Tamper Resistant Receptacle

So NEC 2008 has a new requirement.

"Section 406.11 Tamper-Resistant Receptacles in Dwelling Units In all areas specified in 210.52, all 125-volt, 15 and 20-ampere receptacles shall be listed tamper-resistant receptacles."

I want to say this makes sense to include this in the new code. I was told when I was about three years old, I once crawling under the kitchen table where I noticed my first electrical receptacle. First thing that probably came to mind was the little game where you try to fit squares blocks into square holes and circle blocks into circle holes. On top of that, I probably had wet fingers because I had a bad habit of sucking my thumb. If I remember correctly I did get a small jolt, because I was told I cried and cried while my parents had to frantically move all the tables and chairs to save me.

Anyhow, this new tamper-resistant device is prevents such events from happening. It has a spring-loaded shutter in the receptacle. If you try to stick something into one of the contact openings, the shutters will not open. The shutters only opens when both the contact opens have something being inserted at the same time. This should prevent most of the 2400 electrical shocks that happen to kids every year.

The cost difference is about 50 cents more per receptacle. The code required this over the cap for the receptacles, because the caps generally get lost or become a chocking hazard.



Reference: http://www.nfpa.org/assets/files//PDF/Fact%20sheets/TamperResistant.pdf

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