The whole line is dangerous. Often from something like a window AC or portable heater added to to same outlet as room lighting and a TV or computer. The AC or heater is already near the maximum current for the line, usually 1400 watts. If you feel the outlets or wire in the walls they will be warm or hot. We have a lot more stuff plugged in than the era when most houses were built. Any connection issues can cause further problems. The wall outlet and circuit breaker are common. If your lights start flickering at all, you need to find the issue quickly. That isn't always going to happen, but in many cases flickering lights are a sign of the problem.
this post was submitted on 02 Mar 2025
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We have a lot more stuff plugged in than the era when most houses were built.
While this is true, most of the devices we use today are DC devices and much lower power. Your standard USB device is maybe 5V and 2A, so only 10W.
Meanwhile landlords: two outlets should be enough for a living room right?
This drives me crazy! Every apartment I've lived in has had a shortage of outlets in the main areas. But meanwhile, my mom's apartment has EIGHT sets of outlets in her living/dining area. Sixteen total outlets in that room. 4 pairs in the kitchen. It's amazing, I dunno how she got so lucky.
All those outlets are probably on the same breaker.
Probably per room but most devices aren't going to draw a ton of power. If you have an antique microwave collection, that might be a problem though.
Yes, these days you might have like 20 devices plugged in, but they're all DC and most only draw about 10W each. Also, they're not all drawing power at the same time.
Yep. All the way down to backstabbed outlets (which should be against code but isn’t, at least in the NEC).