Why are you comfortable working with electrical systems?
Why are you comfortable working with electrical systems?
Some people are terrified by electricity. I am guessing few in this community fall into that category. What makes you comfortable working with solar systems? For me, my father was an electrical engineer and I learned a lot from watching and helping him run new power and phone outlets. There wasn't anything he was scared of pulling apart to try and fix. I think the first outlet drops I installed in a wall were BNC coax drops in an apartment I was renting. I did take some computer architecture classes at university that formally introduced me to electricity and circuits, later I ended up taking some electrical courses, reading home improvement books, and lots of online videos. I guess I could also look back at the stereo installs I was involved in as a youth for myself and friends.
I think for many people it's fear of the unknown. Once you understand how electricity behaves, you start to instinctively know what's dangerous and what's not. You can clearly see this in YouTube videos on solar, where people explain how their solar systems work. It's pretty clear which presenters know what they're talking about and which ones are just repeating things they've read without truly understanding what's going on. I think once you gain that fundamental insight into what's actually happening, everything else starts to fall into place and it makes a lot more sense, it's a lot less mysterious, and much less intimidating.
Electricity is rather complex. Figuratively and literally (complex numbers are used to represent reactive power). So it can definitely be scary in that sense.
In terms of raw power, electricity is also very dangerous and can literally vaporise you. You SHOULD be afraid of high power.