Earthing and

Neutral
Grounding
Engr. Dr. Anzar Mahmood, SMIEEE
Associate Professor,
Department of Electrical Engineering
Mirpur University of Science and Technology (MUST)
 Grounding or Earthing
The process of connecting the metallic frame
(i.e., non-current carrying part) of electrical
equipment or some electrical part of the system
(e.g., neutral point in a star-connected system,
one conductor of the secondary of a transformer
etc.) to earth (i.e., soil) is called grounding or
earthing.
 Why grounding or earthing is
important
❑ It provides protection to the power
system (First Defense/Protection Line)
❑ Earthing of electrical equipment (e.g.,
domestic appliances, hand-held tools,
industrial motors etc.) ensures the safety
of the persons handling the equipment.
 Why grounding or earthing is
important
❑ If grounding is done systematically in the line
of the power system, we can effectively
prevent accidents and damage to the
equipment of the power system.
❑ Equipotential bonding of conductive objects
(e.g., metallic equipment, buildings, piping
etc.) to the earthing system prevents the
presence of dangerous voltages between
objects (and earth), which can cause sparks
with enough energy to ignite flammable
atmospheres
 Why grounding or earthing is
important
❑ For earth faults with return paths to a low
resistance earthing grid prevents dangerous
ground potential rises (touch and step
potentials)
❑ The earthing system provides a reference
potential for electronic circuits and helps
reduce electrical noise for electronic,
instrumentation and communication systems
 Why grounding or earthing is
important
❑ The earthing system provides a low resistance
path (relative to remote earth) for voltage
transients such as lightning and surges / over
voltages
 Earthing Types
❑ Grounding or earthing may be classified as
(i) Equipment grounding

(ii) System grounding

(iii) Chassis Ground

 System Grounding
❑ The process of connecting some electrical part
of the power system (e.g., neutral point of a
star connected system, one conductor of the
secondary of a transformer etc.) to earth (i.e.,
soil) is called system grounding.
 Chassis Ground
In electrical and electronic circuits, all the points
which are electrically the same (called common
points) are connected to the metal chassis. This
method of grounding is called chassis ground or
circuit ground. Circuit ground may or may not be
connected to earth (i.e., soil). For example, in
most cars, the negative terminal of the battery
and one side of all electrical circuits are
connected to the metal chassis.
 Equipment Grounding
The process of connecting non-current-carrying
metal parts (i.e., metallic enclosure) of the
electrical equipment to earth (i.e., soil) in such a
way that in case of insulation failure, the
enclosure effectively remains at earth potential is
called equipment grounding. There are three
scenarios:
(i) Ungrounded enclosure
(ii) Enclosure connected to neutral wire
(iii) Ground wire connected to enclosure
 Ungrounded Enclosure
Fig.1 shows the case of ungrounded metal enclosure. If
a person touches the metal enclosure, nothing will
happen if the equipment is functioning correctly. But if
the winding insulation becomes faulty, the resistance Re
between the motor and enclosure drops to a low value
(a few hundred ohms or less).
❑ If Re is small the leakage current IL through the
person’s body could be dangerously high.
❑ A person having a body resistance Rb would
complete the current path as shown in Fig.1.
 Ungrounded Enclosure

