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Is it safe to sleep close to an electrical socket?

Former Community Member
Former Community Member
Been asked to move a power socket in a clients bedroom as the wife is concerned about the health effects of sleeping right next to the socket. To be honest I've not come across this before so it threw me a bit.


The socket is right behind the headboard (on the wife's side) and has a trailing extension lead plugged into it powering a clock, a table lamp and a phone charger. I think the previous owners must have had the house rewired at some point and used that room as a 'twin' and not a double as the sockets are in really odd places around the room.


She's concerned that there is an electromagnetic field right close to her head (about 5 or 6 inches away) for around 8 hours during the night and how that may affect her health.


Not that I'm going to talk her out of it ? but should I recommend a tin foil hat?
  • 0
    NinjaSpark:

    ... a clock, a table lamp and a phone charger.


    I hope that you didn't tell her that mobiles emit radiation. ??


  • 0
    There is no evidence that can be scientifically proven that electricity (electric fields) is harmful at 50Hz. It may become dangerous at radio frequencies, getting worse as the frequency gets higher, with high power sources, but this is due to tissue heating as in a microwave oven. There is not a lot of radiation from a bit of T&E, and the story is very unlikely. The wavelength of 50Hz is around 6000 km, so the body is really tiny compared to it, and the voltage gradient across the body likewise tiny, even under a 400 kV line. One can easily light a fluorescent tube under those lines, but that is just the electric field to ground (say 50m and 400kV, so about 8 kV/m field strength, give or take. Even this is not usually considered harmful. Please don't tell her that the kitchen is probably the closest she will get to lots of electricity, her partner will not be pleased with the cooking work!
  • 0
    We need to be very careful to split this discussion up in terms of risk to:
    1. Members of the public

      Agree with David's post, and in general there are standards and practices to ensure that most people are not exposed to electric and magnetic fields that would damage their health. Further information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/electric-and-magnetic-fields-health-effects-of-exposure/electric-and-magnetic-fields-assessment-of-health-risks

       

    • Exposure for persons at work
      Some people are employed in premises, industries, or have occupations, where there is the possibility that they may be exposed to abnormally strong electric and magnetic fields which are known to be hazardous to health. The Control of Electromagnetic Fields at Work Regulations 2016 address this.

      Further guidance can be found on the HSE web-site - but I can't post the links at the moment because the HSE web-site is down for maintenance.

      Obviously we all know that x-rays, some microwaves, and ionizing radiation, can be harmful to health, but there are occupations where exposure to power frequency fields is assessed, or otherwise addressed by working practices.


    The good thing for most of us, is that we are talking about "fields", and the strength of the field diminishes with the square of the distance from the energy source ... and of course CRTs have all but become a thing of the past !
  • 0
    As Graham mentioned CRTs . Depending on her age she might have lived with a lot of CRT TVs and never given it a thought. Hold a mains tester screwdriver or volt stick near one or test using bits of paper/ back of your hairy hand and you`ll soon see.

    Indeed back in the day when valves where king we had to turn the TV on 10 mins aforehand to warm up to watch the worl cup/coronation street/moon landing etc. Oh the sound and and smell of bygone days TV and Radio.

    So far as we know, a bit of background mains is not very harmful and can not be avoided anyhow.

    Some conspiricysts like Mr Ike might have some other ideas though.
  • 0
    Agree the risk is small, certainly from the fields as such,  with modern insulation the mains voltage could be quite a lot higher without any real incident, the real problems are not the volts per metre gradient, but because of damage  or moisture creating an unwanted conductive path. - sockets placed where the drink on the bedside table gets knocked off, or on a surface that needs regular cleaning- we'd not put a floor type socket face up in a kitchen worktop, I hope...


    Far more importatn reasons for good socket positions are avoiding trip hazards and overly long cables
  • 0
    mapj1:

    ...the real problems are not the volts per metre gradient, but because of damage  or moisture creating an unwanted conductive path. - sockets placed where the drink on the bedside table gets knocked off, or on a surface that needs regular cleaning- we'd not put a floor type socket face up in a kitchen worktop, I hope...


    Far more importatn reasons for good socket positions are avoiding trip hazards and overly long cables




    Talking of socket position, this one was installed a few days ago. Is this a good position?
    63d1eb130091d98878f390c9f8173a63-original-1.jpg


  • 0
    well  a socket under the tap would be worse, but only marginally. I presume they have  a pressure washer. Used carefully it will be OK, so long as they fit the hose before using the tap, and close the flapper both with plugs in  or not,  but it is not the brightest location, at some point the rubbers on the hose couplers perish, and then they start to squirt  a fine jet, and then the socket is in the possible firing line. I'd be happy to strongly suggest they move either the tap or the socket a  bit.


    That is an example of a socket that  really should be disturbing someone's sleep, ideally the person who fitted it.
  • 0
    mapj1:

    well  a socket under the tap would be worse, but only marginally. I presume they have  a pressure washer. Used carefully it will be OK, so long as they fit the hose before using the tap, and close the flapper both with plugs in  or not,  but it is not the brightest location, at some point the rubbers on the hose couplers perish, and then they start to squirt  a fine jet, and then the socket is in the possible firing line. I'd be happy to strongly suggest they move either the tap or the socket a  bit.


    That is an example of a socket that  really should be disturbing someone's sleep, ideally the person who fitted it.




    I'm glad that's your view because when I saw it I thought oh no but didn't want to stick my head above the parapit on here and decry it in case I got shot down for it.


    The sad thing is that the picture is in a Facebook post, posted the other day spontaneously by the customer who was praising the electrician who installed it, for their professionalism. Oh dear.


    F 


  • 0
    Farmboy:



    Talking of socket position, this one was installed a few days ago. Is this a good position?
    63d1eb130091d98878f390c9f8173a63-original-1.jpg




    Holy Moly Farmboy‍ !


    Those plastic hose connectors are notorious for not sealing properly on a metal threaded tap and will leak resulting in a jet of water being sprayed upwards. Plus if the connector gives at any point then the water is going to be thrown all over the place and probably onto those sockets. 


    If it was me, I'd be commenting on that Facebook post and tagging in the customer asking them if they've applied for his years' Darwin Award... ?


  • 0
    Lisa Miles:
    Farmboy:



    Talking of socket position, this one was installed a few days ago. Is this a good position?
    63d1eb130091d98878f390c9f8173a63-original-1.jpg




    Holy Moly Farmboy‍ !


    Those plastic hose connectors are notorious for not sealing properly on a metal threaded tap and will leak resulting in a jet of water being sprayed upwards. Plus if the connector gives at any point then the water is going to be thrown all over the place and probably onto those sockets. 


    If it was me, I'd be commenting on that Facebook post and tagging in the customer asking them if they've applied for his years' Darwin Award... ?




    Hi Lisa


    Well, the customer is perfectly happy with its location. Other people started to post negative comments about its location, so the customer turned off commenting on it and replied thus:


    "Just to comment on what some of the other tradespeople have commented on this post re: distance between the power and water, Patrick has advised that regulations have been updated and it’s now a recommended distance of 300mm. The regulations state it must be protected by a 30mA RCD which it is. The 18th edition regulations are quite new out so other trades maybe aren’t aware of the changes as yet. 


    I do appreciate the helpful comments that were left (as I wasn’t aware of the distance recommendations etc myself), but not so much the ones with laughing face emojis etc so would advise if anyone feels the need to comment on others work on here in the future, that they are up to date on the regs before doing so".


    So, there's no accounting for taste.


    F


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