y similares, de 10 A y 20 A, 250 V de corriente alterna |url=https://catalogo.iram.org.ar/#/normas/detalles/2642 |website=IRAM: Catálogo de Cursos y Normas |access-date=26 March 2025 |date=12 November 2009}}</ref> The plug and socket system has an earthing pin and two flat current-carrying pins forming an inverted V-shape (120°).

The pins for the 10&nbsp;A version measure {{convert|6.25|by|1.55|mm|in|3|abbr=on}}. The power pins are set at 30° to the vertical with a distance of {{convert|7.92|mm|in|3|abbr=on}} from their centres to the centre of the plug; they are {{convert|18.2|mm|in|3|abbr=on}} long. The earthing pin is {{convert|21.4|mm|in|3|abbr=on}} long and placed below the plug centre at a distance of {{convert|10.31|mm|in|3|abbr=on}}. The pins of the 20&nbsp;A version are larger – {{convert|8.0|by|1.9|mm|in|3|abbr=on}} – and placed further away from the centre of the plug – {{convert|9.53|mm|in|3|abbr=on}} for the power pins, {{convert|11.1|mm|in|3|abbr=on}} for the earthing pin. At {{convert|21.8|mm|in|3|abbr=on}}, the earthing pin is a bit longer, while the power pins are a bit shorter at {{convert|17.8|mm|in|3|abbr=on}}.

There is also an unearthed version of the 10{{nbsp}}A plug, defined by IRAM&nbsp;2063, that lacks an earthing pin and can be used with [[Appliance classes#Class II|Class&nbsp;II]] appliances.<ref>{{cite web |last1=IRAM |author1-link=Instituto Argentino de Normalización y Certificación |title=IRAM 2063:2009 – Fichas bipolares sin toma de tierra para usos domiciliarios y similares, de 10 A, 250 V de corriente alterna |website=IRAM: Catálogo de Cursos y Normas |url=https://catalogo.iram.org.ar/#/normas/detalles/2629 |access-date=27 March 2025 |date=12 November 2009}}</ref> 20{{nbsp}}A plugs, on the other hand, must always provide earthing.

Insulating sleeves around the upper parts of the power pins are allowed, but not required. When used, they significantly reduce the risk of electric shock from accidentally touching the pins of a partially inserted plug. Because the pins of the 20&nbsp;A plug are placed farther apart than those of the 10&nbsp;A plug, the two Argentine plug types are mutually incompatible. It is not possible to insert a 20&nbsp;A plug into a 10&nbsp;A socket or vice versa.{{CN|date=May 2025}} <!-- Actually any Argentine will know this is completely untrue -->

The most important difference from the Australasian and Chinese plugs is that the Argentine plug is wired with the live and neutral contacts reversed.<ref>{{cite web |title=Argentina, Australia, and China Standard 10A/250V Plugs & Sockets Have Similar Features, But What are Some Critical Differences? |url=https://blog.interpower.com/infopower/argentina-australia-and-china-standard-10a/250v-plugs-sockets-have-similar-features-what-are-some-critical-differences |website=InfoPower |date=27 October 2020 |access-date=9 March 2025 |language=en}}</ref> In Argentina, when the earth contact is positioned downward, the live (line) contact is on the right side of the socket,<ref>{{cite web |title=Plugs and sockets in Argentina and Uruguay |url=https://www.plugsocketmuseum.nl/Argentina1.html |website=Museum of Plugs and Sockets |access-date=23 March 2025}}</ref> while in Australasia and China it is on the left (assuming the same orientation).

In Brazil, Type&nbsp;I–style plugs and sockets are still commonly used in old installations for high-power appliances like air conditioners, dishwashers, and household ovens. These are often called "Argentine plugs" and are indeed physically identical to the IRAM plugs rated for 20&nbsp;A, though they might have been developed independently on the basis of the American [[NEMA connector#NEMA L10|NEMA&nbsp;10-20]] standard (which uses the same form factor). While these plugs are sometimes used for normal single-phase power and wired in the same way as in Argentina, some are wired for [[Split-phase electric power|split-phase power]] with two "hot" (or phase) wires and a neutral wire, but no earth connection. Care must therefore be taken that the same wiring scheme is used in the socket and in the plug, since otherwise the equipment would surely be damaged. In newer installations, the 20&nbsp;A version of the Type&nbsp;N plug, adopted by Brazil as national standard NBR&nbsp;14136, is generally preferred.<ref>{{cite web |title=Brazilian plugs and sockets |url=https://www.plugsocketmuseum.nl/Brazil1.html |website=Museum of Plugs and Sockets |access-date=27 March 2025}}</ref>

