how do you safely measure the height of above ground electrical wires?
Fiberglass painters pole marked off in feet.
They also make non-conductive 6’ folding rules which you can use at the top with a tape measure at the bottom. Since the conductors are insulated many electricians would just use a tape measure which I wouldn’t recommend. :shock:
We are talking about service drops correct…if so then they are not all insulated…lol…technically speaking that is.
Yes, I hope that no one is trying to measure high tension lines which are not insulated. 
yes service drops. i would rather be safe than sorry when checking the measurement as well as efficient. i was just curious what was best practice was for our industry. thanks for the input!
Well…if they are using our Service Drop Cable then they have an uninsulated grounded conductor (which does carry current) to worry about. But I do get your shocking point…:twisted:
Use a protractor, a string, and a weight.
And Trigonometry
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Use a laser measuring device
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Yeppers, or if you are a CMI a metal tape. 
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I see this post is from 4 yrs ago but I was just wondering about this as well. Did a quick search on Amazon and laser measuring devices do not work in sunlight. So aside from the fiberglass painters pole how would you measure?
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Still a great question Susan. After a quick search, I stumbled across this App. Probably needs a little further review, but it is interesting.
http://linesmarts.com/
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Hopefully I can explain this: 1) Set your tape measure under the wire, parallel to the wire, on the ground. Run it out 12 feet for a driveway clearance measurement. The tape will be parallel to the wire, under the wire on the ground,12 feet out. 2) Walk back 24 feet or so. 3) Using a stick or some other similar device, hold the stick at arms length. Mark the length of the 12 foot tape on the stick as you see it with your eye at arms length. I usually just align the end of the stick on one end of the tape and put my thumb on the other end of the stick. 4) Turn the stick vertical and use it to confirm the wire is at 12 feet or more from the ground.
If you understand this method, it also works vertically. Set your tape vertically at 6 feet and use the stick method.
A clinometer is the tool you can buy for this purpose. Used by forestry timber cruisers.
As an edit; This method is valid, but not accurate to the inch. When measurements appear close to being of concern, I use “appears to be less than 12 feet” in my comment for a 12’ driveway clearance. Recommendation; “Confirm measurement is less than 12 feet…”
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I get it. Thanks!!
Actually Bosch and probably others make green lasers just for that. Even red lasers will work n the shade. I just did it in my backyard after reading this thread. Stood right under the line, pointed my red (indoor - Bosch GLM 50 C) up at the cable and after slowly passing it over the cable till I saw it took the measurement. Then I turned around used the hypotenuse function to measure first to the cable anchor on the house (diagonally) and then to the wall directly to get a height measurement. It is 7:00 am here in Maryland and the sun is low in the East. Most of my backyard is in shade from surrounding pines. Red lasers are much harder to see in direct sunlight but you can see them and green lasers are highly visible.
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Not that I’m not recommending it but many electricians I know would just use a tape measure.
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Height measurements Trees.
Smart Measure Phone app.
Look at the building stories. Every story is approximately 10’ feet in height. Use that as a guide to align the lowest droop in an SEC.
If you feel SEC are to low, write; Suspect: SEC to low. Recommend review by a licensed electrical contractor.
Hope that helps.
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It does help. Thank yall so much. Wanted to have a narrative just in case.