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Are you asking about a standard USA 120 Volt domestic wall socket containing a pair of outlets, where one outlet is positioned below the other one but looks upside down? If so, here goes:

Each pair of socket outlets is made like this: a springy brass contact strip is fitted underneath the top outlet's left hole to connect it to the bottom outlet's left hole. Another springy brass contact strip is fitted underneath top outlet's right hole to connect it to the bottom outlet's right hole.

One supply wire is connected to the left-hand contact strip and the other supply wire goes to the right hand contact strip.

It doesn't actually matter which outlet hole is the hot and which is the neutral because the system allows you to put in an ungrounded plug either way round.

If there are any ground holes these are positioned above and below each pair of the contacts described above, at the mid-way point. The top outlet's 3 holes then look like one triangle and the bottom outlet's 3 holes look like another triangle that is upside down to the top one!

Another answer

The NEC does not specify what position a duplex receptacle is placed. However, some electrical plans, such as those for hospitals, may call that receptacles be placed with the ground hole facing up. This is to help prevent contact being made with the hot and neutral with something falling on a plug of a cord. The ground prong may help protect this from happening.

The other school of thought is that with the ground hole facing down on a duplex receptacle if the plug of the cord has something fall on it the last blade to disengage would be the ground pin.

Another explanation

Reason why "ground-down" is best/safer: the socket for the ground pin should be down because, if the plug starts to work its way out from weight on the cord, the first things to disconnect will be the power pins and that all-important ground pin will be the last to go, thereby providing its protection until no longer needed because the power pins have been disconnected first.

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15y ago

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