Posted by Garth Hitchens on
URL: https://www.es-forum.com/power-lines-coming-into-the-house-tp1541192p1541197.html

Generally the lines which come "to the house" are the same voltage as
the house itself. That is, if you have 120/240V service (as is
common in the US) then the lines coming to the house will also be
120/240V.
The issue is not the voltage, but the magnetic field being produced
by the CURRENT running through the wires.

While a normal circuit in your house carries the current only to the
circuit it feeds, the wires TO your house carry current for the
entire house, so if your house is drawing a large amount of power,
the magnetic field around those wires would likely be large compared
to the magnetic field around any single circuit in your house.

In THEORY, those lines are supposed to be twisted/balanced, such that
the magnetic fields cancel at any appreciable distance (beyond a few
feet), but in PRACTICE, imbalances and ground currents can leave
uncanceled magnetic fields around the feed lines.

So, I guess I'd say yes, I'd have some concern about being too close
to that area if you're bothered by 60hz magnetic fields. A
magnetic field meter would quickly illustrate any possible
problem. Mine shoots up when I walk over the earth where the
buried feed to the house is located.

Garth

On Mar 31, 2006, at 11:12 AM, Marc Martin wrote: