Re: [APD] Plus points

["Andrew McLeod" <thefish at theabyssalplain_freeserve.co.uk>]

On Thu, 27 Oct 2005 14:27:20 +0100, Stuart Halliday <stuart at stuarthalliday_com> wrote:

> Another big plus point will be safely. These will be DC powered rather than
> AC, so no need for high dangerous voltages or broken glass hazards.
> Therefore less of a fire risk.

I know someone who nearly set fire to their roof insulation because they used 'low voltage' lighting...
They put too many lights on a lightweight cable (5x50w) and ran it off a transformer only designed to handle <150W...
In the UK, we have 240V AC, and for low-voltage things we use 12V. As a result, the little wiring which would have easily run that lighting at 240V was running probably something like 20A+, melting the wire completely. At 1/20 of the voltage, the current is 20x greater, which means the heating effect in the wire is 400 times greater - that's why car battery leads are enormously thick.
AC is arguably safer as far as electrical faults are concerned... especially with RCDs/ELCBs etc.

-- 
Andrew McLeod
thefish at theabyssalplain_freeserve.co.uk

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