Safe Distance from Inverter / Chargers -

[NVCYberPro]

Hi,

What is the concern if any being near electrical equipment such as All in one inverters, batteries etc? I have been told and want to verify that it is not safe to be near such equipment. Is there any truth to this? Although in separate rooms our inverter, batteries and critical load panels are in the basement but directly below a bed room. Is this any reason for concern? is there a way to measure such risks, if any?

Need some help and a place to start.

Thanks

 

[LydMekk]

Bullcrap. Don't listen to such people...
No reason for concern.
Just be sure to buy LIFEPO4 tech batteries and nothing else and there will be no increased fire danger.
A LIFEPO4 battery will not burn any harder than a log of wood.

MORE important: If you are not capable of installing something like this yourself, please use a professional to do the work. This IS electrical work afterall.

 

[NVCYberPro]

Bullcrap. Don't listen to such people...
No reason for concern.
Just be sure to buy LIFEPO4 tech batteries and nothing else and there will be no increased fire danger.
A LIFEPO4 battery will not burn any harder than a log of wood.

MORE important: If you are not capable of installing something like this yourself, please use a professional to do the work. This IS electrical work afterall.

Thank you for the advice on the install. I believe the system has been installed correctly and I did have a review of the system by members of this forum as well as another installer. I do have the LL V2 and LL-S series batteries, and fire isn't a concern (any more than any other storage / utility room) but some have said we need to be concerned with magnetic and other electrical exposure. Just wanting to be sure of over all location safety before installing the additional inverter and strings of PV. If we need to move the system, I would like to do so before adding the new equipment into the mix of course.

 

[sunshine_eggo]

Try to avoid licking them and you're fine.

If you can't resist, if you avoid the terminals and any exposed connections, you'll probably be fine, i.e., stick to the housing/display.

Snuggling should be avoided. They tend to be heavy, and you may injure yourself on a sharp corner or potentially block cooling airflow.

"EM sickness/sensitivity" is a bullshit condition. I helped a lady with her Prius who was touting how she healed herself from EM sickness by moving out of her house and being nomadic in her Prius. I informed her that the Prius is the worst possible choice for someone "EM sensitive." I have an EMF meter, and I'll never forget the look on her face when I showed her the EM field generated by the main wiring harness that runs under her seat under accel/decel...

 

[sunshine_eggo]

some have said we need to be concerned with magnetic and other electrical exposure.

"some" are moronic loons.

 

[Partimewages]

JMHO There are probably some who might react negatively a large number, I don't think so. Standard installation practices should take care of it.
I have worked around electrical fields all my life and don't have any ill effects from them.
There are people who don't do well around the noise of some electrical/electronics.

 

[NVCYberPro]

Try to avoid licking them and you're fine.

If you can't resist, if you avoid the terminals and any exposed connections, you'll probably be fine, i.e., stick to the housing/display.

Snuggling should be avoided. They tend to be heavy, and you may injure yourself on a sharp corner or potentially block cooling airflow.

"EM sickness/sensitivity" is a bullshit condition. I helped a lady with her Prius who was touting how she healed herself from EM sickness by moving out of her house and being nomadic in her Prius. I informed her that the Prius is the worst possible choice for someone "EM sensitive." I have an EMF meter, and I'll never forget the look on her face when I showed her the EM field generated by the main wiring harness that runs under her seat under accel/decel...

Thank you

 

[JRH]

Thank you for the advice on the install. I believe the system has been installed correctly and I did have a review of the system by members of this forum as well as another installer. I do have the LL V2 and LL-S series batteries, and fire isn't a concern (any more than any other storage / utility room) but some have said we need to be concerned with magnetic and other electrical exposure. Just wanting to be sure of over all location safety before installing the additional inverter and strings of PV. If we need to move the system, I would like to do so before adding the new equipment into the mix of course.

Don’t let naysayers get to you…..You will ( twitch) be fine. I have spent ( twitch) the last 2 years (uhhhhhhhhhhhh) working on my system huddled in ( twitch ) a small enclosed metal trailer full of (short spasm ) powerful batteries and many ( cough ) EM fields within 12 inch’s ( twitch ) of my head and body…
Other than seeing disco lights( twitch) strobing peripherally now and then, Im fine….
best wish’s guy…
J.

 

[Rednecktek]

Nevah wick da wed wire! Trust me on this!

 

[Hedges]

I think this says that if you could insert your head in the transformer core gap, it would induce a tremor in your index finger.
As a control ("Phantom"), the same equipment was tested with a watermelon, eliminating the possibility motion sensor was affected by interference.



This shows that 60 Hz magnetic fields do have a physiological effect.

Effects of A 60 Hz Magnetic Field of Up to 50 milliTesla on Human Tremor and EEG: A Pilot Study

Humans are surrounded by sources of daily exposure to power-frequency (60 Hz in North America) magnetic fields (MFs). Such time-varying MFs induce electric fields and currents in living structures which possibly lead to biological effects. The present ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Doesn't seem to be a difference between real and sham exposures in double-blind test
(Note that test subjects were from the "normal" population; anyone who felt they had EM sensitivity was excluded.)

