Which leg is neutral in a polarized plug?

Answer 1

In a standard 15 or 20 amp receptacle (plug), with the ground in the bottom position, the neutral wire goes to the left side of the receptacle as you look at the front of it. The hot wire goes on the right side.

Note: the screws to clamp the wire are colour coded. The neutral goes to the silver coloured screw and the hot goes to the brass coloured screw.

The silver/brass colour coding does not apply in the UK, but the neutral pin is still on the left.

With the ground in the bottom position, notice the heights of the two parallel slots of the receptacle. The taller (or wider) one - on the left - is the neutral, and the shorter one is the hot side. Think of it from a safety point of view: a person is more likely to accidentally touch the bigger slot, so make that one safer than the shorter one.

Answer 2

The wider prong of a polarized plug is the neutral leg. It is intended to ensure the correct orientation of the plug when inserted into an outlet to maintain safety and proper functioning of the connected device.