What is Earth Loop Impedance?

During an electrical fault on a circuit, a current will flow from the Line
conductor towards Earth and in to the Neutral point of the supply
company transformer.
This circuit (loop), which consists of all the elements within the loop
(supply transformer winding , supply company phase conductor, main
fuse, main switch, protective device, Line conductor, the fault, Earth
conductor, main earth terminal, supply company earthing conductor) is
the Earth Fault Loop. It`s impedance is the measured value in Ohms`s.
In order to ensure the operation of the protective devices within the
installation (such as MCB`s), the Earth Fault Loop Impedance value
must be measured at the furthest point of the circuit and compared with
the requirements found in BS 7671. If the measured value is higher than
the it is allowed in BS 7671, than the circuit is not safe.

How to test External Earth Fault Loop Impedance

(Ze)?
`Ze` is a measurement of the external earth fault impedance of the
installation. It is the measured resistance of the supply transformer
winding, the supply phase conductor, and the erath return path of the
supply.
`Ze` can be obtained by enquiry to the electricity supplier or by direct
measurement at the supply. On the City and Guilds 2394 and 2395
practical assessment you will be required to obtain the value of `Ze` by
direct measurement.
The measurement is made with an Earth Fault Loop Impedance tester
with the Main Switch in the OFF (open) position and with the means of
earthing disconnected from the installation to avoid parallel paths.

The External Earth Fault Loop test sequence:

This is a live test so extra care is advised!
Step 1. Use an Earth Fault Loop Tester or select the Earth Fault Loop
Test option on a multifunctional tester such as the Megger 1553.

Step 2. Test on the incoming side of the installation. Connect one test
lead to the Line terminal, the second test lead to the Neutral terminal
and the third (usually green) test lead to the incoming Earth conductor.

Step 3. Press the TEST button. The measurement should be a low

reading ohm value.
Do not forget to record this value of `Ze` on the Electrical Installation
Certificate.

How to test the highest Earth Fault Loop Impedance

(Zs)?
Having obtained the `Ze` value for the installation, the value of `Zs` can
be easily calculated for every circuit. During the City and Guilds 2394
and 2395 practical assessment it is allowed to test each and every
circuit for the value of `Zs`; however, because of the limited time at
hand it is advised to calculate the value of `Zs` instead of direct
measurement.
The formula for determining `Zs:
Zs=Ze + (R1+R2)
Zs - earth fault loop impedance of the circuit tested
Ze - earth fault loop impedance external to the supply
(R1+R2) - Sum of the resistance of Line and Earth for the tested circuit.

The Earth Fault Loop test sequence:

This is a live test so extra care is advised!
Step 1. Locate the furthest point on the circuit to be tested (such as the
furthest socket)
Step 2. With the appropriate Earth Fault Loop Tester, connect the test
leads to the Line, Neutral and Earth terminals.

Step 3. Measure and write down the test results on the Schedule Of
Test Results.
Please note that if the circuit is RCD protected than you will have to
select the No trip function of the Megger 1553 to avoid nuisance
tripping of the RCD. If your tester does not have this option then you will
have to link out the RCD.
Verification of test results
Having obtained the value of Zs for every circuit, you will be expected to
verify that these values are within the accepted limits described by BS
7671.
Values of Zs should be compared with one of the following:
- The values in Appendix B of Guidance Note 3 for Inspection and
Testing
- Earth fault impedance figures provided by the designer
- Tabulated values in BS 7671, corrected for temperature (Tables 41.2,
41.3, 41.4)
- Rule-of-thumb figures with tabulated values in BS 7671 (Tables 41.2,
41.3, 41.4).
In our guide for the Inspection and Testing practical assessment we
advise to use the fastest method which is the last one of the above
described.
Rule-of-thumb method
The highest measured Zs value for each circuit should not exceed 0.8
of the relevant value in the BS 7671 tables.
In other words, select the appropriate value from the tables in BS 7671
and multiply it with 0.8. This number should be higher than the highest
measured Zs value for the given circuit.

The Inspection and Testing C&G 2394 and 2395

practical exams
In order to verify the effectiveness of measures for fault protection by
automatic disconnection of supply, the earth fault loop impedance value
for each circuit must be determined by performing an earth loop test.
Next we move on to Prospective Fault Current testing.

Important things to remember:

DO NOT FORGET to replace the earth connections for the
installation before reclosing the Main Switch and energising the circuits!
BS 7671 allows the tester to calculate the value of Zs in the way
described above. However in real life situation it is better to test every
circuit for Zs individually instead of calculation. The measured value will
almost never be exactly the same as the calculated one. This is
because other factors such as parallel paths of earthing within the
installation. Generally calculating the value is only advised when it is
dangerous to perform the live test on the circuit.
During the testing remember to constantly inspect the installation
for faults and signs of damages.