Static Electricity Accumulation

Question

I don't know much about electricity. I live in an old building experiencing bizarre electric phenomenon. The building might have bad wiring, I live near elevators and power distribution for the entire building in a large multi-floor building. I hear a faint humming sound through the wall 24/7 - sounds like electricity buzzing. At first, I somehow thought there was bad wiring or being near the electrical equipment was causing an excessive amount of electricity. But the more I dug into it, I think its a peculiar static electricity problem. I experienced static shocks when touching an old heater or other metal.

I notice small jolts in my bed. My theory is that the air is very dry, carpets are 100% polyester and it is pulling static electricity into my polyester mattress. The bed is now sitting on the ground because the metal frame was worse. Basically, if I place my hands and feet together on the mattress, I feel these tiny jolts in the mattress and I think they are transmission of electrons to the carpet or ground. The sheets attract a ton of lint. I think the static is flowing through the mattress or accumulating in the mattress and it feels like something is pulsating in the mattress. When I add in the humming sound, I wonder if electricity is somehow spreading into the room which then flows to the carpet. Either way, it feels like some electricity is accumulating in the air, being pulled to the polyester carpet/mattress and charging there. Ultimately, this is also being attracted to the polyester in the mattress and accumulating there. So if you lay in it or press really hard, you feel like its being shot through to the floor very gently. Similar to Morse code with small jolts to the ground. Where can static electricity come from and can there be enough to cause a sensation such as that?

Is it even possible for electricity to "spread" from the power distribution, wires or elevator power or be spread out from the power of the elevators or the old wiring through the floor or walls to create this jolting sensation? Where is it all coming from? How would enough electrons be constantly generated 24/7 on a consistent enough basis that you feel the small spasms through the mattress at virtually anytime. Could the described circumstances be caused by static electricity with polyester carpets, polyester mattress (20%) and generally dry air? It's a tiny zap. Like the static is building up in the mattress and then zapping to the carpet through my back or feet when standing on the floor.

Answer 1

If it's dry, then rubbing any two materials together can create static electric fields which cause electrostatic discharge events (ESD). In electronics labs static electricicty can kill components, so they do a few things to knock down electric fields.

1) Use a humidifier. Humidity helps the air conduct, the lab that I used to work at kept the humidity tightly controlled within 65%. Water in the air also cuts down on fields generated from photoelectric charging.

2) Wear a stylish lab coat with metal in the fabric to ground out currents from clothing

Source: Flexible assembly

3) Wear wrist straps attached to ground (with a 1MΩ resistor so you don't short yourself out)

4) Use a conductive floor

Answer 2

1. How are elevators powered (old elevators, this building is an old one).

By electricity. Why do you ask?

2. Why is there humming? What would humming be caused by that is audible through the wall with elevator power so close by?

Humming can be caused by pumps, air-conditioning, ventilators, etc. The vibrations can travel very long distances through the solid building materials.

3. How would electricity spread through the floor in such a case?

It generally doesn't. You give no location in your question or user profile (which is one of the reasons it's there) so we have no idea what the electrical standards are in your country.

4. How dangerous would jolting electricity through a mattress/carpet be if you were exposed for prolonged periods of time?

This is most unlikely.

• It would require a conducting bed frame.
• If the bed frame is conducting then it would ensure that all parts of the bed were at the same voltage so you certainly would not get jolts while on the bed.

5. What would you want an electrician to investigate to determine where the jolting sensation is coming from?

Take voltage measurements.

6. Could the described circumstances be caused by static electricity with polyester carpets, polyester mattress (20%) and generally dry air?

Yes.

Answer 3

Old elevators ran off 500Vdc motors. This not very high V compared to 20kV of electrostatic.

There are antistatic carpet sprays and dryer antistat sheets that ought to resolve your static charge issues. (even 1/2 sheet will do)

Although when I once tested a large 5MVA transformer in a factory with 100kVdc. The E-field travelled far and 20m away and a long metal bar on drywall was self-charging and discharging about 1~2 ticks/s with a quiet tick-tick. Nearby epoxy paint on a wire safety cage door, would discharge when brushing a finger against it and the hair on the back of my neck was standing up. This is normal near 100kV high voltage DC E-fields.

I suspect your issue is only the materials in your residence are self-generating electrostatic from friction (triboelectric effect) ( or separation of the bedsheets) so the antistat solution should work.