I am curious as to the evolution of Safety Standards for consumer electronics. What was the first Standard and when did it come about?
The juxtaposition of "BVA" (British Valve Association) and "Foreign Made" on one of the valves is certainly worth explaining.
BVA was a 20th-century cartel of valve manufacturers in the United Kingdom that was designed to protect their interests from foreign competition.
The juxtaposition seems to suggest that at some point BVA didn't mind valves being imported as long as they were up to their standards.
According to AI's response in a Google search' "The first edition of the IEC 60335-1 standard was published on January 1, 1970. The IEC has been publishing standards to improve the safety of household devices since 1970."
No wonder. When I was 5, my father had a continuity tester. AC cord, two probes, a big value resistor and a neon lamp. I can still remember putting the probes on the skin of my hand, getting the neon to glow faintly. Never felt anything from it.
A former boss worked for UL. He'd tell stories of appliance manufacturers "nicking" an armature winding in a drill, to try and cheat him to get it to pass some overload test. Nobody made it past Jim. Probably why he got a new position at Compaq -
It would be fascinating to read the 1970 Standard. I know the current standards are very detailed. A UL engineer once told me that everytime someone died from interaction with a device, the next revision of the Standard would try to prevent that from happening again. Like dropping one of these old radios into the tub while bathing: probably be toast in the 1950s. Now, the GFI would probably save you.
Here are the electrocution death rates.
Seems the death rate per unit population is broadly the same - c.200 per 70 million in the UK and USA (200 vs 1000 deaths).
No doubt the GFI/RCD, stricter codes and better product certifications have brought it down. Basically, don’t mess either mains.
Interestingly, despite the lower mains voltage in the USA, the electrocution rate is not lower. Question is why?
Seems the death rate per unit population is broadly the same - c.200 per 70 million in the UK and USA (200 vs 1000 deaths).
No doubt the GFI/RCD, stricter codes and better product certifications have brought it down. Basically, don’t mess either mains.
Interestingly, despite the lower mains voltage in the USA, the electrocution rate is not lower. Question is why?
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I don't know about the USA, but the UK clearly has stricter regulations than most of the European mainland. You don't see fused mains plugs or switches at every AC outlet here in the Netherlands, and the mains plugs fit in the sockets in two ways, so you never know which wire is hot and which neutral.
What really amazes me is that single-pole switches in cords of decorative lamps are allowed here, despite the stupid mains plugs. People who know nothing about electricity are bound to assume that they can safely replace the bulb when the switch is off, while the chances of switching off the hot wire are in fact only 50 %.
What really amazes me is that single-pole switches in cords of decorative lamps are allowed here, despite the stupid mains plugs. People who know nothing about electricity are bound to assume that they can safely replace the bulb when the switch is off, while the chances of switching off the hot wire are in fact only 50 %.
The USA data states 'electrical injuries' and not 'electrocution'.
Many of those 1,000 deaths could be caused by a fall from a height after receiving an electric shock.
I'm UK born and now residing in NL.
What really blew my mind is that in my house (built in the mid-90s) there's no earth on any sockets except in the washroom and kitchen!
When we bought the house, I had to wire earth connections to all the sockets on one room for my music gear.
There must be loads of people here plugging PCs, guitar amps, any non-double insulated appliances into these unearthed sockets...
Galu, you could say the same about the UK as well since the 200 odd deaths a year here include industrial as well.
Thr UK code is exceedingly demanding. An electrician here a few yrs ago got 8 yrs for not testing the wiring polarity to a plug outlet that resulted in a woman being electrocuted. My son had some wiring done on his house recently and the electrician refused to sign off unless the consumer unit was replaced because he said he’d lose his license if it was inspected as is. There aren’t any mains outlets in UK bathrooms either.
Thr UK code is exceedingly demanding. An electrician here a few yrs ago got 8 yrs for not testing the wiring polarity to a plug outlet that resulted in a woman being electrocuted. My son had some wiring done on his house recently and the electrician refused to sign off unless the consumer unit was replaced because he said he’d lose his license if it was inspected as is. There aren’t any mains outlets in UK bathrooms either.
I had no idea so many electrocutions occur each year! Safe to assume you won't be fixing up this old beast and placing it on a shelf above the tub?
Mrs toby has a place in Lanzarote (Spain). Last year she had a washing machine installed, it seems quite commonplace there to have one in the bathroom, and in mainland Europe apparently. She had it installed in a convienient spare room away from water😉
No idea. I just looked at cbs.nl and found a table of how many people kill themselves, get murdered or have accidents, but nothing specifically about electrocution.
Note that your UK data speaks specifically of people being electrocuted "at home".
Quote: "About 400 people are electrocuted at home each year, resulting in about 200 deaths."
That number discrepancy does not sit well with me since, by the strict British English definition of the word, no one can survive being electrocuted.
Electrocute (in British English): to kill as a result of an electric shock - see Collins English dictionary 2025.
I noticed the "odd" statistics in the earlier post and was wondering if someone else would notice it. The "injured but not killed by electricity" is a usage I first noticed around 20 years ago. DIYaudio has this other thread going on about English, and I wrote about the changes in meaning of electrocution here:
There's also this, a current definition fresh off the InterWeb:
"to kill or severely injure by electric shock" [thought I've heard it used by those only slightly injured]
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/electrocution
And of course the original definition meaning capital punishment, "to execute (a criminal) by electricity" is now the second definition.