==== Australian/New Zealand standard AS/NZS 3112 ====
{{Main|AS/NZS 3112}}
<div style="width: auto; max-width: 50%; float: right; margin-left: 1em; display: flex; border: 1px solid #a2a9b1;">
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<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:Australian Dual Socket Outlet.jpg|Australasian switched three-pin (10&nbsp;A) dual socket outlet, the most commonly found variant
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File:Aust AC plug.jpg|Standard Australian 10&nbsp;A power plug with insulated pins
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<gallery mode="packed" heights="400">
File:Australian mains socket styles for different current ratings.jpg|10&nbsp;A, 15&nbsp;A, 20&nbsp;A, 25&nbsp;A, and 32&nbsp;A single-phase sockets. Each socket accepts plugs of equal or lesser current rating.
</gallery>
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This Australian/New Zealand standard is used in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea.<ref>AS/NZS&nbsp;3112:2004, ''Approval and test specification&nbsp;– Plugs and socket-outlets'', [[Standards Australia]] and Standards New Zealand</ref> The plug shape and basic dimensions are identical to the 10&nbsp;A plug used in Argentina. The Australasian standard defines a series of plugs and sockets for devices drawing up to 10, 15, 20, 25 and 32&nbsp;A that are one-way compatible. All sockets accept plugs of equal or lower current ratings, but not higher. For example, a 10&nbsp;A plug will fit all sockets but a 20&nbsp;A plug will fit only 20, 25 and 32&nbsp;A sockets.

In all plugs, the power pins are set at 30° to the vertical with a distance of {{convert|7.92|mm|in|3|abbr=on}} from their centres to the centre of the plug, while the earthing pin is placed below the plug centre at a distance of {{convert|10.31|mm|in|3|abbr=on}} – exactly the same dimensions as used by the Argentine 10&nbsp;A plug. The three flat pins all measure {{convert|6.35|by|1.63|mm|in|3|abbr=on}} – very slightly larger than in Argentina. The length of the power pins is {{convert|17.06|mm|in|3|abbr=on}}, while the earthing pin has a length of {{convert|19.94|mm|in|3|abbr=on}} – somewhat shorter than in Argentina.

In the 15&nbsp;A plug, the height of the earth pin is increased from 6.35 to {{convert|9.08|mm|in|3|abbr=on}}, while the dimensions of the power pins remain the same. In the 20&nbsp;A plug, however, their height is increased in the same way, so that the surface dimensions of the three pins are again identical. In the 25&nbsp;A version, the earthing pin takes the shape of an inverted L (an extra bar is added at the top end), and in the 32&nbsp;A version it takes the shape of a sideways U (extra bars are added at both ends).

In general, only 10&nbsp;A and 15&nbsp;A socket outlets are likely to be encountered in domestic or commercial installations. 20&nbsp;A sockets are rare and higher rated ones are very rare. An unearthed version of the 10&nbsp;A plug with two angled power pins but no earthing pin is used with double-insulated appliances, but sockets and higher-rated plugs always include an earth contact. In New Zealand, PDL&nbsp;940 "tap-on" or "piggy-back" plugs are available which allow a second 10&nbsp;A plug to be fitted to the rear of the plug. In Australia these piggy-back plugs are now available only on pre-made extension leads.

A novel feature of modern Australian socket outlets is a snap-fitting surround for the socket, covering the screws that affix the socket to the wall, and extending all the way around the socket periphery. Australia is unique in having electrical rules that stipulate that only licenced electricians may remove the socket from the wall, so the easily removed outer cover facilitates repainting the wall without exposing power and incurring the expense of engaging an electrician to remove and replace the sockets.

Australia's standard plug/socket system was originally codified as standard C112 (floated provisionally in 1937, and adopted as a formal standard in 1938), which was based on [[History of AC power plugs and sockets#American 125&nbsp;V, 15&nbsp;A / 250&nbsp;V, 10&nbsp;A "Australian" style|a design]] patented by [[Harvey Hubbell]] and was superseded by [[AS/NZS 3112|AS&nbsp;3112]] in 1990. The requirement for insulated pins was introduced in the 2004 revision.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mains Plug Insulated Pins: Australian Standards AS/NZS3112:2000 & AS/NZS3112:2004 |url=https://www.accesscomms.com.au/ref_insulated-pins/ |website=Access Communications Australia |access-date=29 March 2025}}</ref> The current version is ''AS/NZS&nbsp;3112:2017''.<ref>{{cite web |title=AS/NZS 3112:2017: Approval and test specification – Plugs and socket-outlets |url=https://www.standards.govt.nz/shop/asnzs-31122017 |website=Standards New Zealand |access-date=30 March 2025 |date=24 August 2017}}</ref>

