Can You Really Get Shocked from a Neutral Wire?

Short answer: No, you can't.

A common misconception is that you can get an electric shock from touching a neutral wire. This is a myth that likely stems from the idea that electricity flows in a complete circuit, and the neutral wire is part of that circuit. However, the neutral wire serves a different purpose than the hot wire.

Short answer:

No, you can't.

Understanding the Roles of Hot and Neutral Wires

• Hot wire: This is the wire that carries the electrical current from the power source to your appliances. It's the wire that can give you a shock if you touch it.
• Neutral wire: This wire acts as a return path for the current. It completes the circuit, but it's not supposed to carry any significant voltage.

Why You Can't Get Shocked from a Neutral Wire

1. Grounding: The neutral wire is grounded (the NEC actually identifies it as the grounding conductor), meaning it's connected to the neutral bar that is by design the same potential as the ground bar. This provides a low-resistance path for the current to flow back to the power source. If you touch a grounded neutral wire, your body offers a much higher resistance than the path to the ground. As a result, the current will prefer to flow through the ground, bypassing your body (proportionately).
2. Voltage Potential: The voltage potential between you (grounded) and a neutral wire (also grounded) is very low. Even if some current were to flow through your body, it would be insufficient to cause a shock.