Mains sockets with USB charger

[ppppenguin]

I've got mine on the bench with a DMM in series to measure the current. WIth no USB load it's about 2.5mA. About 600mW. I can't be bothered to connect up an isolating TX and scope to see if most of that is VARs or Watts. With my Samsung S3 plugged into charge it's about 28mA. About 6.5W, so a little over an amp at 5V from the USB port.

Th EU rules on standby power now require less than 0.5W consumption: http://www.eceee.org/ecodesign/products/standby
This socket probably complies, as I doubt that all the 2.5mA is in phase with the voltage.

In other respects it feels well made and solid. The shutters are the traditional type, opearted by the earth pin. The USB labelling is only silk screened, not engraved and will no doubt rub off over time. The ASTA licence number 1182 is silk screened on the back of the plate. It's current: http://www.astabeab.com/buyers-by-number.asp The maker is shown as Nexus Industries Ltd who also own BG. So LAP and BG products are likely to be identical.

The instruction leaflet says it's OK to Megger it at 500V. It seems to say it's safe to Megger the USB sockets themselves but that may be lost in translation.

[Murphyv310]

Try this!
http://cpc.farnell.com/bg-electrical/822...=pl1503307&selectedCategoryId=

Now try this!

http://cpc.farnell.com/bg-electrical/822...dp/PL15033

It's the same one - only the price is different between the two entries!

Which begs the question of how you - and Brian - found it, as your entry is missing from the results of any search I've tried!

Its to do with CPC's special offers - they add a 2-digit code to the end of the standard part number to get the special offer price. So, in this case, the standard part number is PL15033, and the "07" is the particular special offer indicator.

At the moment, "69" is the "Bargain Corner" code and "58" is the "This week's deals" code...

HTH

Giving away CPC's secrets Nick. 
The weekly flyers often have good discounts, fiddling with the suffix numbers can reveal veritable bargains 

[Brunel]

This might be informative.

A look inside a (crap) double gang socket with USB outlets.

https://youtu.be/zoZ1_aEDPos

[Cardigan]

The gentleman doing this video says he's not seen dual earth terminals before. They are a requirement for high integrity earth systems (Sec.543.7 of BS7671:2008).

http://www.electrical.theiet.org/wiring-...rthing.cfm

http://www.mkelectric.com/Documents/Engl...55-389.pdf

Also, I note MK make USB sockets that are adaptive in terms of current requirement.

[Stockden]

The gentleman doing this video says he's not seen dual earth terminals before. They are a requirement for high integrity earth systems (Sec.543.7 of BS7671:2008).

I didn't think that was what he was saying. As I recall what he said was that he hadn't encountered a twin socket where (as he demonstrates) the 2 earth pins are isolated from one another. In reality therefore the "dual earth terminals" on this twin socket are single earth terminals, one for each socket.

No doubt I've misunderstood (and I'm certainly no expert) but I can't see how this socket could meet the high integrity earth systems requirement precisely because the 2 earth terminals on the socket are not connected together internally.

Hugh

[Cardigan]

My mistake: this is what happens when you post before you watch the whole video.

Separate earth terminals are used in "clean earth" systems  - and in this case, could result in one socket not being earthed if one didn't take note of this. MK make special sockets and plugs for this job.

A simple plug-in supply has so much more in favour of it than an integrated solution like this. Too much technology in the household is a bad thing.

[Nick]

A simple plug-in supply has so much more in favour of it than an integrated solution like this. Too much technology in the household is a bad thing.

Indeed - everything goes out of date very quickly - the BS socket will be around for a while, but USB "A" connector based charging is already on its way out.

New USB C-based phones, e.g. the Google Nexus and newer Apples, use much higher current charging and over the next couple of years the USB socket in phones will disappear completely as manufacturers eliminate holes in the cases to make them more robust & watertight (and cheaper and simpler to manufacture).

Apple have already done this by removing the 3.5mm phono socket for headphones - everyone is moving to Bluetooth or NFC for that - and the only remaining socket is then the power USB connector and that is being replaced by contactless charging.

The bottom line is that USB composite mains sockets already don't handle USB C correctly and the whole portable electronics world is moving away from wired charging anyway.

When we built our "eco house" 10 years ago, I deliberately kept the infrastructure as low-tech as possible (though we do have heat pumps etc.). There is no complex wired infrastructure besides that used for mains power - my logic was the CAT5e/CAT6/whatever was already evolving so fast that it was pointless to add expense and complexity by building a specific carrier in. 

We use mains-borne wireless internet which works fabulously with a QoS channel being used for audio distribution. Its very simple and easy to upgrade without impacting the house in any way...

[ppppenguin]

Mains borne networking has problems with interference on amateur bands. Don't know if it also gives troubel on MW and LW.
http://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-strengthen...l-notching

[Doodlebug]

So many items that plug straight into a 13amp socket have no fuses.
I worry about our tiny phone supply plugged straight into the ring main fused at 30 amp !

It has no fuse. I have considered plugging it into a short 13amp extension lead and putting a
100 m/a fuse into that...........I'd sleep better at nights if I did. :-)

[ppppenguin]

Chargers etc are plugged directly into 20A final circuits in the rest of the world (where plugs aren't fused) without any trouble. Any such device should have its own protection. Such as a fusible link or PTC. Provided it fails safely it doesn't matter if it fails beyond repair. Unless the CE mark has been falsified it will have suitable protection.