Page 103 - 2025 Premier Digital Fence Catalog

Q. Are they less costly to operate?
A. No. The cheapest energizer to operate
plugs into 110-volt AC current.
Q. How are our energizers different?
A. We provide details and photos on pp.
104–105, but in summary:
1. Our units offer higher pulse output.
2. We offer “X” energizers for
areas with less sunlight and/or
colder temperatures.
3. Larger solar panels and larger batteries
per unit of output.
4. Lower cost per joule of output.
Q. Region, season and panel angle are
critical in solar energizer success. Why?
A. The maps depict hours of solar
insolation for winter and summer.
Solar insolation is the hours of sun
available that have sufficient intensity
for a solar panel to charge a battery.
Three important things to note:
1. Summer insolation hours are
higher than winter hours.
2. The hours available are different
depending on location. In summer
MI has 5 hours vs 7.5 hours in AZ!
3. The solar panel should be angled
to meet the sun. Horizontal in
summer and vertical in winter—
and always facing south.
Q. Why are identical energizers sold in
Michigan and Arizona?
A. It suits suppliers to keep things simple.
The panel and battery are probably
too small for MI (except in mid-
summer) and too large for AZ (except
mid-winter). The extra sunlight in the
Southwest may damage the battery in
summer by overcharging it. (Our solar
units have a regulator to prevent this.)
Q. What powers a solar energizer at night
and days that are cloudy/rainy/snowy?
A. A direct current battery. All solar units
have one or two inside the case. The
battery must be large enough to supply
the energizer for several sunless days
in a row. (We size ours for no less than
4 sunless days.)
Q. 21 sunless days from a 5 ampere-hr
battery and a 5 watt panel?
A. That’s what a competitor claims for
their 0.5 joule energizer.
Explanation?
The misleading unit with 1/5 the
battery and half the panel size reduces
pulse energy as the battery voltage
declines. In a day without sun the
pulse is only 0.25 joules, then 0.10, then
0.05, etc. That’s not a pulse that will
protect your animals.
All Energizer Systems
To Reduce Risk & Liability
Are electric fences a serious safety risk to humans?
Because touching an electric fence is painful and the voltages are high, most assume
that the risks from an energized fence must also be high.
That’s a myth. Consider that millions of people throughout the world are “exposed” to
millions of miles of electric fences every day—yet there is less than one death or serious
injury per year worldwide—and the fence is often not the cause.
Compare that to the number of annual injuries and deaths that occur from exposure to
tractors, skid loaders, PTO shafts, balers, mowers, combines, bulls, stallions, etc.
This is not to suggest that there is no risk at all. There is, indeed, a small level of risk.
And with risk, there is also liability.
To reduce the risk…
1. Be careful not to touch an energized
wire with the head or spine. For
reasons not fully understood, this
contact point is more dangerous than
contact with hands, arms, feet or legs.
2. Never approach a fence without
footwear. Also, wear footwear that
fully encloses the foot (not sandals).
Why? Most footwear are poor
conductors (rubber soles). So they
reduce (by absorbing it) the energy
that will pass through your body if you
touch a fence with your hands or head.
3. Never energize barbed wire. Animals
and humans can become entangled
and repeatedly shocked—and thus die.
4. Hang warning signs (p. 89) on all areas
and fences where children and adults
may encounter electric fencing.
5. Use smaller energizers on fences
located near children and untrained
adults. (Most experts agree that small
energizers are safer than large units as
long as animal control isn’t put at risk.)
6. Make the fence as visible as possible
to both humans and animals. Use
conductors and posts that can be seen
both day and night, and against all
backgrounds. That’s why Premier has
long advised the use of white/black
conductors for contrast and visibility.
7. If possible, do not energize wires lower
than 12". This allows humans who
might contact a wire enough space to
fall away from energized wires.
8. Build fences so all energized wires
are on the inside of your boundary
fence (less likely to be touched, and
anyone who touches them without your
permission is trespassing). We prefer
offset internal energized wires on our
perimeter fences.
9. Never connect 2 energizers to the same
fence. It doubles the pulse frequency
(unsafe!), not the output.
10. The shock from electric fences can
panic animals (e.g. horses) and cause
them to crash into fences (or people)
resulting in injury to one or both.
To reduce this risk:
a. Do not install electrified wires
on feedlot fences, corral fences or
around riding arenas.
b. Reduce the available volts and
joules on fences that enclose very
small areas (e.g. night pens) to
lessen the likelihood of animal
stress and possible panic.
DON’T
What NOT to do!
• Never place your head or upper spine near an electrified wire.
• Never attempt to step over or climb through an energized fence.
• Never encourage anyone to touch an electric fence.
What TO do!
• Instruct all visitors and children to never touch electric fence.
premier1supplies.com • 1-800-282-6631
Warning: In 1991 an accidental fatality occurred when a young child’s head contacted an electrified fence while the child was
crawling on wet grass. The fence was correctly installed and functioning properly. The energizer was a UL approved unit. As a result,
Premier strongly advises against allowing toddlers access to any electrified fences. Also, due to this incident and others, experts
now suggest that human contact by an energized wire to the head and neck may be the most dangerous point of contact. We urge
all to especially avoid this kind of contact.
ENERGIZER SYSTEMS
ENERGIZER SYSTEMS 103