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EMF (Electromagnetic Field) Irritants

Stray Current from Stray Voltage,
and viceversa
Stray Current, like Mold, is a side effect of another instigator. Whereas for Mold the primary
instigator is Moisture, for Stray Current it is "Stray Voltage". Stray Voltage, however, is not "stray" per
se, as it is a natural result of Current ow through things as built. So which came rst? Good
question, but convoluted answer, as you'll nd down below. Where it comes into play is where it
provides avenues of irritation or shock that should not exist, but do. It is both a Utility and User
owned and produced ailment. so blindly pointing the nger at "them" may make you look like a fool,
when you become informed that the major contribution in some cases is from "us". Herein then, is
the basis for why it occurs, from a basic construct to the contemporary electrical setting.
When a Source of power is connected to a Load, a current ows producing some effect: heating,
ventilation, lighting, etc. When the Source and the Load are close by, the situation is shown below.

When the Source and the Load are a long distance apart (perhaps a few miles), the very low
resistance of the wire becomes signicant. That is because the Wire Resistance will cause a
voltage to be developed over the length of the wire that will reduce the voltage available to the load,
as shown below. That is the reason we do not have a DC distribution system.

With AC the wire resistance problem can almost be eliminated because the power is sent at high
voltages (with a corresponding lower current for the same power, and a simultaneous reduction in
the voltage produced over the long wire distance) and stepped down to the required voltage,
through a transformer, at the point of use. So if the power is sent at 4800 volts, even a 100-volt
reduction will seem small when the voltage is stepped down to 120/240, keeping it within
reasonable and expected limits. This is particular to the Delta distribution system, as shown below.

The basic (and simplied) relationship is Power = Voltage x Current. So in a perfect setting you can
raise the voltage, lower the current, and have the same power. Since Current is what develops the
voltage differential from points A to points B, by the relationship Voltage = Current x Resistance, it
would easily follow that for long-distance power cartage with minimal losses, the lower the current,
the better. However, this corresponds to a matching increase of Voltage, and since we are a powerhungry community, it is not uncommon to have power lines criss-crossing the countryside at
230,000 to 750,000 Volts, just to minimize that current.
Another distribution system (WYE, as shown below) employs a wire as a "ground" reference. It is
connected to the Earth at many points along the path of travel from Source to Load. Although in the
previous examples it was simply shown that a voltage was developed along each leg of the circuit,
reducing that available from the source, in a WYE system a counter-intuitive process occurs. That
is, at the source one leg of the circuit is connected to ground and is ideally at zero volts, so that at a
distance a voltage is produced on the grounded wire that adds to zero, producing a voltage
increase above zero, while the energized leg develops a voltage drop that reduces the available
source voltage. The concept is the same as in the other examples, except that now there is a local
ground reference voltage to deal with. In this type of system, although the wire resistance comes
into play in a limited fashion (because of the reduced currents due to the use of high voltage), it is
not uncommon to nd the "ground" reference to be at 5-15 volts above the Earth's potential (even
though there are many ground rods in contact with, and pushing current through, the soil (although
it is a generally poor electrical conductor)).*

* While this statement may be straightforward, measuring it is not always as simple as it sounds if
the tester (tinkerer or electrician) has not had previous experience. To measure Stray Voltage
between an electrical system ground and the soil (which is by denition "the" zero voltage
reference), insert another metal object in the soil at least ten (10) feet away from the electrical
system ground (ideally this other ground should be inserted at least 12 inches into the soil to
ensure a good electrical contact with the permanently moist soil layer). Then measure for AC
Voltage between the two pieces of metal. The isolated one will be at zero, while the electrical
system ground will be at something other than zero because it's part of a long electrical circuit.

In the diagram below, the complexity increases signicantly because of the redundant current
paths on the Neutral/Ground wire due to the interconnection to Public Water Main Systems (while
some may think that current will ow through "the" path of least resistance, in fact it will ow
through all available paths, with the amount of ow affected by the individual path's electrical
resistance). This serves to reduce the overall voltage drop produced in that leg of the circuit.
However, the voltage may still be high enough to produce a shock in creatures in electrical contact
with the Earth. A break in any one of the redundant Neutral Paths will produce an increase in
"ground" voltage from Source to Load (due to an increase in the overall equivalent resistance), and
a corresponding elevation of the voltage at the ground rod at the point of use, even though the rod
is stuck 8-10 feet into the soil! A break in the primary return wire can now also cause unrestricted
Primary current owing through the redundant paths provided, which may also include CATV,
Telephone, etc.

Thus far, the above contributions are related to the utility alone. The customer's contributions are
outlined below.
The common residential wiring system is comprised of three wires providing 120 and 240 V, as
shown below. The sketch is simplied for clarity.

This system is the common arrangement across North America. However, as with all mechanical
systems, it requires maintenance. But that is not what the typical homeowner is equipped for,
because that is not the promoted perception. So connections become frayed and loose due to
oxidation over many years, especially due to the use of Aluminum wire. When the middle-wire
(Neutral / Ground) connection becomes loose, it can present voltages within a single residence
that are a re hazard, as shown below. While 240 V devices continue functioning properly, 120 V
devices now have unstable voltages, and those experiencing the higher voltages may ignite
spontaneously, even simply when a light switch is operated, causing an instantaneous imbalance.
Cool, huh? This is know as a "Bright and Dim lights" situation, in electrical parlance.

The solutions to this dilemma were to either educate the consumer, or make mandate how things
were to be wired in the future (the path of least resistance). As this latter path was chosen, metallic
water piping came into play to provide a voltage stability solution, by providing an alternate path for
current ow, that really belonged on the middle wire (Neutral Current), as shown below.

