Wow, I did not realize that there are RV or any other campgrounds under high voltage transmission lines but I guess it’s not too surprising.
It should be noted that a hot skin condition could be induced by HV AC but not by HV DC transmission lines. There are relatively few HVDC lines compared to HVAC but more are planned in the future.
It is a bit scary to think that a large all-metal skinned travel trailer like an Airstream, while a great Faraday shield, will also act like a relatively large capacitor under an HVAC transmission line forming a capacitive voltage divider. One could do the math and estimate how much voltage could be induced on the skin of the RV based on the sizes and distances involved but hundreds of volts seems quite plausible. Therefore, it’s not at all surprising to hear that the Airstream owner in the article got a whopping shock when parked under a HVAC transmission line. It wasn’t clear if this was an RV park or a boondocking location but I’d certainly want to avoid camping there in any case. It’s no clear how big of a shock, if any, someone would receive if they were in a non-metal skinned RV.
In my experience, you can hear the hissing of the corona discharge around HVAC lines and also smell the ozone created by it. Not a healthy thing to breathe for extended times. Thanks Mike for raising our awareness of this interesting and unusual RV camping hazard.
Wow, I did not realize that there are RV or any other campgrounds under high voltage transmission lines but I guess it’s not too surprising.
It should be noted that a hot skin condition could be induced by HV AC but not by HV DC transmission lines. There are relatively few HVDC lines compared to HVAC but more are planned in the future.
It is a bit scary to think that a large all-metal skinned travel trailer like an Airstream, while a great Faraday shield, will also act like a relatively large capacitor under an HVAC transmission line forming a capacitive voltage divider. One could do the math and estimate how much voltage could be induced on the skin of the RV based on the sizes and distances involved but hundreds of volts seems quite plausible. Therefore, it’s not at all surprising to hear that the Airstream owner in the article got a whopping shock when parked under a HVAC transmission line. It wasn’t clear if this was an RV park or a boondocking location but I’d certainly want to avoid camping there in any case. It’s no clear how big of a shock, if any, someone would receive if they were in a non-metal skinned RV.
In my experience, you can hear the hissing of the corona discharge around HVAC lines and also smell the ozone created by it. Not a healthy thing to breathe for extended times. Thanks Mike for raising our awareness of this interesting and unusual RV camping hazard.
Mike, What would an electrical leak that would normally cause a hot condition look like for an RV not clad in metal? How would you detect it?