Your last post made me smile all 40 posts and the "ground " is wired to neutral .
In reality the neutral actually return to a remote earth in the UK it would be at a substation or larger that's why you get electrocuted holding a live/hot conductor in one hand and holding an earthed piece of equipment in the other.
Cheater plug ?-- illegal in Canada and IEE + the USA version do NOT recommend them as I don't want to agree to fit one as it would go against what I learned I will let somebody else say---yes go ahead -not for me I am afraid --run a local earth .
The American National Electric Code agree with me (NEC ) I have a list of US States where somebody got electric shocks using them and the State changed the Legislation requiring an earth to be provided in US homes.
In reality the neutral actually return to a remote earth in the UK it would be at a substation or larger that's why you get electrocuted holding a live/hot conductor in one hand and holding an earthed piece of equipment in the other.
Cheater plug ?-- illegal in Canada and IEE + the USA version do NOT recommend them as I don't want to agree to fit one as it would go against what I learned I will let somebody else say---yes go ahead -not for me I am afraid --run a local earth .
The American National Electric Code agree with me (NEC ) I have a list of US States where somebody got electric shocks using them and the State changed the Legislation requiring an earth to be provided in US homes.
Yes, that would be a significant problem.
That seems unlikely. More specifically, your neutral by any code within the past 50 years would be bonded to an electrode system at the panel. It is certainly possible your branch outlets are not supplied with a purposeful Equipment Grounding Conductor (EGC). But I seriously doubt the system itself is 'not grounded'.
It definitely does NOT jive. Any ground rod must be connected to the equipotentional ground system (i.e. ground rods at the service). This EPGS must include all water services, electrical panels, grounds, meter ground, etc etc.
If you want a fire within your home at the first lightning strike (even one nearby), install an isolated ground rod.
I do not get this one, pls explain
When there is a current leak between live and chassis in an appliance, if the chassis is earthed the RCD will trip. If the chassis is tied to Neutral, it will just look like the appliance is drawing a little bit of power, so the RCD will not trip.
This happened several times here, for example water got into an outdoor light fixture, or with the well pump.
It also trips when the tenants wash the toaster in the sink and then plug it in. With the Earth pin of the socket tied to Neutral instead of Earth, it wouldn't trip.
The problem comes from having only two wires from the panel to the sockets, which makes it impossible to detect if current is leaking from live to Earth, because that looks like normal power draw from live to neutral.
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Thanks. I did not consider touchable metal ever connected to neutral. AC-outlets in Germany always have been non-polarized, so no-one would expect neutral at a fixed position. I assume french AC-outlets are polarized. I have always considered non-polarized AC-outlets as inferior to the polarized ones - but this aspect gives my a different point of view.
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Here we provide our own earthing, every consumer has to provide a test report by a licensed electrician at the time of applying for a new connection, that the earthing resistance is within the limits required.
Sadly, there is no requirement for inspection after that.
Supply is phase / phases + neutral.
ELCB is mandatory for new single phase industrial and domestic loads. (Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker, similar to RCD I think)
Three phase loads are on HRC fuses, and MCCB.
High Rupture Capacity fuses, Molded Case Circuit Breaker, the higher capacity version of Miniature Circuit Breaker.
Bulb can be used incoming to RCD, to ground at the panel, should not trip the RCD....it might, OTOH.
A house without earthing is very dangerous, get it done even if it is not a legal requirement. Multiple grounds are just failure protection.
Every country has their own appliance safety codes, and the chance of electrocution from double insulated equipment is low.
But I am not an expert in this, please ask your local power company and contractors.
Protection is important.
Sadly, there is no requirement for inspection after that.
Supply is phase / phases + neutral.
ELCB is mandatory for new single phase industrial and domestic loads. (Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker, similar to RCD I think)
Three phase loads are on HRC fuses, and MCCB.
High Rupture Capacity fuses, Molded Case Circuit Breaker, the higher capacity version of Miniature Circuit Breaker.