• As a result, in ungrounded enclosure the

person would get severe electric shock due to
small resistance which may be fatal. Therefore,
this system is unsafe.
 Enclosure Connected To
Neutral Wire.
❑ It may appear that problem in ungrounded enclosure
can be solved by connecting the enclosure to the
grounded neutral wire as shown in Fig. 2.
❑ Now the leakage current IL flows from the motor,
through the enclosure and straight back to the neutral
wire. Therefore, the enclosure remains at earth
potential. Consequently, the operator would not
experience any electric shock.
Enclosure connected to neutral
wire.
 Disadvantage
❑ The trouble with this method is that the neutral wire
may become open either accidentally or due to a
faulty installation.
❑ For example, if the switch is inadvertently in series
with the neutral rather than the live wire, the motor
can still be turned ON and OFF. However, if someone
touched the enclosure while the motor is OFF, he
would receive a severe electric shock.
❑ It is because when the motor is OFF, the potential of
the enclosure rises to that of the live conductor as
shown in Fig 3.
 Ground Wire Connected To
Enclosure
❑ To get rid of this problem occurred in last scenario, we install a
third wire, called ground wire, between the enclosure and the
system ground as shown in Fig. 4.
 Electric Shock calculation
It is generally believed that currents below 5 mA are not
dangerous. Between 10 mA and 20 mA, the current is dangerous
because the victim loses muscular control. The resistance of the
human body, taken between two hands or between one hand and
a leg ranges from 500 Ω to 50 kΩ. If the resistance of human
body is assumed to be 20 kΩ , then momentary contact with a
230 V line can be potentially fatal.
 TT System
❑ The TT system has two, separate ground rods.
❑ The neutral is connected to its ground rod at
the service entrance.
❑ The protective conductor is connected to its
own ground rod, remote from the neutral
ground rod. In some cases, the ground rod may
be the steel frame of the building. In any case,
there is no direct copper connection between
the enclosure and the supply system.
 IT system
❑ The IT system also has two, separate ground
rods.
❑ The neutral is connected through an impedance
to its ground rod at the service entrance.
❑ The protective conductor is connected to its own
ground rod, remote from the neutral ground rod.
❑ One characteristic of the IT system is that the
system is tolerant of a fault to ground. That is, a
fault to ground does not operate the circuit
breaker, so the system remains operational. (An
alarm identifies the fault to ground, but the
system continues to operate.)
 TN-S System
❑ The TN-S system has a single ground rod.
❑ At the service entrance, the neutral conductor
is connected to the ground rod.
❑ The protective earth conductor is connected to
the neutral at the service entrance.
❑ The “S” in the designation means that the
protective earth conductor is a separate system
conductor.
 TN-S System
❑ Unlike the TT and IT systems, in the TN-S
system the equipment and man are grounded
through different paths. If the current through
the different paths is different, then a potential
difference will occur between the equipment
and the man, and current will pass through the
man.
❑ To minimize the potential difference due to
the difference between the equipment and the
man, it is imperative to keep the equipment
ground circuit resistance as low as practicable.
 TN-C System
❑ The TN-C system has a single ground rod.
❑ The neutral conductor is connected to the ground rod
located at the service entrance.
❑ The protective earth conductor is connected to the
neutral in the equipment.
❑ There is no separate protective conductor.
❑ The “C” in the designation means that the protective
earth conductor is combined with the neutral
conductor. The TN-C system is used for electric
dryers, electric ranges, and electric water heaters in
the United States.
 System Grounding
❑ The process of connecting some electrical part of the
power system (e.g. neutral point of a star connected
system, one conductor of the secondary of a transformer
etc.) to earth (i.e. soil) is called system grounding.
❑ Figure 5 (i) shows the primary winding of a distribution
transformer connected between the line and neutral of a
11 kV line. Secondary is ungrounded, no shock hazard.
❑ 5.(ii) Capacitance C1 between primary and secondary
and C2 between secondary and ground may lead to
produce high voltages between secondary and ground
Figure 5
 System grounding
Fig.6 shows the primary winding of a distribution
transformer connected between the line and neutral of a
11 kV line. The secondary conductors are ungrounded. If
the high voltage line (11 kV in this case) touches the 230
V conductor as shown in
Faults can be occurred due to following conditions
• Internal fault in the transformer or by a branch or tree
falling across the 11 kV and 230 V lines. (fig.6 (i))
• The accidental contact between a 11 kV conductor and
a 230 V conductor produces a dead short. (fig.6 (ii))
Figure 6
Ungrounded Neutral System
• In an ungrounded neutral
system, the neutral is not
connected to the ground
i.e. the neutral is isolated
from the ground.
Therefore, this system is
also called isolated neutral
system or free neutral
system as shown in Fig. 7
Normal conditions - Ungrounded Neutral

Suppose CR = CY = CB = C (say). Since the phase

voltages VRN, VYN and VBN have the same magnitude (of
course, displaced 120° from one another), the capacitive
currents IR, IY and IB will have the same value i.e.

