What is purpose of wide blade on electrical plug?

The wide prong on the plug links the threaded base of light bulbs to the neutral terminal (the wider slot) in the receptacle. The hot side of the outlet (the side that can deliver a shock) is wired to the threaded socket if the wires are reversed.

Which wire goes on the wide blade of a plug?

White (neutral) wire, silver screw (wide blade).

Is the larger blade on a plug neutral?

In that instance, when you touch the appliance, you become the ground and receive a shock. The neutral side of the plug has an enlarged blade to aid in correctly completing the circuit.

Is the wide spade on a plug the hot or neutral?

neutral
The wider spade of the wall plug marks which side of the plug is the “neutral” and should be inserted into the wider slot in the electrical receptacle (and cannot be inserted improperly in most modern receptacles).

Is wide or narrow hot?

The wider prong connects the neutral wires (wires carrying unused electricity back to the breaker panel), and the narrow prong connects the hot wires (wires carrying electricity from the panel to an outlet or a switch).

Is a polarized plug necessary?

Non-polarized outlets were common in older homes, changing any non-polarized outlets you may have in your home will keep your house current on safety codes. Every outlet should be replaced with a polarized outlet in an up-to-date home sale for safety.

Does the black wire go to the gold or silver screw?

Black (Hot) goes on the smaller prong side or white to silver screws, black to gold screws. Ground (bare wire) to green.

What is the big slot on an outlet?

On a modern electrical outlet that accommodates a three-pronged plug, each hole serves a specific purpose: the round hole is for the ground pin on the plug; the small slot takes the small blade on the plug and connects to the “hot” wire in the outlet (the wire that can cause a shock); the large slot takes the large …

Which side of a plug is larger?

The larger, left slot in a receptacle is neutral and the smaller right slot is hot. In all electric circuits, electricity flows from a point of higher electrical potential to a point of lower potential. The hot wire in a house is the source of electrical potential.

Which blade is neutral?

Most lamps with standard sockets use polarized plugs. The wide blade is “neutral”, the narrow blade is hot. A “non-polarized” plug has 2 narrow blades and can be inserted either way into an outlet.

Does the hot wire go to the wide prong?

The high voltage (about 120 volts effective, 60 Hz AC) is supplied to the smaller prong of the standard polarized U.S. receptacle. It is commonly called the “hot wire”. If an appliance is plugged into the receptacle, then electric current will flow through the appliance and then back to the wider prong, the neutral.