Well, for a start, using UK standard mains plugs will be a right royal pain in the arse. IIRC French mains wiring has the earth ready-sheathed, instead of bare like ours - so no sleeving. I don't think ours complies with their standards.
James Thurber's story "The Car We Had to Push" mentions an aunt (I think) who worried about electricity leaking out of fixtures and sockets that didn't have lamps or plugs in them. It includes a funny cartoon of her looking at a light fitting for leaks.
The UK system relies on the appliance plug having a fuse in the plug. Without this the system does perform in design safety. The French do not have fused plugs. They have radial systems as opposed to ring system.
Why reduce your potential market? Admittedly, if it is a crumbling heap, the main market will be British buyers, who are generally perceived as wanting 'character' buildings, while the French prefer something modern and comfortable, but that does not mean no French will look at it.
I recently had a 30A mono-phase supply installed in a French property and took a 12-way slit-load CU from Screwfix as I thought the installers would only connect their supply tails to a CE-approved CU
They said they didn't care what I put on the end of their cable and that they would leave it with a "termination" connected.
Friend of a friend wired his french holiday house completely to UK regs. French supplier (EDF) was perfectly happy to connect it up, and had seen it done before, much to his surprise. Ironically they had previously refused to connect up the supply to the french wiring which was there when he bought it, although it was in a bad state.
I have heard that you can pick any of the national standards from countries who's standards are aligned with CENELEC Harmonised Documents (of which the UK is one) and use them in any EU country, but I have no reference for that.
EDF will usually distinguish between properties that have electricity to them already and those which have not. If it has not had a supply before they will ask for a certificate of conformity that the property confirms to French wiring pratice which has to be signed by a qualified French electrician. However :-
they don't always do it
You can get electricians to come and "inspect" your installation
Something which had an electricity supply in 1920 can still count as having had a supply
Things are tightening up though and there have been quite a few new regulations coming into force over recent years.
As personal preference I prefer (many don't) the French radial wiring system despite the increase in wire required as it makes sure everthing is protected at a central board making it very easy to find faults and you never have a "where are the spare fuses" moment. It also lends itself to computer controlled automation very easily (I usually run a cat5 cable to each socket/switch "just in case"). However I have yet to find decently made French plugs/sockets which can frequently require the application of a hammer to get the plug in. One of the benefits of a movable earth shield and decent manufacturer e.g. MK.
On 26 Sep 2006 06:28:02 -0700 someone who may be "Fitz" wrote this:-
Sticking implements into UK domestic sockets is very hard for a child to do, whether the shutters are operated by the earth contact or just the live and neutral pins. Thus the "Child safety" cover is doing little or nothing for safety.
Inserting a plug with fingers wrapped around involves removing the "Child safety" cover first. Thus it is doing nothing for safety.
A very long time ago a member of my family did experiment with putting knitting needle into an unshuttered socket. He didn't do it again.
Eh? For a start, all UK plugs have had sleeved pins for many years, so you can't reach round the back and actually touch live metal because by the time it's exposed it's no longer connected. Except the earth pin, of course.
Secondly, if there's a plug in there, then perforce there isn't a socket cover in there. Socket covers are about empty sockets, not sockets with plugs in.
Thirdly all sockets are shuttered. I defy you to find one that isn't.
Fourthly, in the vanishingly unlikely event of some little sprog managing it the RCD will ensure they only get a belt strong enough to scare the living daylights out of them rather than kill them. It worked for me when I was about five. Except that was a table-lamp.
They're a gizmo sold by profiteering safety types who prey on the insecurities of parents and the paranoia of safety departments who insist on them for no good reason. I've had a good look over the years and have never found any evidence of accidents happening which would have been prevented by socket covers. If you have evidence to the contrary, I'll a) be amazed, and b) have to buy a hat to eat.
None - 13A sockets have been shuttered since their inception. Round pin sockets were shuttered later (and still don't have to be, except in homes), but I don't think that's what's being referred to here.
The message from snipped-for-privacy@cucumber.demon.co.uk (Andrew Gabriel) contains these words:
You abolutely certain about that? We only had "square" pin sockets in our house as a kid and I remember pointing out to Dad one that didn't have a shutter and the two of us changing it. Perhaps it had had one but had broken. I was only about five.
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