Hospital Grade

Electrical receptacles that are engineered to meet UL hospital grade requirements are critically important for use in hospital/medical facilities. They meet additional standards of grounding reliability, assembly integrity, terminal strength, impact resistance and durability. They are spill-proof, PVC-free and available in our attractive PCS unit housings.

The little green dot means “GO!” in any healthcare setting.

Hospital Grade Receptacle Capability

Receptacles used in power distribution equipment are required to meet specific standards. The standards include specifications for different grades of receptacles, including "general use" and "hospital grade" receptacles. The standard that establishes the receptacle requirements is Underwriters Laboratories (UL) Standard for Attachment Plugs and Receptacles, UL498.

Hospital grade receptacles must meet all the requirements of general use receptacles, and they must also meet additional hospital grade requirements which include grounding reliability, assembly integrity, terminal strength, impact resistance and durability. So, hospital grade receptacles are much more durable and are constructed to accept a higher level of abuse than general use receptacles. The hospital grade receptacle is required in areas of a hospital where reliable medical equipment function is critical.

The type of receptacle used in hospitals is specified by the electrical contractor. In some cases, the electrical contractor will specify the use of hospital grade receptacles throughout an entire facility, including public areas and administrative areas. In administrative areas, a powered furniture product with a hospital grade receptacle option would be a desirable solution, although medical equipment will not be connected.

Another set of requirements are related to the facility design. Architects and designers may want to use portable or movable furnishings in certain areas and these furnishings may need to provide access to electrical power. In this case, the use of a relocatable power tap product or "power strip" would be appropriate.

The UL Standard for Relocatable Power Taps, UL1363, allows for a solution that combines the application of hospital grade receptacles in a relocatable power tap or power strip. These power strips are intended to be used in areas not defined as patient care areas. To be clear about this application, UL requires the following statement as part of the instructions and on a label: "CAUTION: Do not use relocatable power taps in General Patient Care Areas or Critical Patient Care Areas. They have not been evaluated for use where Article 517 of the National Electrical Code requires Hospital Grade components."

A very useful solution for non-patient care areas is to provide a product with hospital grade receptacles to meet the specifications of the electrical contractor, and constructed to meet the requirements of the UL standard. This product could provide electrical power to chargers and personal electronic equipment as part of a furniture solution, and comply with all the necessary standards and specifications.

Several products employing hospital grade receptacles have recently been UL listed and can be used to provide power in non-patient care areas. In addition to relocatable power tap products, multi-outlet assemblies and manufactured wiring systems solutions are also available with hospital grade receptacles.