Vph = Phase voltage (i.e. line-to-neutral voltage)

XC = Capacitive reactance of the line to ground
Normal conditions - Ungrounded Neutral
The capacitive currents IR, IY and IB lead their
respective phase voltages VRN, VYN and VBN by 90°
as shown in the phasor diagram in Fig. 8. The
three capacitive currents are equal in magnitude
and are displaced 120° from each other.
Therefore, their phasor sum is zero. As a result,
no current flows to ground and the potential of
neutral is the same as the ground potential.
Normal conditions - Ungrounded Neutral
 Single line to ground fault-
ungrounded neutral.
When single line to ground fault occurs on an
ungrounded neutral system, the following effects are
produced in the system:
❑ The potential of the faulty phase becomes equal to
ground potential. However, the voltages of the two
remaining healthy phases rise from their normal
phase voltages to full line value. This may result in
insulation breakdown.
❑ The capacitive current in the two healthy phases
increase to 3 times the normal value.
 Single line to ground-fault-
ungrounded neutral.
❑ The capacitive fault current (IC) becomes 3 times the
normal per phase capacitive current.
❑ This system cannot provide adequate protection against
earth faults. It is because the capacitive fault current is
small in magnitude and cannot operate protective devices.
❑ The capacitive fault current IC flows into earth.
Experience shows that IC in excess of 4A is sufficient to
maintain an arc in the ionized path of the fault. If this
current is once maintained, it may exist even after the
earth fault is cleared. This phenomenon of persistent arc
is called arcing ground.
Single line to ground-fault
 Neutral grounding
❑ The process of connecting neutral point of 3-phase
system to earth (i.e. soil) either directly or through
some circuit element (e.g. resistance, reactance etc.)
is called neutral grounding.
❑ Neutral grounding provides protection to personal
and equipment. It is because during earth fault, the
current path is completed through the earthed neutral
and the protective devices (e.g. a fuse etc.) operate to
isolate the faulty conductor from the rest of the
system.
 Example of Neutral
grounding
• Suppose a single line to ground fault occurs in line R
at point F. This will cause the current to flow through
ground path as shown in Fig. 10. Note that current
flows from R phase to earth, then to neutral point N
and back to R-phase. Since the impedance of the
current path is low, a large current flows through this
path. This large current will blow the fuse in R-phase
and isolate the faulty line R. This will protect the
system from the harmful effects (e.g. damage to
equipment, electric shock to personnel etc.) of the
fault.
Neutral grounding (figure
10)
 Advantages of neutral
grounding
❑ Voltages of the healthy phases do not exceed line to ground
voltages i.e. they remain nearly constant.
❑ The high voltages due to arcing grounds are eliminated.
❑ The protective relays can be used to provide protection
against earth faults. In case earth fault occurs on any line, the
protective relay will operate to isolate the faulty line.
❑ The over voltages due to lightning are discharged to earth.
❑ It provides greater safety to personnel and equipment.
❑ It provides improved service reliability.
❑ Operating and maintenance expenditures are reduced.
Methods of Neutral Grounding
The methods commonly used for grounding the
neutral point of a 3-phase system are :

❑ Solid or effective grounding

❑ Resistance grounding
❑ Reactance grounding
❑ Peterson-coil grounding
 Solid Grounding
When the neutral point of a 3-phase system (e.g. 3-
phase generator, 3-phase transformer etc.) is directly
connected to earth (i.e. soil) through a wire of negligible
resistance and reactance, it is called solid grounding or
effective grounding
Fig. 11 shows the solid grounding of the neutral point.
Since the neutral point is directly connected to earth
through a wire, the neutral point is held at earth
potential under all conditions
Solid grounding (Figure 11)
Solid grounding
Advantages of solid grounding

