15 devices to never plug into a power strip

A fire breaks out every two minutes on average in France, according to figures from Verisure, a company specializing in alarms with remote monitoring. Even more impressive: one in four home fires is caused by faulty or substandard electrical installation. To avoid fire outbreaks and other tragedies, the first golden rule to follow is not to overload your power strip. You run several risks by departing from this principle:

How many devices can you plug into a power strip, then? Can’t a five-way power strip be connected to five different devices? It all depends on the type of devices you want to power. When buying a power strip, be sure to check its maximum power in watts. When installing it in your home, find out about the power of all the devices you want to connect to it, and add them up.

“If the figure obtained is greater than the maximum power that the power strip can withstand, there is a risk. It is imperative to disconnect one or more devices, even if there are still free connections on the power strip”, explains izi by EDF .

Some devices, on the other hand, should never be plugged into a power strip. Check out the list in our slideshow below.

To limit the risks, you can also opt for power strips with an on/off switch. This way, you can turn them off when you don’t need them, when you’re away or when you’re sleeping. In addition to saving you energy, it prevents you from running unnecessary risks.

Finally, check your stock of power strips often to get rid of any that could be damaged and therefore dangerous. A defective power strip can not only be the cause of a house fire or a power outage, but also of electrocution.

There are indeed 3 types of power strips. The first are the most secure, and have 2 P T type sockets. This means that they have a grounded socket, which makes it much less dangerous. Be careful though, it will only work properly in an emergency if the socket itself is plugged into a wall socket with a grounded outlet.

The second type of power strip is only suitable for use with small devices that consume very little, such as a bedside lamp or even a telephone charger. Indeed, they do not have a ground connection.

Finally, the last type of power strip is in a way a hybrid of the other two: it has sockets with and without earthing. This makes it an ideal candidate for your household, allowing great adaptability to household needs.