==== China GB&nbsp;2099.1 and GB&nbsp;1002 (Type A & I) ====
[[File:China's 3-pin sockets.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|Chinese three-pin socket and compound socket which also accepts NEMA and Europlug (right), and a less common, larger 16&nbsp;A version (left)]]

The standard for Mainland [[China|Chinese]] plugs and sockets (excluding [[Hong Kong]] and [[Macau]]) is set out in [[Standardization Administration of China|GB]]&nbsp;2099.1 and GB&nbsp;1002. As part of China's commitment for entry into the [[World Trade Organization|WTO]], the new CPCS (Compulsory Product Certification System) has been introduced, and compliant Chinese plugs have been awarded the [[China Compulsory Certificate|CCC Mark]] by this system. The plugs are three-wire, earthed, rated for 10 or 16&nbsp;A, 250&nbsp;V, and are chiefly used for Class&nbsp;I applications. The pins of the 10&nbsp;A version are {{convert|1.5|mm|in|3|abbr=on}} thick by {{convert|6.4|mm|in|3|abbr=on}} wide; the centres of the power pins are placed {{convert|7.9|mm|in|3|abbr=on}} from the plug centre, while the centre of the earth pin is {{convert|10.3|mm|in|3|abbr=on}} away. In both plug types, the live and neutral pins are {{convert|18|mm|in|3|abbr=on}} long, while the earth pin is {{convert|21|mm|in|3|abbr=on}} long. This makes the 10&nbsp;A version compatible with Argentine and Australasian 10&nbsp;A sockets, as their dimensions are nearly identical.<ref name=gb1002>{{cite web |place=PRC |url=http://www.cnapc.org/System/eWebEditor/uploadfile/20140506164304211.pdf |title=National Standard of the People's Republic of China GB 1002-2008, Single phase plugs and socket-outlets for household and similar purposes – Types, basic parameters and dimensions |publisher=General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China (AQSIQ) |year=2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160804084314/http://www.cnapc.org/System/eWebEditor/uploadfile/20140506164304211.pdf |archive-date=4 August 2016}}</ref>

Except for the pin length, all dimensions of the 16&nbsp;A version are slightly larger. Its pins are {{convert|1.8|by|8.1|mm|in|3|abbr=on}}; the centres of the power pins are placed {{convert|9.55|mm|in|3|abbr=on}} from the plug centre, while the centre of the earth pin is {{convert|11.1|mm|in|3|abbr=on}} away.<ref name=gb1002/> This makes this plug compatible with the 20&nbsp;A sockets used in Argentina. It is, however, incompatible with Chinese 10&nbsp;A sockets as well as all Australasian sockets because of the different pin spacing.

Many three-pin sockets in China include a physical lockout preventing access to the active and neutral terminals unless an earth pin (which is slightly longer than the other two pins) is entered first. Hence such sockets will not accept the 10&nbsp;A-rated unearthed Class II plugs sold in Argentina and Australasia. The Chinese 16&nbsp;A plug exists, however, also in an unearthed Class II variant that includes an unwired dummy earth pin used only to open shutter. No such variant exists of the 10&nbsp;A plug.<ref name=gb1002/>

China also uses American/Japanese NEMA&nbsp;1-15 sockets and plugs for Class II appliances (however, polarized plugs with one prong wider than the other are not accepted). Older versions of GB&nbsp;1002 also defined a socket type that accepts Europlugs (type&nbsp;C), but this hybrid socket was removed from the 2021 revision of the standard.<ref name=GBT-1002-2021/> The voltage at a Chinese socket of any type is 220&nbsp;V.

In China, sockets typically have the earth contact above the power pins, while in Argentina and Australasia it is usually positioned below them. While Australasian plugs have insulating sleeves around the upper part of their power pins, that is not the case for most existing Chinese plugs, hence their pins may become live while there is still a large enough gap between the faces of the plug and socket to allow a finger to touch the pin. Since 2022, insulating sleeves are also allowed on plugs sold in China;<ref>{{cite web |title=注意啦！新版家用插头插座标准将于2022年11月1日起正式实施-行业资讯 |url=https://www.zrlklab.com/show-38-1363.html |website=zrlklab.com |access-date=7 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220523043712/https://www.zrlklab.com/show-38-1363.html |archive-date=23 May 2022 |language=zh}}</ref> they will be mandatory from 2027.<ref>{{cite web |title=GB 1002-2024单相插头的带电插销是否强制要求施加绝缘护套？ |url=https://www.163.com/dy/article/JG5P75LG0552L9R6.html |website=163.com |access-date=7 March 2025 |language=zh |date=4 November 2024}}</ref>
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