The solid grounding of neutral point has the following

advantages:

❑ The neutral is effectively held at earth potential

❑ When earth fault occurs on any phase, the resultant
capacitive current IC is in phase opposition to the
fault current IF. The two currents completely cancel
each other as shown in figure 12. Therefore, no arcing
ground or over-voltage conditions can occur.
Advantages of solid grounding
❑ When there is an earth fault on any phase of the system, the
phase to earth voltage of the faulty phase becomes zero.
However, the phase to earth voltages of the remaining two
healthy phases remain at normal phase voltage because the
potential of the neutral is fixed at earth potential. This permits
to insulate the equipment for phase voltage. Therefore, there is
a saving in the cost of equipment.
❑ It becomes easier to protect the system from earth faults
which frequently occur on the system. When there is an earth
fault on any phase of the system, a large fault current flows
between the fault point and the grounded neutral. This permits
the easy operation of earth fault relay.
Disadvantages of solid grounding

❑ Most of the faults on an overhead system are phase

to earth faults, the system has to bear a large number
of severe shocks. This causes the system to become
unstable.
❑ The solid grounding results in heavy earth fault
currents. Since the fault has to be cleared by the
circuit breakers, the heavy earth fault currents may
cause the burning of circuit breaker contacts.
❑ The increased earth fault current results in greater
interference in the neighboring communication lines.
 Application
• Solid grounding is usually employed where the
circuit impedance is sufficiently high so as to
keep the earth fault current within safe limits.
This system of grounding is used for voltages
up to 33 kV with total power capacity not
exceeding 5000 kVA.
 Resistance Grounding
When the neutral point of a 3-phase system (e.g. 3-
phase generator, 3-phase transformer etc.) is connected
to earth (i.e. soil) through a resistor, it is called
resistance grounding.

❑ Fig.13 shows the grounding of neutral point through a resistor

R. The value of R should neither be very low nor very high.
❑ If R is very low, the earth fault current will be large and the
system becomes similar to the solid grounding system
❑ If the earthing resistance R is very high, the system conditions
become similar to ungrounded neutral system
Resistance Grounding
Resistance grounding
 Advantages of resistance
grounding
❑ By adjusting the value of R, the arcing grounds can
be minimized.
❑ The earth fault current is small due to the presence of
earthing resistance. Therefore, interference with
communication circuits is reduced.
❑ It improves the stability of the system
 Disadvantages of
resistance grounding
❑ Since the system neutral is displaced during earth
faults, the equipment has to be insulated for higher
voltages.
❑ This system is costlier than the solidly grounded
system
❑ A large amount of energy is produced in the earthing
resistance during earth faults. Sometimes it becomes
difficult to dissipate this energy to atmosphere
 Application
Resistance grounding is used on a
system operating at voltages between
2.2 kV and 33 kV with power source
capacity more than 5000 kVA
 Reactance Grounding
A reactance is inserted between the neutral and ground
and this grounding is called reactance grounding

❑ The purpose of reactance is to limit the earth fault

current.
❑ By changing the earthing reactance, the earth fault
current can be changed to obtain the conditions
similar to that of solid grounding.
❑ Figure 15 shows the reactance grounding system
Reactance grounding
 Disadvantages of
reactance grounding
❑ In this system, the fault current required to
operate the protective device is higher than
that of resistance grounding for the same fault
conditions.
❑ High transient voltages appear under fault
conditions
 Arc Suppression Coil Grounding
(or Resonant Grounding)
When the value of L of arc suppression coil such that
the fault current IF exactly balances the capacitive
current IC, it is called resonant grounding.
❑ An arc suppression coil is an iron-cored coil
connected between the neutral and earth as shown in
Fig.16.
❑ The reactor is provided with tapings to change the
inductance of the coil. By adjusting the tapings on the
coil, the coil can be tuned with the capacitance of the
system i.e. resonant grounding can be achieved.
Resonant grounding
 Mathematical analysis
The total capacitive current IC is the phasor sum of IR
and IY as shown in phasor diagram in Fig.16(ii). The
voltage of the faulty phase is applied across the arc
suppression coil. Therefore, fault current IF lags the
faulty phase voltage by 90°. The current IF is in phase
opposition to capacitive current IC [See Fig. 16(ii)]. By
adjusting the tappings on the Peterson coil, the resultant
current in the fault can be reduced. If inductance of the
coil is so adjusted that IL = IC, then resultant current in
the fault will be zero.
Value of L for resonant grounding. For resonant grounding, the
system behaves as an ungrounded neutral system. Therefore, full
line voltage appears across capacitors CR and CY .

