Yes, even more potential confusion! BS7671 is 'fairly' clear in specifying a lower limit of 50V AC. I say 'fairly' clear because it says "exceeding ELV", rather than "exceeding the upper limit of ELV" (and, of course, even 5V is ELV!).
Isnt it the same with HV, there appears to be no lower limit
Yes, if one wants a 12V bulb one has to ask for a 12V bulb - an 'ELV bulb' could be 3.5V, 6V, 12V, 24V, 48V or whatever!
Even in current BS7671, that "normally" has crept back - or maybe has always been there ("Normally exceeding LowVoltage")!!! ... in what sense can that be called a 'definition'??
No, the terms are just as pointless for specific items whatever the voltage. 12, 240, 11000 or 33000
They might - but the only problem is that manufacturers have labelled 12V lamps as Low Voltage.
Other way round Rocky - there is no upper limit for HV; it's any voltage exceeding 1 000 V AC or 1 500 V DC.
Im sure that what it is, but the regs definition is not that clear cut, as john just posted
... "Normally" (per BS7671) - but, as I said, that hardly constitutes a 'definition' in my book!!
Indeed - but people don't get criticised here for talking of "low voltage" because it is 'pointless', but because it is 'incorrect' (since they almost invariably are talking about what you would call ELV).
I agree totally that those technical terms are not needed by DIYers or ('general public') consumers. That leaves them with their very-long established (non-technical) common usage of the phrase "low voltage" to refer to a voltage low enough not to usually represent any significant hazard.
.... or .... I love this 'definition' ....
IEC said:151-15-05en
high voltage ...
voltage having a value above a conventionally adopted limit
Well, put right rather than criticized - to avoid confusion.
You may be right - but do you know that it is not just because of the mislabelling by manufacturers?
Fair enough - but there really is not any reason for confusion if one accepts that the general public do not use the 'technical definitions' - because, as you said, they don't need to (and, in general, don't even know of their existance).
Same here - other than, perhaps, in this forum when I fear that people are waiting to jump on me!.
I'm pretty sure that the phrase "low votage" was in common English usage (to refer to a voltage low enough to be fairly harmless)for decades before any 'ELV' lamps/bulbs showed their faces in UK homes, no matter how they subsequently came to be labelled.
No, because there is no need - just as there was no need to talk about two different 'voltages' of domestic lighting when it was essentially all 'mains voltage'. If there were an appreciable number of cars around that used much higher voltages (100V, 200V, 230V or whatever) for their bulbs/lamps, I imagine that people would start talking about 'low voltage' and 'high voltage' lamps/bulbs (and would keep their fingers away from the wiring of the latter when it was live!). In the days of battery-powered valve radios etc., we had "high tension" and "low tension" batteries (both of which would, incidentally, today qualify as 'ELV').
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