Effects of 60 Hz magnetic fields on teenagers and adults

As use of electrical devices has increased, social concerns about the possible effects of 60 Hz electromagnetic fields on human health have increased. Accordingly, the number of people who complain of various symptoms such as headache and insomnia has ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

This one is difficult for me to follow, but I think it says 50/60 Hz effect on molecules is quite small, difficult to quantify.

Upper bound on the biological effects of 50/60 Hz magnetic fields mediated by radical pairs

Any effects of environmental 50/60 Hz magnetic fields on human biology due to a radical pair mechanism should be no more dangerous than those incurred by travelling a few kilometres.

elifesciences.org

Shows a correlation with some adverse health outcomes.

Insights in the biology of extremely low-frequency magnetic fields exposure on human health - Molecular Biology Reports

The extremely low-frequency magnetic fields (ELF-EMF) are generated by electrical devices and power systems (1 to 300 Hz). In recent decades, exposure to ELF-EMF has emerged potential concerns on public health. Here, we discuss recent progress in the understanding of ELF-EMF biology with a focus...

link.springer.com

Cells are affected by magnetic fields.

How a High-Gradient Magnetic Field Could Affect Cell Life - Scientific Reports

The biological effects of high-gradient magnetic fields (HGMFs) have steadily gained the increased attention of researchers from different disciplines, such as cell biology, cell therapy, targeted stem cell delivery and nanomedicine. We present a theoretical framework towards a fundamental...

www.nature.com

It seems we usually don't see acute responses, but I don't think we can entirely discount biological effects of E & M fields.
EM wave propagation drops in amplitude as 1/R^2, magnetic fields as 1/R^3. So at least maintaining greater distance from transformers and inductors seems advisable. Can't tell you how far, and it will depend on intensity and time, but how about trying stay 5' away?

 

[timselectric]

As long as you don't still have a VCR, you should be fine.

 

[ksmithaz1]

As long as you don't still have a VCR, you should be fine.

Actually I think its the 25" color console TV that it was hooked to was the problem there. My dad said it would ruin your eyes and send X-rays through your body if you sat too close. ( Do as I say, not as I do, he's still around and 94. )

 

[Hedges]

As long as you don't still have a VCR, you should be fine.

Actually I think its the 25" color console TV that it was hooked to was the problem there. My dad said it would ruin your eyes and send X-rays through your body if you sat too close. ( Do as I say, not as I do, he's still around and 94. )

Are you guys making fun of me again?
Here's our 32" Sony Wega, DVD on top (outside picture) digital converter box underneath, Panasonic VCR under that.

I bought and scrapped several cheap DVD players. Finally I got fed up with that and sprang for a $5 Magnavox DVD player at the thrift store which has held up just fine.

 

[timselectric]

Now, we know what is wrong with you. lol

 

[ksmithaz1]

Just wow. All I can say is wow. You will need some extra solar to run all that stuff. !

 

[Hedges]

I bought the TV at auction 20 years ago. Someone who was a trustee or the like misused funds buying stuff, so it was sold to recover what money it was worth. VGA, not even HDTV (which was pretty expensive at the time.) I tried to give it to my mother, but she didn't want it. So here it sits.

Saw a teak piece of furniture put out with the trash at our condo, so I grabbed it as a TV stand. Takes two strong people to lift the TV. Unlike my sister who lost a flat screen and other items in a burglary, I'm not worried about this one. (just about liability if the thief gets a hernia.)

It was annoying when analog transmission got cancelled, but we were provided two coupons toward digital conversion boxes. One died in a few years, but the other is still going strong.

No cable or dish, just local broadcasts. We watch Nature and Dancing with the Stars.

I got extra solar. It's batteries I lack. Only about 14 kWh usable, which would be sufficient if not for seven refrigerators and freezers, mostly older.

My wife does keep nagging me to put cell phone in airplane mode or leave it out of the bedroom. And she got an EMF meter, confirmed strong magnetic field near the microwave. Always trying to herd the cats away when it is operating.

 

[Crowz]

Now those magnetic fields can be dangerous at times....



But home equipment emf emissions are normally safe.

MRI machine traps nurse in freak accident

A nurse was pinned between an MRI machine and a bed during a freak accident that took place at a medical center in Redwood City, California.

www.foxnews.com

 

[Danke]

As long as you don't still have a VCR, you should be fine.

True, mine is such a pain. Every time I work on my solar, the clock on my VCR starts blinking 12:00 for some reason. What else besides EM fields would cause that?

 

[Hedges]

At least it was only a gurney, not an O2 bottle.
What's the watermelon supposed to represent, again?

Man Carrying Oxygen Tank Dies After Being Sucked Into MRI Machine

MRI machines use a powerful magnetic field to produce internal images of the human body. The magnetic fields are so powerful that hospitals take great care to ensure no iron-containing metals come near the machines while they are in use. In rare cases, however, mistakes happen. This past...

gizmodo.com

 

[NVCYberPro]

It seems we usually don't see acute responses, but I don't think we can entirely discount biological effects of E & M fields.
EM wave propagation drops in amplitude as 1/R^2, magnetic fields as 1/R^3. So at least maintaining greater distance from transformers and inductors seems advisable. Can't tell you how far, and it will depend on intensity and time, but how about trying stay 5' away?

Hedges, thank you for taking the time to put these articles together. I have skimmed a few and will read through them. Not pretending to understand most of what I am reading.