Electrical Safety Precautions and Basic Equipment

Overview

Source: Ali Bazzi, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT.

Electric machines and power electronics experiments involve electrical currents, voltages, power, and energy quantities that should be handled with extreme diligence and care. These may include three-phase AC voltage (208 V, 230 V, or 480 V), up to 250 V DC voltages, and currents that can reach 10 A. Electrocution occurs when an electrical path is established through the body with very low currents that can damage vital organs, such as a person’s heart, and may cause immediate death. All experiments must be performed in the presence of personnel trained to handle electricity at these voltage and current levels. In case of emergency, evacuate the lab through any of the exits and dial 911.

Procedure

Safety Precautions

1. Electric Power and Experimental Setup

Avoid loose wires, cables, and connections.
Assume any exposed metal is live with electricity unless otherwise verified.
Familiarize oneself with all ON/OFF buttons on equipment, circuit breakers, and disconnect switches of a bench.
Only make changes to the experimental setup when the circuit power is turned off and all power sources read zero voltage and zero current, as appl

Application and Summary

Safety is the most important practice in an electrical engineering laboratory. Electrical measurement and power equipment are common in many heavy industries (metal processing, pulp and paper, etc.), automotive, marine, aerospace, military, and others. Various brands and models of different equipment and tools described in the video may have different labels, buttons, and knobs, but the general concepts still apply.

In an educational laboratory environment, the safety details and equipment des