Should I Change My Two Prong Outlet To Three Prong?

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If you still have two prong outlets in your home, should you upgrade them to three prong?

Our professional answer is yes.

If you have a two prong outlet, they are ungrounded. This means they don’t have an extra ground wire that protects you from possible surges of electricity.

Without this extra protection in place, you can face dangers such as:

• Electrical shock
• An electrical fire
• Damage to your appliances and electronics

The main difference between a two prong and a three prong wire is the ground wire.

A ground wire directs any surge that comes through the system safely into the ground.

Every outlet in your home has a hot and neutral wire. The hot wire delivers electricity to the outlet. The neutral wire sends the electricity back to the main electrical panel. Both of these wires are designed to handle 120 volts, the normal capacity that runs throughout your home.

But if those wires receive a surge, more electricity than they are designed to handle, they deliver it in one of the above three ways. With the ground wire present, the extra electricity travels along this wire and is absorbed into the earth instead.

If you still have two prong outlets in your home, we can upgrade you in one of two ways.

The first is to add in a ground wire to upgrade the outlets to three prong. This is the safest option and requires running a ground wire from your main electrical panel to the specific outlet. This process must be done by a professional. Every two prong outlet must be upgraded on its own.

The second is adding a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI). Although the circuit will still be ungrounded, the GFCI will monitor the flow of electricity traveling into the outlet and cut power to the outlet if the voltage ever gets too high.

Have additional questions about the outlets in your home? We can help.