A lot of household appliances in modern apartments and houses can be used. Accordingly, living quarters are usually equipped with a large number of outlets. Sockets for connecting household appliances in the rooms, of course, need to be located in full accordance with the requirements of electrical safety. When, for example, repairing an apartment, you need to consider, among other things, at what height the sockets should be installed and where they should be placed in rooms for various purposes.
Need for installation
Household appliances in homes and apartments today are used much more than, for example, only 10-20 years ago. More recently, in each living room for a comfortable stay, it was enough to install a maximum of 1-2 sockets. Today, such a number of nests for residents, of course, will clearly be missed.
Of course, to ensure the possibility of comfortable use of all household appliances in the apartment, you can connect tees and extension cords to the sockets that remained in the house from Soviet times. However, such a decision, of course, should be considered solely as a temporary one. A large number of extension cords and tees, unfortunately, will necessarily negatively affect the electrical safety of housing.
If necessary, in the apartment it is best to increase the number of outlets themselves. Installation of additional sockets will make the operation of a large number of household appliances in the house safe and convenient. But, of course, it is necessary to install new elements of the electrical network of this type in apartments with the exact observance of certain rules.
Number of outlets in the house: regulatory requirements
At what height to make outlets - the question is, of course, very important. However, we will deal with him in the article a little lower. To begin with, we find out how many outlets, according to the standards, should be provided in the rooms. Regulates the number of nests in the living quarters of apartments and houses in our country “Code of rules for the design and construction of joint ventures 31-110-2003”. According to this document, at least one outlet for every 4 meters of the perimeter should be provided in the rooms. In the corridor, according to the rules, it is supposed to install 1 nest for every 10 m 2 . In a kitchen of any size, according to the regulations, at least 4 outlets should be installed.
On sale today, there are, including dual nests. In living rooms, according to the regulations, such sockets can be considered as one, and in kitchens - exclusively for two.
Of course, such requirements should be fulfilled first of all by construction companies involved in the construction of houses. In a private residential building, its owners can optionally mount any required number of connection sockets. The owners of city apartments also have the right to install any additional outlets within their property. The only thing, according to the rules, is that such nests in an apartment or house are not recommended to be located on the same cable line.
At what height should the sockets be installed: standards
We have not developed any documents in which there would be any restrictions in terms of choosing the height of the installation of power outlets in residential premises. In GOST, in any case, information about this is not available. The only thing, in the same SP 31-110-2003, it is indicated that it is desirable to mount sockets at a maximum of 1 m from the floor level. Moreover, the location at such a height is only advisory in this document. The owner of the apartment can, if desired, mount the sockets at least under the ceiling. However, the choice of such an installation location, of course, is unlikely to make the use of sockets later convenient.
How to mount?
Thus, the rules and regulations do not give a concrete answer to the question of at what height the sockets should be located in the house. The choice of this parameter depends, first of all, on the type of those devices for which this particular socket is intended. For example, the outlet for the computer and printer is best placed lower - under the table where they are installed. Under the router, which is often suspended in the apartment under the ceiling, a nest may be more convenient to equip as high as possible.
In old Soviet houses, the height of the sockets was usually 70-90 cm from the floor level. In new apartments, the nests are most often equipped 30-40 cm above the baseboard. Fashion for this arrangement came to us from Europe. To plug a plug from a household appliance into such an outlet, one has, of course, to bend over. Using sockets installed higher is certainly more convenient. However, a large number of nests located at such a height, most likely, do not reflect too well on the appearance of the room. Mounted at 40 cm from the floor, sockets are striking much less.
Installing outlets according to European standards at a height of 30-40 cm has another important advantage. In this case, the cables themselves from electrical appliances are located low and do not prevent the owners of the apartment from moving freely around it, and also do not spoil the appearance of the premises.
Can I mount directly above the baseboard
To establish nests below 30 cm from the floor level, the rules allow. However, it is still not worthwhile to arrange power outlets in the apartment in this way. First, using them in this case will become quite inconvenient. And secondly, installing outlets at a height of less than 30 cm from the floor level can lead to water getting into them during wet cleaning. This, in turn, is likely to cause a short circuit and fire.
