Disadvantages of electric pole in backyard (neighborhood, buy, safe)

[jfre81]

Put some tinfoil over your head and the government won't be able to control your mind by microwave radiation emissions from the poles.

Seriously though....is the impact of electromagnetic fields lessened somehow by having the cables underground? That doesn't seem very logical to me.

It's purely an aesthetic issue.

[EasilyAmused]

So this irrational fear of wooden posts with cable,phone and power wires (that then run into the house at some place and throughout the house everywhere else) comes from California???

I am so not shocked.


20 feet in the air or 12 inches in the ground in PLASTIC piping.......what's the diff? Texans don't care. We also prefer to EAT corn, and the beef it feeds, than use even more fossil fuels to make corn gas.

[jimboburnsy]

Originally Posted by BEVH

Same problem I am facing. Here in CA it is a major disclosure item (Electro- magnetic fields) so I do not think it is not a problem in TExas.

I have passed on about 9 houses now because if I resale I think it will be a concern plus ugly. Texas just does not have enough disclosures for the buyer. CA discloses everything and power poles here are a no no

If you had a high-tension line running over your property, I could understand wanting that disclosed. The power running through residential utility lines, however, is almost the same as that running through every wall in your house - 240V, 200A that is split to 120V at the panel and run through circuit breakers to protect your wiring. I don't imagine CA discloses the location of wires in the home, do they?

I agree that it can be an eyesore, but Houstonians are so accustomed to utility poles that it isn't noticeable and has no effect on resale and I find it highly unlikely that end-user power has any effect on one's health (unless you stick a fork in the socket, and even then it has to be in the smaller vertical slot).

[jimboburnsy]

Originally Posted by jfre81

Put some tinfoil over your head and the government won't be able to control your mind by microwave radiation emissions from the poles.

Seriously though....is the impact of electromagnetic fields lessened somehow by having the cables underground? That doesn't seem very logical to me.

It's purely an aesthetic issue.

I tried to rep this. You have my vote for funniest guy on the Houston Forum.

[icon7]

A pole might not be a big issue, but what about a transformer on poles? I watched 2 over the last 8 years go BOOOOOOM in 2 neighbors' yards. Man when those thing explode, it like a dynamite. i wish they could relocate those things out of people's yards. I do like the idea that one poster mentioned about getting a light on the pole. Now that would be a neat Idea. They could probably get a solar one, since those pole are what 40 Feet high at least?

[jimboburnsy]

Originally Posted by icon7

A pole might not be a big issue, but what about a transformer on poles? I watched 2 over the last 8 years go BOOOOOOM in 2 neighbors' yards. Man when those thing explode, it like a dynamite. i wish they could relocate those things out of people's yards. I do like the idea that one poster mentioned about getting a light on the pole. Now that would be a neat Idea. They could probably get a solar one, since those pole are what 40 Feet high at least?

That's a different animal altogether. I've never seen one explode, but I've seen the aftermath. Mineral oil everywhere. Apparently the older ones were full of some sort of incredibly potent carcinogen - I think they have all been phased out, but I don't know.

[travelguy_73]

My first house had high tension lines running about 30 feet behind my property line (we were at the edge of the neighborhood). It definitely was an issue with resale. We still got full price for the house, but a number of interested parties passed on the house due to those lines.

Standard power lines that run off the wooden poles haven't ever been an issue, at least not that I have seen. The only time I even think about them when looking at houses is if the lines run from the pole to the house over the yard (versus over a detached garage). Then it isn't very attractive, though hardly unsafe.

[tstone]

Originally Posted by BEVH

Texas just does not have enough disclosures for the buyer. CA discloses everything and power poles here are a no no

Well no surprise there, considering California seems to know a lot of things that no one else does.

[atlantis7]

Originally Posted by Maya123

Hello,

We have looked for a house in nice neighborhood, liked the house but this house have one wooden electric pole in farcorner of our backyard. This pole does fall in our backyard though....

Not sure about the health concerns or disadvantages as per the house value or appraisel of house, any input from you all is appreciated.

Thanks
Maya

I am from Tennessee and TVA has done a great job of placing all their high tension lines...but HERE....zoning and common sense are out the window and people HERE readily accept it. HIGH VOLTAGE power lines are as plentiful as roads and so are utility lines and poles where the old houses meet the new subdivisions. In Houston, they put utilities on easements in the back yards, along the inside of your property line, limiting what you can do with you cube sized recreational area... and they run power lines behind houses instead of front in many places.

They are building a number of new subdivisions in Texas City and San Leon right in front of soon to be defunct energy plants and right along the front edge of enormous power lines .

You cant escape them. and of course, THEY ARE NOT HEALTHY. Electromagnetic fields are about as good for ya as running around with plutonium in your pocket. Welcome to Houston. Not like anywhere else, for sure.

[taurus2]

Hi.. just came across this thread and was not sure whether to post my concern on this same thread or a new one.. neways i am facing a similar situation with decision regarding a home.. an electric pole in the backyard.. so question to maya123 - did you finally buy the house and did u have any problem thereafter?? and question to others who can help - is it safe for kids to play in the backyard with the electric pole? and does it in anyway have any effect on the electrical appliances, computers etc in the house during storms.. appreciate your replies..