Why electric fencing has changed from 5 to 6 strand.

In the past 3 years we have seen a change in electric fencing, specifically the amount of lines, changing from odd to even numbers.  More specifically , 5 to 6 line.

The reason for this is as follows.

Traditionally , wall top electric fencing consisted of 5 lines with two security features, namely : Electric shock and Short circuit alarm.

1. Electric shock: If an intruder or burglar was to touch your fence, they would get electrocuted.
2. Short circuit alarm: If two wires touch one another, the alarm siren would sound.

This was generally good enough to provide protection, however with the advancement of the modern energisers, along with other improvements such and efficiency and adaptive power technology, energisers started making use of one more security feature which has now become a standard in the electric fencing industry.  This feature is called line monitoring.

3. Line monitoring: If any line is cut, even an earth wire, this will cause the siren to sound, alerting the homeowner to a potential intruder.

To enable this feature, electric fence installers are required to use an even number of lines as apposed to an odd number. This enables a wiring configuration referred to as a “series configuration” as apposed to a “parallel configuration.”

Without going into too much detail, this means that when a electric fence line is cut, this immediately breaks the circuit and triggers the alarm, giving our clients time to react and possibly saving their lives.