Electrical pollution

Electrical PollutionElectrical Pollution
D K Singhal
deveshksinghal@gmail.com

Have you noticed….Have you noticed….
Have you noticed the effects of
‘Electrical Pollution’?‘Electrical Pollution’?
Probably not.
Many of you must be wondering what is
Electrical Pollution?Electrical Pollution?
Let us view some situations.
Electrical Pollution, December 2017

In some (old) houses, the tubelights
sometime flicker even when switched off.sometime flicker even when switched off.
Electricity supply is switched off, still,
often at night or in the dark, you see the
bundles of light travelling from one side of
tube-light to the other side.

In some old factories (still running),
occasionally the indicator lamps glow (aoccasionally the indicator lamps glow (a
little dim, of course) even when the
motors are switched off.

The electronic display devices (digital
indicators, gauges etc.) show a fluctuationindicators, gauges etc.) show a fluctuation
in readings occasionally.
This fluctuation might be small, or
significant in a few cases; may be
associated with start/stop of some other
appliances, but, it exists.appliances, but, it exists.

The rpm (speed) display of anyVFD on its
display panel is constant, still some of thedisplay panel is constant, still some of the
drive equipment or even the process
equipment indicate minor speed variation.
Sometimes, a vice-versa situation also
appears.

The EarthThe Earth
Our earth is a good conductor.
For every transformer, every panel, everyFor every transformer, every panel, every
VFD, every motor, the neutral is
connected to the ground.
In some cases, the ground current might
be significant enough to create localized
potential buildup.
And we believe, that the Earth is always
at Zero Potential.

Is Earth always atIs Earth always at Zero PotentialZero Potential
In fact, the neutral wires also carry some
current. With increased usage of non-linearcurrent. With increased usage of non-linear
loads (CFL, LED,VFD etc.), sometimes the
current spikes are also present.
As a result, there could be some minute
potential momentarily available in ground
wire.
This way, getting theoretically ZeroThis way, getting theoretically Zero
potential on every place on earth is not
always possible.

Neutral WireNeutral Wire
To add to the problem, in several
installations, the neutral wire and groundinstallations, the neutral wire and ground
wire are not given adequate importance.
It has been seen that some electrical
professionals are confused about if the
neutral and ground denote same thing or
two different things.two different things.

Further IssuesFurther Issues
With increase in mobile communication,
radio-waves and other high frequencyradio-waves and other high frequency
signals are also present in the
environment.

Problems Faced due to ElectricalProblems Faced due to Electrical
PollutionPollution
It has been found by several doctors and
experts that electrical pollution results inexperts that electrical pollution results in
sudden spikes in blood pressure, blood sugar
level, wild cardiac arrhythmia, loss of sleep
etc.
There could be many more, and can be
searched by surfing the net on “Electrical
Pollution”. An interesting article could be-Pollution”. An interesting article could be-
http://www.mnwelldir.org/docs/misc/elect
rical_pollution.htm

ATypical CaseATypical Case
On the next slide, we’ll see a typical case
where this ‘electrical pollution’ could havewhere this ‘electrical pollution’ could have
taken the life of a patient, if not attended
in time.
This is a real story and the details have
been taken from published reference.

A Case StudyA Case Study
In the pre-op area of a large hospital operating room, a man was prepared
for surgery. He was sedated, and all looked like it would follow a normal
path of progress. But as the man was wheeled closer to the operating
room, all of the medical machines attached to his body began givingroom, all of the medical machines attached to his body began giving
strange readings. His EKG (to measure his heart voltage) showed a high
degree of noise.At first, the attendants thought the man’s heart was going
into arrhythmia. But his breathing was slow and consistent with his
sedation. Other machines also exhibited a great deal of noise. It was hard
to tell what the man’s blood pressure and heart rate actually were, though
visual indicators showed him to be resting comfortably. One attendant
was well versed in the theory of radiation and electromagnetic waves. On
a hunch, he took the patient’s arm and touched it to the metal “bed” on
which he was being wheeled.At this point, the noise stopped completely.which he was being wheeled.At this point, the noise stopped completely.
All readings for EKG, pulse, and blood pressure were normal.The patient
had somehow become an antenna for stray radiation. By grounding the
patient to the bed rail, the radiation found a path to ground, and the
patient became neutral, except for the normal electric potentials
generated by his body.

Details about the study…Details about the study…
Details about that study can be obtained
from-from-
https://www.asee.org/documents/sections
/northeast/2011/ELECTRICAL-
GROUNDING-THEORY-AND-
APPLICATION.pdf

How to Detect?How to Detect?
In any manufacturing unit, if you are facing
the problems of fluctuation/alteration ofthe problems of fluctuation/alteration of
display meters with or without switching
other equipment/motors On/Off, suspect
it could be a cause.

Have a separate transmitter (pressure or
temperature etc.) giving 4-20mA outputtemperature etc.) giving 4-20mA output
and a display device powered by 220V.
Handheld, battery operated devices do
not give proper indication in some cases.
If you observe change in display readings,
with switching On/Off of irrelevant
devices, check thoroughly the supply
system.

In case of electromagnetic radiations, ask
experts to conduct an audit of the wholeexperts to conduct an audit of the whole
area.They can use sophisticated
equipment to find out the problem and its
intensity.

Corrective ActionsCorrective Actions
Connect an electric motor’s neutral
(body) to ground of supply transformer,(body) to ground of supply transformer,
or nearby earthing pit. A significant
current flow gives an indication that
grounding is inadequate for that motor.
Take care of proper earthing for that
motor, and check another.motor, and check another.

Corrective ActionsCorrective Actions
That way, you can find out and rectify
minor grounding related problems.minor grounding related problems.
For detailed evaluation, ask yourVFD
supplier to conduct a detailed study of
your facility. Most drive suppliers have
adequate instruments and capability to
detect and evaluate the level of problem;detect and evaluate the level of problem;
as well as knowledge and expertise for
the same.

What’s NextWhat’s Next
Never ignore the importance of good
electricity.We need to identify impurityelectricity.We need to identify impurity
from it and remove, before it creates
problem.
Share your experiences with electrical
experts, and others.
Search Google for “Dirty Electricity” or
“Electrical Pollution”.

ThankYou.

My Books:
My e-book "Wipe up that Grease" giving several interesting
mechanical engineering case studies, can be obtained from-mechanical engineering case studies, can be obtained from-
https://shar.es/182p00
My ebook on management case studies “Gathering the Rolling
Experiences” is available at POTHI.COM. The link for the same
is: https://shar.es/1TWBv1
Sample pages can be seen by clicking above links.Sample pages can be seen by clicking above links.
D K Singhal
deveshksinghal@gmail.com

Electrical pollution

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