Horse Farm Systems – Electrical Utilities

Almost every barn I go to has some electricity wired into the barn.  There are refrigerators, mobile device power chargers, music, fans, wi-fi boosters / routers and surveillance cameras. Ordinances are usually observed and the wiring appears safe.  Most barns today have enough power in high amperage service  to run many of the diagnostic equipment vets bring, the equipment in modern farrier trucks and the exercise equipment found in many barns today.  But then there are some barns looking for a reason to start a fire with non-coded electrical installations and miles of extension cords.  They place the horses in life threatening danger.

Electrical problems are one of the biggest causes of barn fires.  Many of the stories come from attached apartments where a careless tenant left a stove on or used space heaters in the winter.  Other causes of electrical fires include any battery charger (usually the bigger ones like a saw) or any other electric appliance. 

I like to look at well done electric rooms where the wires are organized and installed correctly in conduit.  I hate seeing a barn full of fans strut together using cheap household extension cords.  I hate even more when these cords are left close to where a horse can chew on it (see the image in the topic “Dangerous things”).  Some horses have died from this oversight and one client claimed her horse was murdered this way.  No kidding!.

Thomas Edison hated the current we use in today’s world basically because he had invented the DC indoor light bulb.  He only wanted direct current (DC) but unfortunately you cannot transmit DC any distance over wires.  This is why we all use alternating current (AC) starting in the late 1880’s (only 130 years ago!).  In the “War Of The Currents,” Edison killed animals including elephants on a public stage trying to discredit the use of AC.  Actually AC was killing a lot of people and this “war” between Edison (DC) and Westinghouse (AC) created all the safety measures we use today in transmitting high voltage AC current along lines and into our barns.  This is why you need to hire a qualified electrician to wire your barn.

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