Bulb can be used incoming to RCD, to ground at the panel, should not trip the RCD....it might, OTOH.
A house without earthing is very dangerous, get it done even if it is not a legal requirement. Multiple grounds are just failure protection.
Every country has their own appliance safety codes, and the chance of electrocution from double insulated equipment is low.
But I am not an expert in this, please ask your local power company and contractors.
Protection is important.
This is what most houses use in South Africa and it is the said standard. Not that it all way's works like that, people take chances. The live and neutral is connected together at the substation transformer.
earthing systems in south africa - Google Search
And you only use a single earth throughout the system. The galvanized roof, water pipes , swimming pool motor, gate motor, everything MUST go to the same Earth point in you main distribution box in your house. Some countries calls it a service box. If you do not do it like this then you get potential differences when there are close by lightning strikes that can account to terrible damage. I have seen galvanized water pipes ripped out of the concrete walls of a house.
earthing systems in south africa - Google Search
And you only use a single earth throughout the system. The galvanized roof, water pipes , swimming pool motor, gate motor, everything MUST go to the same Earth point in you main distribution box in your house. Some countries calls it a service box. If you do not do it like this then you get potential differences when there are close by lightning strikes that can account to terrible damage. I have seen galvanized water pipes ripped out of the concrete walls of a house.
The Google link returns about 310,000 results-- is there a specific result you like?
What is your "substation"? In US lingo the substation is typically many miles away. Here at my house, about 8 miles through the woods. Not the same potential. We have dirt rod(s) AT the house, and for their own self-protection the power company has a dirt electrode every few poles (100-150 meters).
having worked in a lot of substation construction and testing, indeed the nuetral and earth grounding are connected at the substation thru a neutral earthing resistor, some as high as 17 ohms and thousand watts...but downstream from substations, they are separate entities...
My guess is Vrystaat is saying 'substation transformer' but actually means 'distribution' or 'pole-mount' transformer, that is, the little 50 kVA unit that serves the house.
Whether the utility decides to resistance ground, reactance ground, or Petersen ground (more common in Europe) their medium voltage line is completely irrelevant to the grounding of the residential neutral, which is at low voltage.
Once you hit the last pole mount (or padmount) transformer, the grounding is separately derived, and the safety of the residential system does not care about the grounding of the primary system.
Of greatest importance within the US is that the neutral is solidly grounded at both the transformer secondary/meter socket (which is still under jurisdiction of the serving utility) and an additional neutral bond at the service panel. Yes, there are intentionally two bonds on the neutral.
Then, it is critical that the electrode system be continuous. You are free to have one ground rod if you test for less than 25 ohms, otherwise a minimum of two. Even better is to have 12 ground rods, but of course no one wants to spend the money, and due to 'sphere of influence' they are to be physically separated from one another. But make no mistake, every single one of those ground rods must be tied together by wire (normally buried hard drawn copper with acorn connectors or exothermic weld).
Buried ground rings are common in commercial systems - the more copper you can get underground the better off you are. But surprise, it must all be continuous. Not a single exception is to be had by any inspector or insurance company.
Actually, the only 'exception' are the audio 'gurus' who give a subjective story of how they did x-y-z and the system is quieter after they installed an isolated ground rod. It is an illegal band aid to a broken audio installation, and they don't want to solve it the proper way.
With regards to the A/C drive issue, you will have some difficulty getting that noise out of the audio system without transformers. It will be a solution you will probably not want to implement. Drives throw out such serious switching noise (both conducted and radiated, but mostly conducted) that simple RFI filters will not function.
Also, it sounds like your worst problem is the fact the drive wants to toss some noise into the ground terminal, and it does not have a continuous path back to the source (your house is not equipped with a good copper ground in the wall branch circuit). Fundamentally, you may find an isolated earthing rod 'solves' the problem, but you have created a larger one from a fire/safety standpoint. Don't do it.
Whether the utility decides to resistance ground, reactance ground, or Petersen ground (more common in Europe) their medium voltage line is completely irrelevant to the grounding of the residential neutral, which is at low voltage.
