Habit? I know I never really thought about the placement of outlets until hotels started "raising" them to table-height ... then I thought, "Why don't we have this at home?"

I have two outlets half way up the wall. One in the living/dining area and one in the bedoom hall. They are great to plug in the vacuum. No bending behind furniture to plug in.

For looks, I would much prefer electrical boxes installed in high baseboards as they typically were from the 1880s into the early 20th Century.

Standard Code

If you want something different, you have to specify.

Anything is possible. Talk to your architect and have the outlets placed wherever you desire. It's very common to locate them on the electrical plan. Coordinate with your builder to be sure s/he reads the drawings and specs, and passes the info along to the electrician.

In our London pied-a-terre all outlets are about waist-high (and are switched!). My in-laws' houses have the same setup. So handy!

I think the 'standard' is 12 inches off the floor. For accessibility concerns it's recommended that they be 15-18 inches. Less bending is good when you're in a wheelchair or even with a walker.

I have seen older homes with them in the baseboards also. I know I would be smacking them with the sweeper or kicking out the plugs as I walked by. I wouldn't want to do all that bending over. Plus if you want to move it you have a hole in your baseboard. Most walls are easier to repair.

We have amazing recharging batteries these days, and lamps can't be such a huge power draw. Why do we even HAVE outlets anymore?

I would put 30A outlet strips all around the room at chest level if I could get my way. 15A standard is such a tease.

Most places follow NEC, and they don't specify outlet heights, other than certain specific applications. I think 5'6" is the max for general purpose outlets, and they can't be more than 20" above the kitchen counters. I put mine within ADA guidelines in case there's ever a need.

We did baseboard on a large open concept plan. That is my strong preference. Most outlets are almost never used in this setting and so they are just unattractive. I think our bedroom had 5 and 3 were never used so I wish I put them in baseboards.

Ideally, they would all be planned perfectly with furniture but that is rarely done I suspect. Electricians aren't accustomed to following such a specific plan.

They should be high when furniture is there and low when they are just for code. Not sure who actually does that.

On the subject - outlets on the floor under couches. Then make something accessible for the dreaded dying laptop, or heating pad, or powered massager.

If you're placing them high on the wall and expect them to be hidden by furniture, be sure that you will never rearrange the furniture for as long as you live in the house...

Much ado over nothing. They are best when cut into painted baseboards $$$ ( sideways) but once a room is furnished they are mostly ignored visually, anyway. I'd NOT recommend placing at table height. Too many variables, and actually MORE noticeable. If neurotic, make cover plates the wall color.......and relax. Buy quality lamps with clear cords: ) and still relax.

thanks all. I was just thinking about it as the electrical plan is designed. know it's a little thing, but wanted thoughts before I revised it!

It seems like around here the industry standard always been 13" to the bottom of the outlet unless otherwise specified.

If you in the rough construction building stage and you already know what your furniture layout is, or need an outlet for a specific location etc, when you do a walkthrough with your electrician you specify the exact outlet height/location you want it to be or add additional lights/outlets and have them being controlled by a switch in a certain way.

That being said, if you do your lighting design with your architect to specified on the plan, be sure to meet with your electrician anyway on the job site and go over with him and mark all the locations with him... this way everyone is on the same page and there are no issues like "you never told me about this one or I didn't know about that one"... that is the best way to do this, and after they finished do another walkthrough and make sure nothing was missed before they start to close everything up.

Good luck

(and are switched!)

I love switched outlets, but I wouldn't want them ALL to be switched.

We have amazing recharging batteries these days, and lamps can't be such a huge power draw. Why do we even HAVE outlets anymore?

You're right that lamps aren't a huge power draw; my husband, who is an engineer in the energy industry, says that only things that produce heat are real energy-hogs. Your TV, radio, lamp can run all day for pennies.

However, I disagree with your conclusion. Batteries are great, but they're more trouble than things that're plugged into the wall. They do run out of juice (at the least convenient times) and they do have a lifespan (for example, my laptop will no longer run at all unless it's plugged into the wall -- the battery cannot hold a charge anymore, and a new battery costs $140).

but once a room is furnished they are mostly ignored visually, anyway.

Good point. Outlets at foot-level are easier to ignore than outlets at eye level. In reality, I suppose both spots have their uses. You probably haven't touched -- in years -- the outlet into which your bedside lamps are plugged, but you touch your kitchen outlets and the outlet where you recharge your phone daily.

"be sure to meet with your electrician anyway on the job site and go over with him and mark all the locations with him... this way everyone is on the same page and there are no issues like "you never told me about this one or I didn't know about that one"... that is the best way to do this, and after they finished do another walkthrough and make sure nothing was missed before they start to close everything up."

Great advice!!

Oh yes those outlets would be so attractive stuck in the middle of a wall where you have no furniture and no need for a lamp.

I put the majority of outlets in my basement at counter height. I plan to have work space with counters and cabinets and I don't want to arrange furniture around the outlets I need to access frequently. The best height for outlets depends on the expected use of the space; kitchens, offices and workrooms have different needs than living rooms and bedrooms.

@bpathome Um, how do you recharge your batteries?

We installed all of our outlets in our baseboards in our new house. We have white painted trim and the white outlets are virtually unnoticeable now. Yes, even lower to bend over but honestly it's just my vacuum that gets plugged in and out on a regular basis. I started to notice over the years that the white outlets with plates interrupting my painted sheetrocked walls really bugged me. Probably a bit OCD of me, but I was noticing it more and more. I love my baseboard outlets now.

I wanted to put my outlets in my baseboards since they'd look better and be less noticeable but being we're intending to age in place, we felt that wasn't the smartest idea so we compromised and put them at standard height.

Thanks everyone for your ideas! I ended up raising outlets in master bedroom!

My parents home seemed to have electrical outlets at the perfect height and location in every room, but the furniture was all built in (beds, sofas, dressers, desks, bookshelves) so you knew exactly where a lamp or anything else would get plugged in.

There's a house for sale online that has all electrical outlets placed near the tops of the baseboards. The verbiage mentions that the switches are placed lower because of wheelchair considerations however I fail to understand how placing outlets that low would help someone in a wheelchair. I suppose the electrical lines have to be a certain distance apart so if they lower the switches that means the outlets have to be lowered as well?