USB ports in Power Outlets

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electrons

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Hello -

I noticed threatcore.com is posting news of a new 115V outlet which incorporates two USB ports on the sides. The report says the outlet will be ready to ship in 2010 and "allows for two USB charging ports alongside two traditional U.S. three-prong power plugs."

Does anyone know if this is NEC approved? I am wondering about low voltage devices inside a 115 volt outlet. I thought that was illegal? This looks like a new item so not sure how much information is out there. ZDnet has an image of it. http://blogs.zdnet.com/gadgetreviews/?p=9901&tag=content;col1

If anyone can offer some information on the legalities of this, it would be appreciated. Would this be a local code thing or national? Does it even meet code?

Thanks for any information.
 
If you take an extra "http//" out of the link, it works.

I think it is up to local inspectors to either consider them as suitable or not. Most inspectors would probably want to see a UL listing or some other independent testing labs approval.

Jim:

A lot of small electronics (MP3 players, GPS devices) recharge their batteries through the USB ports. So the point of the USB port is just to recharge batteries - not to actually transfer any data to or from the device. So there is no separate low voltage wiring in the wall running to the outlet.

My wife bought a small plug in module that accomplishes the same function. Its basically a wall wort with a USB port instead of a low voltage cable.
 
I guess it could be of some value. Never gave it any thought but i could probably charge my camera from my computers usb. I found out last week just how much power that usb has when it burned the wifes mouse cord in half.
 
Jim W in Tampa said:
I found out last week just how much power that usb has when it burned the wifes mouse cord in half.
Click to expand...

USB spec is 1/2 amp per outlet. Many power-hungry USB hard drives come with a Y adapter so you can plug into 2 ports at one time (one for power and data, one for just power).

I'll be getting several of those when they come out, although I've seen make-your-own designs if I really wanted to do it now.
 
The high power HD video cards are power hogs and many are capable of using separate power supplies because of it. 40a at 12v is 480 watts which is feasible. How did you come to the conclusion that this would draw 9 amps at 120?
 
I asked if it must comply with NEC requirements since it is installed inside a box with 120V lines. The two do not seem to mix. I once had an inspector hit me for phone lines running in the same box as line voltage. How is this different?
 
electrons said:
I asked if it must comply with NEC requirements since it is installed inside a box with 120V lines. The two do not seem to mix. I once had an inspector hit me for phone lines running in the same box as line voltage. How is this different?
Click to expand...

Among other things, it is a manufactured assembly, not
building wiring. The internals of a device are not subject
to the NEC; generally the AHJ would consider UL or other
NRTL results the pertinent criteria.

It would be nice if there were multi-gang cover plates.
 
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I wonder how big the outlet box needs to be. Seems hard to believe they can fit a duplex, a transformer, a low voltage power supply, and two USB ports in a single (or even a double) gang box.

I wonder if they skipped the transformer, and used something like a voltage divider to reduce the voltage. It doesn't seem like that would be very fail safe: if a resistor shorts, then you have 120V on your ports.

Steve
 
Swtiching power supplies for 5V USB ports are very small. Wall wart units are only about 1"x 1"x 2". They are switching power supplies.

This product sounds rediculous to me. At the rate technology changes how long will it be until USB is replaced by another standard?
 
From the website:

For the electricians out there, specs are as follows:
Input voltage: AC 100 to 240V 50/60Hz
USB input current: 80mA
Output voltage: USB: DC 5.0V 600mA
Operation temperature: -15 to 45 Degrees Celsius
Relative humidity: < 95%
Air pressure: 86 to 106kPa​
Click to expand...



Notice the input voltage is 100-240V. I wonder what would happen when someone plugs in a 120 Volt device into that thing, with 240 connected to the input??


truepower_usb_poweroutlet.jpg


​
 
So someone will not try to install it too far below sea level :roll:
 
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