if a 48V battery can be lethal, how about a 40V panel?

Batteries over 24V, start getting into the "dangerous" area and you should know what you are doing.

How about a solar panel that has 40 volts (and about 10 amps)? If not, how many in series before it gets "very dangerous"?

Well, my solar strings are 8A at 120VDC, and I'm still here.

A 9V battery can kill under the right conditions…

But modest safety measures and panels can be dealt with… if you are worried about safety of voltage, your skills need to be up to date to understand how to handle the wiring.

Solar panels have shielded connectors, as long as the wiring is complete before panels are connected, you should be safe.

Be safe.

Dangerous how? I can and have touched both end of my 48v battery bank and I am not dead.
This guy touches 170v DC.

Porch said:

Dangerous how? I can and have touched both end of my 48v battery bank and I am not dead.
This guy touches 170v DC.

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It is all about conditions.

No… mehdi has NEVER shorted 170VDC across his body. He has a lot of in depth training, and he does things for show to teach what not to do… 24V can cause muscle contraction 40V can burn…

When he touches the 170VDC, he is doing so with dry fingers, inside a conditioned space… on a circuit he designed. The circuit is not a solar panel, with continuous output. The circuit is not a battery… he designed the circuit to test pain from voltage.

Agree on the dry conditions. But it is continuous output. No difference then a battery or a few solar panels in series. He did touch 170V DC across his body.

A 9v battery can't hurt you as the 9v voltage is not enough to overcome the resistance even in wet skin. Yep. Just licked a 9v battery and not dead.

48 volts is not considered dangerous unless some very special conditions exist, none of which you are likely to encounter.

You'd probably have to immerse yourself in salt water and attach special leads so the current flows through your heart...

My off grid system consists of a 48 volt (51 volt nominal) 25kWh lithium ion battery.. (see photo). There is no place in that cabinet that a human can touch that would harm them. I have trained my wife and 8 year old on how to start the system and, because all that shiny copper can be intimidating, had them touch all kinds of things while one hand was firmly grasping the negative terminal..

The only real hard rule is "No metal on your body".. No rings, no watches, new jewelry..

The human body, like all other things, has resistance that must be overcome in order for any appreciable current to flow. While there are some people who claim they can feel 48 volts from a battery, I think it is a rare phenomenon involving very few people with some kind of genetic abnormality. The other 99.99% of us has little to no chance of feeling a 48 volt circuit unless we are dripping in sweat (Salt water).. and even then, its only a slight tingle.

Please… this kind of posting is not recommended on this forum.

Thinking 48V isn’t deadly is unwise.

Supervstech said:

Please… this kind of posting is not recommended on this forum.

Thinking 48V isn’t deadly is unwise.

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Next to melting stuff (and that can be done at 6V), please explain how 48V is deadly.

I can feel a 9 volt battery, its just a tingle. Do be aware that certain places on the human body have a much lower resistance than most skin areas, no im not talking about sensetive skin either. Most areas of the body are about 50k when measured with a 10 megohm input impedance DMM .but your acupressure points are very much lower impedance by a factor of 10 or more. I can easily identify my acupressure points with a fluke DMM, mine are about 5k ohms and some points especially those korean accupuncture points along the inside of the fingers are in the 2 k ohm range.

Ok so I must now reveal another of my studies....I have done TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) for 30+ years now including electro accupuncture and have followed its evolution into Russian Cosmodic medicine where modulated electrical pulses are fed into the body to promote healing using the chinese mapping of the body meridans. I can absolutely stun you at 80 volts pulsed at the right frequency at the right point. You will not ask for that again....The whole human body is electric...western medicine has not got that yet. maybe one day

So saying that i do have extensive experience in many fields of electricity I warn that touching a 300 volt solar panel array with the current flowing from one hand to the other hand will most likely kill you. Not maybe.....if the current flow goes through the heart you are done for. No if’s and’s of butts....300 volts at 40 ma is quite more than enough.

Have you ever gripped your solar panel connectors one in each hand and pulled them apart.....if so you are fooling with death. Just a bit of water in there, throw in a bit of sweat......Smart installers have blankets they place over solar panels when connecting array’s. I keep a dozen U haul padded blankets just for that.

I got nailed with about 450 volts DC hand to hand while servicing a radio transmitter. I had to take the day off.....My employer gave me the week off......I will never do that again.

I will let it go at that....DC is far deadlier than AC....its always on. Touching high voltage DC is a death wish.

Porch said:

Next to melting stuff (and that can be done at 6V), please explain how 48V is deadly.

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48V in many circumstances can cause your muscles to react badly, and can cause death.

Sure, under many conditions, it will be painless, and not even shock you. But, in the wrong conditions, it can kill.

Be safe. Do not be AFRAID of voltage, be conscious of dangers, and use proper safety procedures.

*casually grounds a 100,000v van de graaff generator through 30x 9 year old kids holding hands*


As stated it's about the conditions involved.

A 9v battery could stop your heart or a 100kv charge could make your hair stand on end and cause a giggle.

The point is that a 48v battery or a 40v panel with the right conditions could be the last thing you ever experience and should be respected appropriately.

