Development of a New Outlet Polarity Tester

Abstract

This paper describes a new type of outlet polarity tester that was developed by our company. Recent years have seen an increasing use of grounded outlets. This is due to the requirement for their use in regulations governing internal wiring. These regulations also require connections to result in correct polarities, so testing to confirm polarity must be carried out before completion. However, with current conventional outlet testers, it is not always possible to detect wiring defects resulting in incorrect polarity in a grounded outlet. In addition, since commercial power sources have been used to conduct this test, it has been impossible to conduct unless the circuit is live. This new type of outlet polarity tester was developed in an attempt to solve the above issues. Verification of this device has demonstrated that it can easily distinguish among 24 types of continuity conditions, including continuity faults.