Ed: Thanks for the clarification. My memory was a bit hazy because I hadn't put the concept to words in a long time, so I hedged a bit by saying "related to" to save some thinking. <g>

Jeff: The map makes sense. Your description in the article made it appear to me that you were confusing GFCI's with breakers.

If you ever find out more about that clever outlet, post the info. I like it. I wonder if they could add a ring of ground connections in between the power ones. -I did see a new type of four-square outlet fixture by Hubbel that has each grounded outlet facing a different direction. That would be good for those right-angled ground plugs that often go the opposite way that you want.

To clarify volts and amps. Volt is, as you say, force, and Amp is the quantity or volume of electricity flowing in the wire. A good analogy is the water one: Volts would relate to the pressure in a pipe, and Amps would relate to the diameter of the pipe.

You say you "would always recommend installing a small circuit breaker between your power source and your home, this is a bit overkill,..." I don't know where you live, but in most places it is the law. It would be foolhardy not to protect the circuits in your home. Even if you had a breaker in every device in the home, you still want to protect the wires that run to these devices, which can get shorted and cook your walls.

It sounds like you are describing GFCI outlets when you say they have a circuit breaker built-in. This is NOT a circuit breaker, it is a special safety circuit that detects tiny currents to ground that would occur if someone were getting a shock by touching a hot line and a ground, such as an electrical pipe, and if it detects such a current, it instantly shuts off the power to that outlet. But a GFCI provides no protection in any way for large overcurrents such as short circuits.

You would be wise to have at least 2 or 3 separate branch circuits in your home. Most codes require a separate circuit for the kitchen, and it is a good idea to have one breaker on your light circuits and another breaker on your outlet circuits, just so that if you want to repair an outlet you can do it without a flashlight. Also more breaker circuits have the advantage of leaving most the house still functioning if a particular breaker blows.

I completely agree with Frank! Remember the time element. A microwave will cook an item in about one tenth the time (and that's not counting time pre-heating the conventional oven), so the actual energy usage is MUCH less. (Energy is power x time, Kilowatt Hours, for example.)