Can you get electrocuted by solar lights?
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Solar lights are cool! They are portable, easy to install. But they are electrical gadgets, which means they contains electricity. This brings out a major question: can you get electrocuted by solar lights?
In this post, I will try to answer this question.
Key takeaway: No, you will not get electrocuted by solar lights, but this is not universal, exceptions do exist.
Can you get an electric shock from solar lights?
To know whether solar powered lights can give a shock, let’s discuss some important points first.
What causes electrocution: current or voltage?
The first thing is to know what cause electric shock in the body. The electric shock in the body is caused by the flow of current.
Current is the rate of flow of electric charge. When electric charge flows through our body when we come in contact with an exposed electrical appliance, we feel shock.
Voltage plays as the carrier role for the flow of current.
How much current can electrocute a person?
The magnitude of current which can electrocute a person varies. A mere current of 1 milli ampere can bring a tingling sensation in the body.
To make it more easily understandable for you, I have prepared a list of current values[1] and their reaction on the body[2].
| Current Range | Effect on human body |
|---|---|
| 0 – 0.5 mA | Little to no reaction. |
| 0.5 mA – 5 mA | Electric shock observed. |
| 10 mA – 20 mA | Dangerous. Muscle controls can be lost. |
| 20 mA – 100 mA | Painful. Cause physical injuries to body. |
| Above 100 mA | Extremely painful. Can cause death. |
Possible ways to contact current through solar light
There are two possibilities through which current can pass through you while using solar lights.
- Through LED’s
- PV panel
These two are major parts of solar light which uses electrical current for working. If there will be any leakage of current, it will be from them.
Current produced by a solar light?
Now after learning about major current flowing components of solar lights, let’s look at what is the amount of current a solar light can produce. Current is produced in the solar light in two ways.
1. Through PV cells
Photovoltaic cells are responsible for generating current during the daytime. They create charge which is stored in rechargeable battery.
The solar lights panels are usually in the range of 0.3 watts to 10 watts, which can produce current valuing up to 0.83 mA(10 watts).
As seen above in the table, this quantity of current is not likely to cause any harm.
2. Battery
Charge produced by PV cells is stored in these batteries. These batteries give back electricity to light the LED’s.
Batteries do not cause electrocution[3].
Conclusion
Solar lights are very useful devices. They are portable and can be used anywhere after a charge. But since they are electrical devices, it is obvious to think whether solar powered lights can cause electrocution.
From above points, it became clear that solar lights are safe to use. You will not get electrocuted using them.
For more information on solar lights you can follow this link: http://upcleanenergy.org/