EK Technologies

What is Touch potential? You often came across the term step and touch potential, but you never new what's all about. Grab it now. Touch potential is the potential generated across a conductive body or object to the earth, when the conductive body contacts or touches a live wire. So, current flow through the conductive body from the live wire to the earth.  This can occur due to earth failure and inappropriate earthing in an installation. Other causes exist. To illustrate this, we are going to see some common examples. How touch potential is generated 1) A person touching a poorly earthed conductive part during earth failure. E.g touching the metallic part of towers, machines, etc during earth failure. 2) Live TV media antenna buses mistakenly touching live wires in transmission lines. 3) Excavators and lifters mistakenly touching a transmission line Those are just some few examples of how touch potential is generated. So, electrical tec...

What is Step Potential This is the potential generated between the feet of a person or animal closer to the surface or area of an earthed rod/wire/object carrying current. During earth faults, high amount of current flows to the ground and the nearby ground surface beside the earthed object. If a person is standing within the area closer to the grounded object, a potential can be generated between the feet (foot to foot) and the difference in potential causes current to flow through the body which is dangerous. So, the wider the distance between the feet (foot to foot), the higher the potential difference and the higher the current being induced. The smaller the distance between feet, the lesser the potential different and the smaller the induced current into the body. Equipotential points have zero potential different. So, with the feet being tight together, the points are at the same potential (equipotential point). This is the reason why birds are not electrocuted when they stan...