What is the difference between a single gang socket and a double gang socket?

Answer 1

For countries in Europe and other world areas running a 50 Hz supply service.

A double gang wall socket has two outlets so you can plug two appliances into it.

A single gang wall socket has only one outlet, so you can plug just one appliance into it.

Note: You can plug a two-way adaptor into any socket outlet but this is only safe to do if the appliances you want to use take very little power. Such things as table lamps, a television and a hi-fi, a PC and a printer, etc. are all low-power appliances so they can be used safely with a two-way adaptor.

If you need to use more than two low-power appliances in a room that only has a single gang or a double gang wall socket then, for safety, you must use a multi-way socket panel. Such a multi-way panel has a cable with a plug so it can be plugged into any wall socket outlet.

Such multi-way panels are available from hardware stores and usually have between 2 and 8 socket outlets on them. Such a multi-way socket panel should always include a fuse to prevent all the appliances plugged in to it from overloading the wall socket.

For USA, Canada and other countries running a 60 Hz supply service.

Generally speaking when you say single gang or double gang, a single gang is two sockets and a double gang is wider and accomodates four sockets. You wouldn't normally say single gang socket. You would say single gang box or single gang face plate. which would be two sockets not one.