Charging Efficiency vs voltage

Yup! We use Deoxit sometimes when making electronics repairs. Not very often, but sometimes.

Not to put too fine of a point on it, but 240V is still low voltage. Anything under 600V is low voltage. 600V-69,000V is medium voltage. 69kV-230kV is high voltage. Then there's "extra" high voltage and "ultra" high voltage.

As for the danger, even 120V can kill you dead. It's actually the current through your body that's harmful. It all depends on how well you're grounded and how well your body conducts electricity.

Wow, do we ever digress!!! Fun, ain't it?

 

Agreed.

As for saving by installing L2 EVSE, I am not going to get any break on already high electric rate in our area currently at $0.21/kWh, but if I can get PV panels installed, it should cover most of our daily electrical use if not 100%. EnelX was having a fantastic sale on its Next Gen 40 amp JuiceBox EVSE recently. I jumped on it and ordered one. I don't know when I can start using it but hoping soon.

 

Nah, 1.5 v is "low" voltage for me. How dare you be precise.

 

What is the actual voltage of the line that is coming to the house from the electric poles on the street? Is it 240v? How about typical lines carrying electrons on the side of roads?

 

Depends. In OK, the rural overhead lines on the section roads (distribution lines) are generally 13,800 V. They can be 2,300, 4,160, or 12,470V depending. We have some though that are 25,000, and 34,500V, depending, but those get stepped down depending on residential or commercial. The secondary lines to the house can also vary depending on the service size here. Commercial is a different horse.

Transmission lines go a lot higher.

 

Thanks. I may have to do some research to get numbers for our local lines around my house. But it seems safe to assume either lines around my house are much higher than 240v. I will never be working on any of those lines myself, but the lines coming to the house as well as some lines along the roads can come down any time when storm is in our area. There just are too many trees that's taller than the telephone poles where we live.

 

Those non-insulated distribution lines are guaranteed to kill or badly burn you. Assume they are hot if they're on the ground and don't touch any tree or limb that they are touching even if they have not fallen to the ground. Call the power company. Even the insulated drop lines to the house can be dangerous if they are very old, insulation is bad, it's humid, or if you are not properly insulated.

 

The lines coming to your electric meter and into the house are 240V phase to phase. They are 120V from ground but 180° out of phase with each other. As @Mark57 said, the transmission lines along the road vary, but are MUCH higher. Those voltages will reach out and touch you. Even 4160 will jump out and kill you. I'm not trained with that stuff and would never try working on it. One of our electricians when I was still making cans foolishly tried to measure the voltage to our 4160 volt air compressor. It was an incredibly dumb thing to do and he and the millwright standing next to him were lucky to survive. They both got helicopter rides to the hospital with severe burns from the flash when it vaporized the test leads on his 1,000 volt Fluke multimeter and blew up all the ceramic insulators in the motor starter cabinet he had jimmied open.

 

You haven't lived until you been inside a power substation during an electrical storm when those huge breakers operate. Change of pants are a sure thing. Storm can be 20 miles away out of sight. They operate once close, then @5 seconds close, @15 seconds close, then @45 seconds and then lockout for a real line fault.

As a summertime employee during high school, I got to get than nice carbon and PCB laden oil all over me doing an "internal" on a substation breaker back before they even knew what PCB's were. All of that crew died of cancer a decade back. Don't think I don't think about that.

 

Yeah, power line down, I don't dear to go anywhere near it. But one time, we had a heavy snowstorm that took a large pine tree down across the power line that is coming to the side of our house. I did not know then, but I guess that line had to be 240v as @jerrymildred explained above. The line was down and in snow, but we did not lose power. However, the tree was across our driveway, thus we had no way to drive out of our house. It was one of a very severe snowstorm and the power company was inundated with service calls. The line down on my driveway was affecting only my house. Yap, it took them almost a week for them to come out and fix the problem. I had to make sure that our kids who were still young then would not go anywhere close.

 

At least around here, we are not told to call the electric company if a power line is down. Call 911. It is considered a life-threatening emergency.

 

Calling 911 would do nothing if the line is in a private property like on my driveway. On a public road, they would coordinate with the power company for repair and restoring the line like putting up a roadblock. Here is some info on the downed power line on someone's yard.

What to Do if a Power Line Falls in Your Yard | Angie's List

1. What does a homeowner need to do if power lines are knocked down during a storm?

Breton: Do not touch any downed wires. Call your power company so that they can address immediate safety issues, then call a licensed electrician to appraise and repair any damage to your electrical service. Note that most power companies will not restore power until your electrical service has been deemed safe by your local town or city electrical inspector.

Ceriello: Call the utility company immediately and avoid any contact with downed power lines.

2. What is the role of a city electric company vs. an electrician in this situation?

Breton: Typically, the power company is responsible for the lines from the electrical grid to the point of attachment to the building. From there on, it is the homeowner’s responsibility. FYI, in general, linemen are not trained or licensed to do work beyond their system.

Ceriello: In New York City, the local utility company (Consolidated Edison) is responsible for properly mounting downed power lines back to the house or where they fell from. The customer is responsible for hiring an electrician to reconnect the power lines to their own incoming service.​

 

Good point. I guess I was thinking of downed electric lines in public areas. In my area, there are several different electric companies , depending on where you are, so it wouldn't be obvious who to call, so just call 911 and let them sort out which company to call, based on your location. I am served by my municipal electric company, but cross the city border a mile from my house, and it is PG&E.

 

Yeah, on a public road, calling 911 would be the best way. As @jerrymildred explained for me, those lines can be very high voltage. I had no idea how high the voltage of the line coming to the side of my house. I was somewhat glad to find out the line that is coming to the side of my house is already downed to 240v. Although it has not happened since the last incident over 20 years ago, I now live in woods and any three could knock down the line along my long driveway anytime.

 

36 years as a Millwright and it always baffles me to hear of someone in the trade not proactive enough to stop such foolishness. Pure negligence. It's often fatal. Then there's the non-negligent type, theft. All to common ... often the same result.

[QUOTE ]"... “They were attempting to remove copper wire from inside what we call a pad-mount enclosure -- it’s an electrical box or structure that contains high-voltage energized equipment,” said Steve Conroy, a Southern California Edison spokesman.
The fire caused a 12,000-volt line connected to the circuit to go out of service, Conroy said, and about 1,600 residences in Hemet and San Jacinto were affected by a brief power outage...."[/QUOTE]
Electrocuted bodies of 2 suspected wiring thieves found - Los Angeles Times

Sometimes Justice and irony are the same thing.

But the really whacked out profession is hooking up to live 700k + volts letting it pass over you & Chopper while you're wearing a stainless chainmail-type Faraday suit. All of this while you're climbing off a helicopter pad - a long way up - so you can walk along the lines to take care of business. Better make sure your fall protection is on correctly. The lineman that do this say there's quite a tingly sensation.


Truth be told, there aren't too many jobs where you might get high every day with your employers permission.


Now we can go back on topic

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Not till you see this video. I discovered it years ago and I love the way this lineman describes the experience.

 

Holy COW! I sure hope he gets tons of hazard pay.

 

My awe of those guys is almost as high as what I feel toward combat veterans. Have you thanked your lineman lately? I do when I encounter them on the job.

 

My understanding is that the voltage is so high that there is some tiny current leakage through the air, and this leads to the tingly feeling. They have a special process to connect the helicopter to the wire so the charge is leveled out.