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Why there are no on/off switches for power outlets in the US?

Most of the european and Asian countries has on-off switches for the power outlets, anyone know why it is not in USA?

3 Answers

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  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    You will find that older homes in the US have switched outlets. That is because they were built in the day when the most common electrical appliance were lights. There were few other electrical appliances and most of them were in the kitchen. You'll also find that there are far fewer outlets - switched or un-switched - in these older homes. This mentality exists to this day with such things as electric company names and phrases; Ohio Central Power and Light. - "Did you pay the light bill?" I've lived in quite a few of these older homes and found it quite annoying when someone unwittingly turned off an outlet and everything it was connected to. As a result appliances such as clocks and VCRs had to be reset. For the better part of a century now, houses and other structures have been constructed with built in light fixtures and the need for switched outlets has been eliminated. However, it is still occasionally done. As for Europe and Asia, I can only guess that it is because there were fewer new structures being built - there was a huge housing boom after WWII - that there was less of a demand for the myriad of electrical consumer items that America was churning out starting in the late 1950s - early 60s, and a different mentality exists - that electricity is mainly for lighting.

  • 1 decade ago

    Many US houses have on/off switches for an outlet or two so that you can use it to turn on a light when you enter a room.

    Otherwise we assume that whatever is being plugged in has it's own switch.

  • 4 years ago

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