Once you hit the last pole mount (or padmount) transformer, the grounding is separately derived, and the safety of the residential system does not care about the grounding of the primary system.
Of greatest importance within the US is that the neutral is solidly grounded at both the transformer secondary/meter socket (which is still under jurisdiction of the serving utility) and an additional neutral bond at the service panel. Yes, there are intentionally two bonds on the neutral.
Then, it is critical that the electrode system be continuous. You are free to have one ground rod if you test for less than 25 ohms, otherwise a minimum of two. Even better is to have 12 ground rods, but of course no one wants to spend the money, and due to 'sphere of influence' they are to be physically separated from one another. But make no mistake, every single one of those ground rods must be tied together by wire (normally buried hard drawn copper with acorn connectors or exothermic weld).
Buried ground rings are common in commercial systems - the more copper you can get underground the better off you are. But surprise, it must all be continuous. Not a single exception is to be had by any inspector or insurance company.
Actually, the only 'exception' are the audio 'gurus' who give a subjective story of how they did x-y-z and the system is quieter after they installed an isolated ground rod. It is an illegal band aid to a broken audio installation, and they don't want to solve it the proper way.
With regards to the A/C drive issue, you will have some difficulty getting that noise out of the audio system without transformers. It will be a solution you will probably not want to implement. Drives throw out such serious switching noise (both conducted and radiated, but mostly conducted) that simple RFI filters will not function.
Also, it sounds like your worst problem is the fact the drive wants to toss some noise into the ground terminal, and it does not have a continuous path back to the source (your house is not equipped with a good copper ground in the wall branch circuit). Fundamentally, you may find an isolated earthing rod 'solves' the problem, but you have created a larger one from a fire/safety standpoint. Don't do it.
Most houses in the USA are made of wood certainly not so in the UK otherwise the whole house buying market in Britain would collapse if that was the case.
I live in an 1830 grey sandstone house of massive sandstone blocks which have defied all sorts of weather . what you are eluding to is lightening strikes causing electrical domestic wiring to catch fire .
Even if that were so in the UK it certainly wouldn't burn down my house , Lightning strikes are a lot more common in the USA , I cannot recall anybody where I live being hit by one let alone burning their house down .
If you don't have built in current limiters just fuses how do you redirect the current so you aren't killed by touch a piece of equipment that isn't earthed ?
Easier to dis in a country with 115/120 volts AC --you might live but try the same in the UK with 250 volts AC and yes , this EU 230 volts regulation voltage certainly doesn't work where I live its nearly 250 volts AC .
I live in an 1830 grey sandstone house of massive sandstone blocks which have defied all sorts of weather . what you are eluding to is lightening strikes causing electrical domestic wiring to catch fire .
Even if that were so in the UK it certainly wouldn't burn down my house , Lightning strikes are a lot more common in the USA , I cannot recall anybody where I live being hit by one let alone burning their house down .
If you don't have built in current limiters just fuses how do you redirect the current so you aren't killed by touch a piece of equipment that isn't earthed ?
Easier to dis in a country with 115/120 volts AC --you might live but try the same in the UK with 250 volts AC and yes , this EU 230 volts regulation voltage certainly doesn't work where I live its nearly 250 volts AC .
i lived 4 years in Singapore, and i can tell that buildings used air finials around the roof structures that also connected to copper straps that in turn went down to ground in all four corners of buildings, being a lightning prone location such steps are incorporated in their building codes afaik...
earthing for safety is not to be confused with neutral return wires...
earthing for safety is not to be confused with neutral return wires...
Decades ago we had a new water meter installed by NJAWC, the old one was brass, the new one was some high-tech engineering resin and could be read from the outside. While there was a stout stranded copper cable from the cold water intake to the panel, they bridged the water meter with clamps and copper cable.
With some home improvement work done recently and a back-up generator installed, the electrician and plumber had a lot more grounding work to do to bring it to code:
