I’m visiting Norway, and see many outlets way up high. Some are mid wall , some are down to the bottom…but many up high. Saw someike this since the airport. Any idea why they do this?

  • AwesomeLowlander@sh.itjust.works
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    3 months ago

    As several people have mentioned, it’s for lights. The reason is, in Norway any electrical work needs to be done or certified by a licensed electrician. Since light fixtures are a fairly commonly replaced item, the current trend is for ceiling mount points to come with a nearby electrical plug so you can switch out a light fixture without shelling out for an electrician. These power outlets are connected to a switch elsewhere so you can flick the lights on and off like normal.

    Visit !norway@sopuli.xyz for all your Norwegian and reindeer trivia 😁

    • Aarrodri@lemmy.worldOP
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      3 months ago

      Thanks for the answer! Yes indeed these come with light switch…but funny enough…the room lights are not connected to these… they have an extension going all the way down to the floor😂

  • neidu3@sh.itjust.worksM
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    3 months ago

    Those are usually connected to a light switch for connecting ceiling lights. Especially in older houses from when it was common to have many dim lights instead of few bright ones.

    Seeing as it’s grounded, that one is new-ish… before the 80’s, it would probably not have been grounded.

    Also, close to a window tells me that its primary use nowadays is for christmas lights.

    Source: am noggie

  • dual_sport_dork 🐧🗡️@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    Lots of reasons. In residential settings, wall mounted clocks and lighting are the usual reason.

    You see a lot of these in commercial buildings here, also. Often they’re even in the ceiling, not even high on the wall. It provides guaranteed access to an outlet that’s not blocked by furniture for use with cleaning and maintenance equipment. Vacuums, floor polishers, floor drying blowers, that sort of thing. Having the cord come from a high point also makes it easier to keep it running over top of furniture and obstructions when it will only be used temporarily rather than snaking around the legs of desks and chairs and so on. And it also discourages passers by from fucking with them if they haven’t brought a short stepladder or a foot stool or something.