Why is overloading an outlet bad?

[EldestWinceDial]

This is probably an easy question for an electrician but I was just curious about the theory. (I'm trying to figure out how things work!)

I read that you can't plug too many things into one outlet. For example, you shouldn't plug in two power strips to the same outlet and then plug 10 things into each strip. I am wondering why. What specifically are the reasons this is bad?

Articles recommend that you spread out the electrical appliances to several outlets. I don't understand how this theoretically would make a difference. If the harm stems from the fact that too many appliances are plugged in at once, why would it matter if it's spread out among several outlets? Since the outlets are in series, the same amount of current would need to travel from the circuit break and through the line in the wall. Is it because the outlet isn't able to handle the high load? Would the wire behind the wall be fine?

Second, how would plugging too many appliances into just one outlet cause more voltage fluctuations for an appliance? If the appliances are plugged into nearby outlets, the amount of fluctuation would be the same given all the appliances are using the same circuit breaker. No?

Just curious about how all of this works theoretically.

 

[mcshroom]

Basically overloading pitd too much current through components not designed to handle it. That will cause the outlet to heat up and potentially get damaged.

Wiring, and components are all rated to specified values. That's why the meter tails, bringing all the electricity into your house are massive compared to the socket wiring, which again are bigger than the wiring for a lighting circuit.

In your scenario of lots of different outlets being used, the wiring in the installation will be designed to carry the whole current demand of the circuit, so that doesn't care. The big issue is the sockets might only be designed for a small proportion of that, assuming that any load would be spread round the circuit.

 

[EldestWinceDial]

Basically overloading pitd too much current through components not designed to handle it. That will cause the outlet to heat up and potentially get damaged.

Wiring, and components are all rated to specified values. That's why the meter tails, bringing all the electricity into your house are massive compared to the socket wiring, which again are bigger than the wiring for a lighting circuit.

In your scenario of lots of different outlets being used, the wiring in the installation will be designed to carry the whole current demand of the circuit, so that doesn't care. The big issue is the sockets might only be designed for a small proportion of that, assuming that any load would be spread round the circuit.

Gotcha.

Is it correct to imagine an electrical current like a huge amount of water moving down a stream? So, if a large appliance like an AC is drawing a lot of power but suddenly turns off, is it like a huge river that suddenly gets dammed up? With nowhere to go, the water looks for the closest place to "overflow". Does this cause a voltage surge in a nearby appliance?

Is this why an AC cycling on and off will damage an appliance plugged nearby?

I'm guessing this is why AC units need to have their own dedicated circuit. But, even if they have their own circuit breaker, why aren't more appliances damaged around the house whenever the AC cycles on and off? Is it because the "flow" of electricity is spread out among 20 different circuit breakers? Is this how electricity works? (I'm having issues in my home and trying to figure out why.)

By the way, it seems like the current products out there to protect against brownouts seem impractical. I'm wondering if there might be theoretically better ways to deal with brownouts.

For example, when the public utility cuts power, it's recommended to unplug all our appliances. This seems impractical. I wonder if there is a better method to deal with this scenario. Breakers don't work because they only prevent larger surges. And, during brownouts, the lower power output from the electric company also damages electrical devices as they work harder and overheat.

Is there a device that cuts power completely when the voltage drops below a certain threshold?

And, is there a device that protects against more subtle surges in voltage? It appears that UPS and line conditioners are just too expensive and impractical. You can't buy them for every single electrical appliance you have. Even one is expensive.

 

[Megawatt]

This is probably an easy question for an electrician but I was just curious about the theory. (I'm trying to figure out how things work!)

I read that you can't plug too many things into one outlet. For example, you shouldn't plug in two power strips to the same outlet and then plug 10 things into each strip. I am wondering why. What specifically are the reasons this is bad?

Articles recommend that you spread out the electrical appliances to several outlets. I don't understand how this theoretically would make a difference. If the harm stems from the fact that too many appliances are plugged in at once, why would it matter if it's spread out among several outlets? Since the outlets are in series, the same amount of current would need to travel from the circuit break and through the line in the wall. Is it because the outlet isn't able to handle the high load? Would the wire behind the wall be fine?

Second, how would plugging too many appliances into just one outlet cause more voltage fluctuations for an appliance? If the appliances are plugged into nearby outlets, the amount of fluctuation would be the same given all the appliances are using the same circuit breaker. No?

Just curious about how all of this works theoretically.

My friend all appliances have to have their own circuit. As far as plugging multiple plugs into a receptacle like you said that they are wired in series. Having said that you have the 1 particular receptacle that has multiple plugs in it and other receptacles probably have something plugged into them also. Most residential receptacles are rated for 15 amps and yes it could heat up the wiring inside the wall and damage multiple receptacles which are on the same circuit. Be safe

 

[James]

socket outlets are designed to power one appliance.
if you only ever plug one thing in to each outlet you are pretty well guaranteed not to be overloading anything.
if just for fun, you plugged in a heater or air conditioner into every outlet in your home, you would almost certainly overload circuits.
this would mean that breakers in your board would turn off to prevent the cables in the walls from becoming to hot and possibly catching fire.

now imagine if each outlet was designed to provide up to 10 Amps of electricity.
product designers would make sure there devices would never use more than 10A
house designers would look at a room and think,
I need a tv over there so provide 6 outlets.
1 Tv 2A
2 dvd player 0.5A
3 wifi router 0.1A
4 games console 1.5A
5 table lamp 1A
6 fan heater 15A

if they were the only items on the circuit from the breaker then the expected load would be in the region of 20A

20A may be fine for the wires in the wall and the breaker is there to make sure the wires in the wall (house) are not overloaded.
however if you decide to use a power strip and plug it in to an outlet rated at 10A (even though it is on a circuit rated at 20A)

then you power all the devices listed above from the power strip that is plugged in to a 10A outlet, you will have 20A running through a socket that is rated at 10A and it will get overheated and,
eventually destroy itself, this could be quick and simple by burning out a small part of the outlet or it could be slow and dangerous by overheating the outlet or the power strip until the wires are glowing and a fire starts.
basically if you are unwilling or unable to calculate the expected load in Amps (A) for every power strip and outlet in your home then the safest thing to do is only plug one thing in to each outlet.