Dangerous Vs harmless voltage levels

What level of voltage is dangerous and even deadly and what voltage levels are more harmless?

Asked by Adam on 5th Jan 2021
Expert Trade Answers
"Good Day -
Firstly, in order to answer your question you need to understand some basic electrical principles.

In simple terms, VOLTAGE (measured in volts) is the 'pressure' in any electrical circuit that enables CURRENT (measured in Amps) to energise the applied load (electrical appliance, lights, etc).

It's not specifically the VOLTAGE that can be harmful (obviously any voltage can be harmful to people or even fatal) however the CURRENT in any electrical circuit can and will be fatal in most cases.

To put this in to perspective - A Taser can deliver a VOLTAGE in excess of 50 000 Volts, however it is designed to discharge a very small amount of CURRENT (less than 30mAmps), hence it will incapacitate people but not kill them.

The average domestic plug and socket operates at 230 V however it can supply 13 Amps or greater. In the right circumstances this can prove fatal to people and often does.

The reason why this is the case is because people will suffer a cardiac arrest and die if exposed to an electrical CURRENT in excess of 50 Milli Amperes, that is a mere 50, 000th of 1 Amp !

That is why it is really important that householders install RCD protection in their consumer units (rated at 30mA) as this will disconnect the circuit in the event of an electrical fault and prevent a person receiving a shock greater than 30 milli Amps.

Hope this helps .....

Blue Light Electrics"
Answered on 5th Jan 2021 - Member since Jan 2020 - report
"It’s not more the level of voltage that is the killer it’s current that’s the killer"
Answered on 27th Jul 2021 - Member since Mar 2019 - report
"This all depends on the amount of resistance in a person's body. It is suggested that an across the chest
current of only 17 milliamps AC is enough to induce fibrillation in a human subject under certain conditions."
Answered on 5th Jan 2021 - Member since Sep 2020 - report
"It’s not the voltage that kills, it’s the level of current (Amps). What voltage does is generate enough current to cause injury or death (Take a look at Ohms law). Generally speaking though 30V is considered sufficient enough to drive a potentially lethal current through the body."
Answered on 5th Jan 2021 - Member since Oct 2020 - report
Find Tradespeople, compare up to 3 quotes!
It's FREE and there are no obligations
Ask a Trade
Got a question that only a tradesperson can answer? We have thousands of trades ready to answer any question you may have.
Ask your question
Ask a Trade

Are you looking for advice on a DIY project or have a question for our tradespeople?

We'll email your question to tradespeople who are skilled in your chosen category.

Your question will be made public - please do not include any personal details.

{{ first(ask.errors)[0] }}

By continuing you agree to the Community Guidelines.

Report Content

{{ first(reportForm.errors) }}

Thank you

Your report has been created and will be investigated shortly.

Ready to get a price for your home improvement project?
Get started

Over 1 million homeowners and over 50,000 tradespeople
use MyJobQuote nationwide each year