electrical as a source of X10 issues

[James Sentman]

On Oct 11, 2013, at 3:12 PM, George Handley <ghandley at kc.rr.com> wrote:

> Boy, I couldn't agree with you more, causing me to quarry the lineman at the time for some length. It was at that point he offered that iron in the soil between me and the transformer could possible explain the +2vac phenomena. However, again, I need to observe for a couple weeks to see if Michael's "Happiness" factor returns before calling them again. :-)
> 

I can't accept this as an explanation for this at all. It sounds to me like one of those fictions that we tell people when we dont know what the hell is going on.

There are so many possibilities to explain it. He had a less than perfect connection when he measured at the pedestal or transformer so he measured less there than when he got to your house is just the most likely. 

But another way voltage can measure high is if you have a loose or missing neutral connection. In which case you now have a big voltage divider between the 2 phases of your house with all your loads providing the resistance on each side. Electricity will flow through one side and then through the other and the voltage depends on the load. Usually in the main panel the neutral and ground are tied together in the US anyway. THere is no ground carried from the panel out to the pedestal, at least not around here. If the neutral was missing or loose or corroded or anything then the voltage will fluctuate a lot as the load changes too. 

Thanks,
 	James


James Sentman                       http://sentman.com		http://MacHomeAutomation.com