No matter the voltage you should go out of your way to prevent accidental contact.

I am all about being safe. I am the one that keeps bring up the none-code complaint inverter installs Will is showing, and everyone on this form goes "It's DIY, nobody is expected to follow code when you DIY.".

But a 9V battery, at 9V can't hurt you unless you eat it.

48V does not cause muscle contraction. I have a 48V fork lift FLA battery. Yes I have been sweaty and leaned on a grounded frame and touched the positive while cleaning it. It feels like you put your finger into a tack, or a bad pin prick. That is is.

Under 50V is low risk. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_voltage

Electroboom above shows him touching 170V and 300V DC. He is not dead as he is still making videos.

I recall when I worked at a major ski area:

DC volts and hydraulic injection were two areas where people are ignorant and constantly ignored safety meeting protocols.

I’m also curious as to how 48V DC can kill you. I haven’t touched my battery terminals to check, but it would be handy to know the “death modes” so i can be extra vigilant.

With several thousand amps in a battery bank, working around it with no regard for safety, thinking it cannot harm you.

Damp conditions, sweaty body, jewelry in contact, debris falling around, weak heart conditions, jerking into sharp objects etc… the point is, ANY voltage can kill. Work safely.

The fatter you are, the lower the risk to die from solar panel electrocution.

Is 48V DANGEROUS? Under most circumstances, no. With proper shielding, and insulation, no. With proper safety procedures, no.

But THINKING IT CANNOT HURT YOU IS INSANITY…

Well as an electrician on the big container ships built in Asia I've dealt with (and been lit up with) quite a few voltage ranges in my time and I can say:

9vDC : Tastes tingly
12vDC: Can burn if you hit it wrong
24vDC: I have welded with, don't lick it
120vAC: tickles
220vAC: stings
440vAC: Hurts!
600vDC: New swear words!

Having said that, I take the same precautions with the 12v battery systems that I do with the 440v stuff I work on. Doing all the other wiring I can before applying power (lock out/tag out), body placement (don't cross the terminals), insulated tools, etc.

If you get good practices in place for dealing with AND RESPECTING electricity, it won't really matter what voltage you're working with.

I would be interested in finding a report of anyone harmed by a 48 volt system due to electrical shock not involving a piece of metal.

I have serious doubts any exist.

48 volts is considered low voltage for a good reason.

I remeber my college professor always saying its dangerous after 40vdc but I have watched many building 48v banks with no gloves. I bought geniue national safety apparel Class 0 glove for working on the breaker panels and batteries. Worst shock was from a 500vdc arc felt like my arm was hit by bat.

Well I am about to get banned for not following the "ANY dc voltage can kill under the wrong circumstances" line. So to everyone else, please do your research and look up the electrical code for your country and follow the safety standards for the voltage you are working at. Good luck to you all.

Porch said:

Well I am about to get banned for not following the "ANY dc voltage can kill under the wrong circumstances" line. So to everyone else, please do your research and look up the electrical code for your country and follow the safety standards for the voltage you are working at. Good luck to you all.

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You don't have to follow it, but you still shouldn't just tell everyone it's perfectly safe.

Not sure why you think you'll get banned for it though.

Porch said:

Well I am about to get banned for not following the "ANY dc voltage can kill under the wrong circumstances" line.

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One thing that is important to keep in mind on any forum, you have no knowledge of or control over your audience. This forum is primarily people with little to no electrical experience whatsoever beyond maybe some basic household stuff, and definitely majority of people here have no formal electrical training or electrical safety training, and at least some of us will come up a touch short in the common sense department. Any time discussing issues of safety, I think its important to bear this in mind. Reinforcing a culture of caution and respect is important, even if you take liberties/more informed risks in your own personal life.

You may have experience to know what is and isn't dumb or unsafe, you may make a comment assuming that best practices that seem like no-brainers to you (no rings, no uninsulated metal tools, no licking battery terminals ) will of course be followed, but what are unspoken no-brainers to you, or known and understood risks, many readers will be 100% oblivious to, electricity is a foreign and unintuitive thing to many people, unlike swinging a hammer or axe where the risks are intuitive and obvious, for the uninitiated (and I include myself in this category) best practices and absolute don't-dos are not all obvious.

Now these things are not suddenly true at 48V nominal (which should be noted is almost always above the 50V threshold at almost any relevant state of charge for a 48V lifepo4 bank) and not relevant at lower voltages, but the higher the voltage, the higher the potential current, the more caution and respect should be applied in my non-expert opinion. That doesn't mean it shouldn't be able to be discussed/debated rationally among informed, experienced people, but I think its quite important that when doing so you make clear, that that is what it is, not make cavalier blanket statements, and that anyone who is unsure should err on the side of caution.

The TL;DR understand the power of and reach of your statements on a public forum and the lack of control you have over your audience, and the relative inexperience of the majority of people on this forum.

Porch said:

So to everyone else, please do your research and look up the electrical code for your country and follow the safety standards for the voltage you are working at.

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Good advice. And if you don't know, err on the side of caution.


Note: the above is a general comment, not entirely directed at you or anyone in particular. More my thoughts inspired by some of the comments/disagreement in this thread.