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I am located in the province of Québec in Canada and I would like to know if it is permitted here to have these two sets of plugs in the same outlet box:

These 240 Volts outlets:

enter image description here

and these 120 Volts outlets:

enter image description here

in this box:

enter image description here

Jean-François Beauchamp
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  • Good question. Imagine for people who know what to do it would be okay, but there probably is an idiot clause about not doing it. – crip659 Nov 15 '22 at 16:52
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    I don't see why not. You can't put low voltage and line voltage in the same box, but in your case, both would be line voltage connected to the appropriate outlets. Still, best to check with your local AHJ (inspector) and ask, just to be sure. – George Anderson Nov 15 '22 at 16:52
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    I also don't see why not: you can have two different phases in one box, from different circuits/breakers, potentially at 240V, you can have MWBC, so this is no different in terms of risks & consequences of shorting. – P2000 Nov 15 '22 at 16:58
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    your outlets are upside down – ron Nov 15 '22 at 17:27
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    @ron I grabbed those pictures from an online store that sells them. The writing on them is not upside-down however. ;-) – Jean-François Beauchamp Nov 15 '22 at 17:36
  • Can just see this being on the Darwin Awards. Another person comes and sees their plug won't fit the outlet and says just change the plug or outlet, it is wired the same. – crip659 Nov 15 '22 at 20:11
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    @ron That' really just a matter of preference, not code. I've seen many installations where the ground is up. An older electrician told me that it's better because if an cord is partially plugged in and something metallic fell on it, it would hit the ground prong first doing no damage. oriented with the ground prong down and something metallic fell across the hot and neutral there would be "spitzen sparken und breakers flippen" . Personally I agree that I prefer the ground part down. But it is a matter of personal preference, not code. – George Anderson Nov 15 '22 at 20:16
  • @brhans I don't see any low voltage in my question. Both 120 V and 240 V are line voltage, AFAIK. – Jean-François Beauchamp Nov 15 '22 at 21:00
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    @crip659 :-))) That's why I am planning to put a 240 V sticker on the outlet. – Jean-François Beauchamp Nov 15 '22 at 21:01
  • @ron those outlets are oriented correctly ... it prevents children from seeing a friendly face – jsotola Nov 16 '22 at 03:05
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    Heck, you can buy a duplex receptacle with one of each on the same strap! A quick look at the Leviton catalog shows that their no. 5031 is CSA listed, so I bet it's OK to use in Canada. – David Lasher Nov 16 '22 at 03:08
  • I don't see a problem. I have 3 phase supply with multiple phases in the same box. It poses a challenge for the electrician, but that's it. – Rohit Gupta Dec 19 '22 at 04:52
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    Thank you @davidlasher -- I should check if those are also allowed in the States. I have a basement wall that I was planning to wire with 4-conductor so each box could supply either two phases of 120 or a full 240 (don't need the latter yet, but planning ahead). Being able to do three-and-one rather than two-and-one would make things a trifle more flexible. (And yes, I know, 240V linked breaker mandatory.) – keshlam Dec 19 '22 at 05:05

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In Québec it is allowed. I got a 240 Volts outlet installed in the same box as a 120 Volts outlet. A professional electrician verified the work and everything was fine.

Jean-François Beauchamp
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