Power Strip - Safety

Safety

Electrical overloading can be a problem with any sort of power distribution adapter. This is especially likely if multiple high-power appliances are used, such as those with heating elements, like room heaters or electric frying pans. Power strips may have a circuit breaker integrated to prevent overload. In the UK, power strips are required to be protected by the fuse in the BS 1363 plug. Some also feature a 13A BS1362 fuse in the socket end.

Power strips are generally considered a safer alternative to "double adapters", "two-way plugs", "three-way plugs" or "cube taps" which plug directly into the socket with no lead for multiple appliances. These low-cost adapters are generally not fused (although more modern ones in the UK and Ireland are). Therefore in many cases the only protection against overload is the branch circuit fuse which may well have a rating higher than the adapter. The weight of the plugs pulling on the adapter (and often pulling it part way out of the socket) can also be an issue if adapters are stacked or if they are used with brick-style power supplies. Such adapters, while still available, have largely fallen out of use in some countries (although two- and three-way adapters are still common in the US, UK, and Ireland).

When plugging a device into a power strip, a build up of carbon or dust can cause sparking to occur. This generally doesn't pose much of a risk in a non-explosive atmosphere, but it can bother some people. Explosive atmospheres (for example, near a gasoline refueling station or a solvent cleaning facility) require specialized explosion-proof sealed electrical equipment.