So the interconnection now commonplace, even new installation will experience split currents
owing where they should not.

When that Neutral Current ows through metallic water piping it becomes an electrocution hazard
to the weekend plumber, and a source of Stray Current that is shared by Several or Many neighbors,
depending on the integrity and construction of the distribution system, as shown below.

In addition to the above, even if everything is wired properly, there may be occasion to nd Elevated
Voltage levels at the residential Grounding Point (relative to Earth ground) due to currents on the
Neutral wire. These currents, being several orders of magnitude greater than Primary Currents, will
develop a voltage across the run of wire from the Distribution panel and Grounding Point to the
Source transformer, as shown below. Again, in such instances a dog, cow, or other creature in
electrical contact with the earth will be shocked when it touches anything connected to the
electrical system "ground" such as a water spigot, a ground rod, etc. A human will experience the
same if walking barefoot.

The Neutral current can be reduced by Statically Balancing the loads (attaching circuits to different
sources) such that most of the current travels on the energized wires. However, it can never be
totally eliminated (as shown below) because it's not possible to predict what will be energized
when, and Dynamic Balancing is a myth.

Some related problems, because of the requirement to interconnect Cable and Telephone Grounds
to the Electrical Ground, ensue because of duplicate paths for the return (Neutral) current to ow,
as shown below. Even a few volts of difference between the Earth Ground and the Electrical
System Ground is sufcient to drive signicant currents through the Cable shield causing TV
interference, and through the Telephone ground causing an AC voltage presence on the associated
internal wiring due to Induction.

This gets even more convoluted when the Primary system is WYE, because now there is voltage on
the primary neutral, which will either add to, or subtracts from, the neutral voltage developed at the

residence, as below.

One way to identify the presence of Stray Currents (caused by Stray Voltage) is with a cheap
Gaussmeter ($45+/-), as any uncanceled current path (Net Current / Stray Current) will exhibit a
Magnetic Field with a large physical footprint. This picture get muddled, however, when common
wiring errors occur, causing a Magnetic Field presence that can engulf the entire residence.
Another is by using an AC Voltmeter that can read down to 50 milliVolts and has a 10 Mega-ohm
input impedance to measure Stray Voltage (caused by Stray Current). Cheaper meters have a lower
input impedance and signicantly reduce the ability to detect small voltages.
While "experts" and "authorities" have tried to dene a voltage level above which action should be
taken (and some "authorities" have suggested 1 V), that level may still be too high for certain
individuals or animals. The relevance can vary based on the age and health of the affected
individual or animal, among other things. As in all irritants, the end goal is to try to reduce levels to
As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA). "Reasonably" however, can be dened differently by
different parties, primarily based on how much money and effort are required to reach ALARA,
which is where the nger-pointing and litigation occur. Nevertheless, below are practical steps to
approach that ALARA.
Some of the possible recourses for Residential-Generated "Stray Voltage" are:
1) Increase the Neutral wire size to the Source, reducing its resistance,
2) Provide a better balancing of loads between energized buses (to reduce Neutral Current),
3) Reduce the number of sources fed from 120V, and increase those fed from 240V (to reduce
Neutral Current),
4) Bring the Source Transformer closer to the point of use (to reduce Neutral wire resistance by
reducing its length),
5) Periodically inspect ALL connections for snugness and integrity (especially the Neutral) at least
every 10 years,
6) Eliminate the use of the interconnected Metallic Water Piping as a "shared" Grounding Point, yet
retain local grounding for lightning protection.

While these may appear simplistic, there are specic additional details that need to be observed for
each alternative, to ensure a safe application.
Some of the possible recourses for Utility-Generated "Stray Voltage" are:
1) Increase the size of the Primary Neutral wire, reducing its resistance,
2) Provide a better balancing of loads between phases (to reduce Neutral Current),
3) Provide regular changes between WYE and DELTA feeds to customers along a circuit (to
eliminate long spans of redundant current paths),

4) Provide Non-Conductive breaks in the Public water main at regular intervals.

5) Periodically inspect ALL connections for signs of deterioration (especially the Neutral), using
Infrared photography under heavy load conditions. Repair as necessary,
6) Perform regular Magnetic and Voltage surveys to identify problems before they become
troublesome,
7) When the voltage difference between the Electrical System Ground and any other point in the
soil (say as little as 10 feet away) is excessive, request Neutral Isolation from the local utility.

Again, while these may appear simplistic, there are specic additional details that need to be
observed for each alternative, to ensure a safe application.

You be the judge as to what is excessive. I see that voltage difference to earth regularly around 1/2
Volt (500 mV), but have seen it as high as 25 Volts. Sensitive people (children, the elderly, the sick,
etc.) can sense very low values (perhaps even less than 100 mV) and be irritated by it.
Values shown herein are for illustrative purposes only, and do not necessarily reect all variants of
real-life application. Additionally, Primary systems are comprised of 3 phases, whereas only one
phase is shown within this document. This brief is not meant to be exhaustive or all-inclusive, and
real-life remedies are bound to comprise components of each category.

Disclaimer: Electrical systems are by their very nature dangerous and, if certain precautions are not
followed when testing, maybe even fatal. Please, please, if you have any uncertainty in what you
wish to do, hire someone that is competent. If there is any question of unfamiliarity by someone
who is supposed to be "competent", print this page and have them read and understand it before
proceeding. Nonetheless, I cannot be held liable for failure to follow proper technical precautions.
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