How to mount in the kitchen
At what height should the sockets be installed in this room? In ordinary rooms, these elements of the household electrical network, as we have found, are mounted at a height of 30-40 cm from the floor level. In the kitchen, this arrangement of nests may not always be convenient. Such premises are usually not too large and furnished very densely with furniture. Climbing each time, for example, under the countertop in order to turn on any device for cooking food, of course, will be difficult.
In the kitchen, sockets are therefore often installed higher than in other rooms in the house. Usually in such rooms they are mounted in a row above the countertop. In this case, of course, they must also be located correctly. At what height to install sockets in the kitchen above the countertop - the question is, of course, very important. Nests are located most often at 20-25 cm above the level of the plane of the latter. Below, right above the countertop itself, as well as above the floor, it is not recommended to install sockets. Otherwise, when washing its surface, drops of water may fall into the connection sockets.
Sockets for energy-intensive appliances
In some cases, sockets in the kitchen are not located above the countertop. An example is a nest for a refrigerator. To use such a socket, for obvious reasons, usually does not have to be too often. Therefore, such nests are located in most cases at a level of 15 to 90 cm from the floor directly behind the refrigerator itself. In the same way, sockets for dishwashers and electric stoves are usually mounted.
The location of the sockets for connecting all energy-intensive appliances, of course, should be decided at the planning stage of the arrangement of the kitchen. The sockets should not be too far from the refrigerator, electric stove or dishwasher. Otherwise, wires from such equipment will interfere with the movement of people in the kitchen, as well as spoil its appearance.
Where not to install
At what height to install sockets, thus, it is clear. It is best to mount such elements 30-40 cm from the floor or 25 cm from the countertop. Regarding the height of the nests, no strict standards are envisaged in our country. However, the actual location for the installation of outlets should be chosen nevertheless taking into account the rules of the PUE. So, for example, the nests should be located:
not closer than 50 cm from the gas pipe, boiler, boiler passing in the apartment;
at least 60 cm from the sink and sink;
no closer than 60 cm from the shower door.
In the bathroom, sockets are allowed. But in this case, they must be mounted together with an RCD or distribution transformer. Of course, to install in such rooms should be elements of this type exclusively intended for use in wet rooms. Only in this case it will be safe to use the sockets for electrical appliances in the future. In baths and saunas, the rules of PUE are forbidden to install sockets.
Location of switches
At what height the sockets are best installed, so the apartment owners themselves can decide. Some of these network elements in a room may be high, others low. Switches in residential premises, on the contrary, are supposed to be mounted exclusively on the same level. At the same time, such elements should be installed so that the on / off key works the same for them.
We do not have any standards governing the location of circuit breakers in our country. However, installing such accessories on the same level and with the same key layout makes their use in the rooms very convenient. Turning the lights off and on by residents of a house or apartment when using this installation method will be carried out by the usual, well-developed automatic movement.
Location height
The distance should be 30-40 cm from the floor - this is the answer to the question of at what height the sockets are installed. And the switches in the premises of the house, of course, must also be mounted in such a way as to be used in the future as conveniently as possible. In old Soviet apartments, switches were usually installed quite high. To use them, tenants had to stretch their hand up. Today, switches are installed most often yet a little lower.
Such elements of the household power supply are mounted in most cases nowadays near the doors. At the same time, the switches are usually located at the level of the blade handle. That is, they are installed at a height of about 90 cm from the floor. This arrangement makes the operation of the circuit breakers most convenient. For example, leaving a room, a tenant can turn off the light with his left hand, while simultaneously opening the door with his right. That is, in this case, the owner of the apartment does not need to do absolutely no unnecessary movements.
Instead of a conclusion
The choice of the location of sockets and switches in height in the apartment is a very important matter. Install network elements of this variety should be so that to use them in the future was as convenient as possible. Most outlets in living rooms are mounted at a height of 30-40 cm from the floor. It is desirable to install the switches next to the door at the height of its handle.