Tamper resistant (TR) electrical receptacles are now required for new construction in Canada. They are stamped with the letters “TR” and they are designed to prevent children from entering small metal objects into the receptacle which could cause them to receive a shock. Every year dozens of kids receive dangerous electrical shocks and this is a measure to prevent this. All very laudable but there have been problems. It can be very difficult if not impossible for some people to insert plugs into some of these TR outlets.
I recently was conducting a pre-delivery inspection (PDI) for an elderly lady at a new condo she was buying from the builder in Nepean. In well over half of the outlets, there would be no way she could have inserted any type of appliance plug.
Another more troubling thing became apparent to me also. Looking at the picture above from this inspection, you’ll notice a plug tester inserted into an outlet. The tester would not push fully into this outlet but the lights are on. The concern to me here was that the tester was not in fully inserted; there are exposed pins; and the current would be flowing. The only conclusion I can reach is that this kind of situation lends itself to potential shock hazards and/or arc faults.
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