There is no compromise when it comes to the safety of our home and family. We always choose the best quality when it comes to our family to ensure their wellness and safety. While we discuss safety at home, an essential component to keep in mind is electrical connections. Whether it is constructing your place or moving into an existing building, the first thing to look is for safe electrical connections. Right switches, fuse, inverter, proper wiring, good grounding are all necessary steps to ensure your home and your family is safe at all times.
Just like how choosing appropriate wiring for the home can make a lot of difference, exploring deeper into various cables can help provide safety while using electronic appliances. Power cords are one such component which many people are unaware of even though they use it every day. They help improve the experience as well as safety in your home. Here are some ways in which power cords become incredibly useful.
What are the power cords?
Power cords generally refer to a cable with connecting couplers attached to both ends of it. One connecting coupler is towards the wall socket, and the other goes to the appliance, and the wire is generally detachable from both sides. Power cords are useful for connecting the power supply with an instrument or an adapter. Power cords are commonly found in laptop chargers and play a crucial role in ensuring the safety of your home.
Different types of power cords available
Power cords vary majorly in terms of the connectors used at their ends. These connectors are the plug and the receptacle. The side that connects to the wall socket is the plug, whereas the other is the receptacle. The types of power cords vary on the types of plug and receptacle design. International standards establish various types of power cords that are useful in different applications based on power delivery. NEMA (National Electrical Manufacturers Association) and IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) are the two major standards followed around the world. Each of these standards has multiple series or lines of cords within them.
IEC 60320 is an international standard recognized for power supply cords up to 250 volts. It standardizes the different types of power cords based on the designs, which keep the current, voltage, and temperature ranges into account. IEC is standard for various countries, although other local standards differ from one state to the other. IEC standard power cords are among the most common cord type used in computer systems. The cable is available for connection with monitors, UPS, and servers. While the receptacle side of the wire depends on the equipment used, the manufacturers have different variants in terms of the socket plug to cater to different country standards.
NEMA is a North American standard used widely within the country and a few other places. NEMA has a series called NEMA 5 and NEMA 6. NEMA 5 is common in the United States and is a three wire circuit which typically carries about 110 volts. Its maximum rating can go up to 125 volts and is appropriate for use in the United States based on the main power supply available in the country. NEMA 6 is mostly applicable for heavy-duty applications, where there are heavy loads to drive. The connectors used with these cords comply with these high power requirements. NEMA 6 can typically handle 220 volts and has a maximum rating of up to 240 volts.
Apart from these, there are CEE 7/7, which is the European standard, GB 1002/ GB 2099 followed in China, AFSINT 102-2-D1 in Denmark, KSC 8305 in South Korea.
Why are power cords important?
Almost every electronic appliance contains a power cord. While the design and specification differ, the purpose of these cords remains constant in all these cases. Power cords not only enhance safety in your house but also improves your experience in many cases.
- Helps with performance improvement: It provides the resistance necessary to eliminate noise from the line that helps improve the safety and functionality of the appliances. A quality power cord can ensure that your appliance operation is at proper power levels. It will also provide improved performance in cases such as your audio systems.
- Removes need for live wires: Power cords eliminate the need to work with live wires anywhere in the house. The connectors attached to these cords help create a bridge between the power supply and the appliances without using live cables. Thus the cable ensures overall safety within your home and eliminates risks of sparking or other problems that could arise from the use of live wires.
3. They deliver the right power to your appliance: There are different types of power cords available for various applications. Some series offers data transmission, whereas some are useful for power supply to the devices only. You can find power cords in every appliance that requires to draw current from an AC supply. Power cords design specifications deliver the right current to a device. Choosing the right cable would mean that you explore the right connectors as per your country’s socket style. You then select the rating and method, which is most appropriate for the voltage and current requirements of the appliance. This way, you ensure that the cable can handle the power from the supply and deliver the right amounts to the device without overloading it. It prevents the damages due to high power surges without affecting the appliances.
4. They help use your appliance anywhere you like: Power cords also make electronic appliances portable around your home. You can plug them in any place you like without having to worry. You can use flexible products such as power extension cords that can help you deliver power to every corner of your home.
5. They can deliver power as well as help in data exchange: Power cords are also multi-functional. Computer power cord common in-home desktop systems is a good example of the same. There are two types of power cords utilized here – one for power delivery and another for data transmission. The data cable enables communication between different devices like the monitor, CPU, and makes this safe and easy. Cables such as USB has become a general standard for every application, which makes data transfer as well as power supply faster and simpler than ever.
6. They help connect and use your appliance anywhere in the world: Power cords also help us use appliances anywhere around the world. While the receptacle remains the same, you can use the power cord with the appropriate plug based on the country’s standard and operate your appliance safely.
Pay attention when choosing your power cord to ensure you provide the right type compatible with your home sockets and appliances. Choose high-quality power cords that can help achieve good resistance and thus improved safety and performance in your home.
