Sockets in window slopes: useful, dangerous or pointless?
A new trend is gaining popularity with enormous speed - installing sockets and switches in window slopes. Are they really needed there? Let's figure it out!
The content of the article
Why is there an outlet on the slope?
We don’t know exactly who was the first to think of placing an outlet on a slope. But many have already become convinced that it is convenient! The fact is that When installed correctly, windows are the best place to connect electrical appliances.
The window sill is often used as a place to store household appliances. A coffee maker or a kettle, a toaster, a fan or an ozonizer - you never know what will find a place on the windowsill! This way they will be at hand and at the same time will not take up space on the work surface.
But if you connect an additional outlet to the slope, you can not just store household appliances on the windowsill! They can be turned on at any time and used for their intended purpose.
Installation safety
Sometimes you can hear doubts: is this option safe? With proper installation - of course, yes!
Important! Manufacturers have begun to improve their sockets, so you can find special sockets for slopes on sale. They are completely protected from moisture. And the contacts are closed with shutters, which open only when the device is plugged in.
How to safely install an outlet on a slope
- The first thing you need to do is connect the cable to the intended location for connecting the equipment. If the wall is concrete, then you need to make a fine.Keep in mind that this will take a lot of time!
- Then it is necessary to seal the groove with the laid cable. But it should first be fixed using punched tape. In this case, the cable will not fall out during the hardening of the polyurethane foam.
- On a slope it is necessary make markings using a colored marker.
- Further make several holes around the perimeterand then with a jigsaw cut out part of the slope.
- After this you need mark the location of the mounting holes socket base.
Now it needs to be securely fixed using screws and dowels. - In conclusion it is necessary secure the wires (but before that de-energize your home!) And snap the housing.
- Do not forget check reliability installations.
Important! New sockets always clamp the plugs tightly. Therefore, there is a possibility that you will pull it out along with the plug of the electrical appliance. And this threatens a possible short circuit and electric shock.
If you take into account the above procedure during installation, then such an outlet will serve you for a long time.
Advice! It is better to hire specialists to install wiring to all window slopes. This will allow for faster and more reliable installation.
Is it worth installing a socket on a window slope?
Everyone gives the answer to this question independently. This takes into account Is your kitchen spacious? how many people can use different devices at the same time.
While you're thinking about this, ask yourself a few more questions.
- Do you have enough available connection points?
- Do you have any plans to purchase new household appliances?
- Are your existing household appliances conveniently placed or do you want to arrange them more spaciously?
- Is the window sill in your kitchen wide?
- Will it be convenient to open a window with household appliances standing on the windowsill?
If you find that you can’t do without a window sill and there is an opportunity to use this surface, why not make it as functional as possible?
More likely, It’s also worth doing wiring to the slope if you are having repairs. Do this even if you do not currently plan to put any household appliance there. You will probably use the outlet more than once when charging your smartphone or tablet.
Do sockets in the bathroom ever bother you? There the humidity is many times higher and more frequent. But they have been installed and actively used for years.
And if you remember about wiring in villages (sockets in bathhouses, unheated cellars, entryways, and sometimes even on the street, in direct access to precipitation)…
If installed correctly and safety measures are followed, there is nothing critically dangerous in sockets placed in window slopes.
In not a single Soviet standard project will you find such a thing that sockets are installed not only in the window slope, but even on the outer wall. In building heating engineering there is such a concept: “freezing point”, this point is located inside the outer wall. It’s warm outside - this point shifts outside, towards the street.
It’s cold - the point moves towards the apartment, the same temperature - the point is in the middle of the wall.
Now this is the situation: it’s winter, it’s cold, the freezing point is opposite the outlet. What we get: +20 in the kitchen, -20 outside, condensation (moisture) will appear in the installation box and socket housing - the worst enemy of electricity! It’s good if the socket is powered using a modern system: three wires and an RCD or difavtomat - these protective devices will simply turn off the socket, and not just one, but all the sockets sitting on this group. In the worst case, there is a risk of getting an electric shock from a wet socket body; although it is an insulator, BUT! Moisture, through it the current will reach you! Is it worth the price?