Here, XC is the line to ground capacitive reactance.

Fault current,

Here, XL is the inductive reactance of the arc suppression coil.

For resonant grounding, IL = IC.
L is the value of inductance for arc suspension coil

or

or
or
 Numerical Examples
Example 26.1. Calculate the reactance of Peterson coil
suitable for a 33 kV, 3-phase transmission line having a
capacitance to earth of each conductor as 4.5 𝜇 F.
Assume supply frequency to be 50 Hz.

Solution. Supply frequency, f = 50 Hz

Line to earth capacitance, C = 4.5 𝜇F = 4.5 × 10−6 F
For Peterson coil grounding, reactance XL of the
Peterson coil should be equal to XC / 3 where
XC is line to earth capacitive reactance
Reactance of Peterson coil,
Example 26.2. A 230 kV, 3-phase, 50 Hz, 200 km transmission
line has a capacitance to earth of 0.02 𝜇 F/km per phase.
Calculate the inductance and kVA rating of the Peterson coil used
for earthing the above system.
Solution. Supply frequency, f = 50 Hz
Capacitance of each line to earth, C = 200 × 0.02 = 4 × 10−6 F
Required inductance of Peterson coil is
Current through Peterson coil is

Voltage across Peterson coil is

 Advantages of resonant
grounding

❑ The arc suppression coil is completely

effective in preventing any damage by an
arcing ground.

❑ The arc suspension coil has the advantages of

ungrounded neutral system
Disadvantages of resonant
grounding

❑ Due to varying operational conditions, the

capacitance of the network changes from time
to time. Therefore, inductance L of Peterson
coil requires readjustment.

❑ The lines should be transposed.

Voltage Transformer Earthing
• In this method of neutral earthing, the primary of a
single-phase voltage transformer is connected
between the neutral and the earth as shown in Fig.17.
A low resistor in series with a relay is connected
across the secondary of the voltage transformer. The
voltage transformer provides a high reactance in the
neutral earthing circuit and operates virtually as an
ungrounded neutral system. An earth fault on any
phase produces a voltage across the relay. This causes
the operation of the protective device
Voltage Transformer Earthing
 Advantages of Voltage
Transformer Earthing
❑ The transient over voltages on the system due to
switching and arcing grounds are reduced. It is
because voltage transformer provides high reactance
to the earth path.

❑ This type of earthing has all the advantages of

ungrounded neutral system and arcing grounds are
eliminated.
 Disadvantages of Voltage
Transformer Earthing
❑ When earth fault occurs on any phase, the line
voltage appears across line to earth
capacitances. The system insulation will be
overstressed.
❑ The earthed neutral acts as a reflection point
for the travelling waves through the machine
winding. This may result in high voltage build
up.
 Grounding Transformer
We sometimes have to create a neutral point on a 3-
phase, 3-wire system (e.g. delta connection etc.) to
change it into 3-phase, 4-wire system. This can be done
by means of a grounding transformer
Grounding Transformer

Zigzag or
interconnected Star
Step and Touch Potential
 Ground Potential Rise
Ground Potential Rise (as defined in IEEE Std
367) is the product of a ground electrode
impedance, referenced to remote earth, and the
current that flows through that electrode
impedance.
Step and Touch Potential
If electricity is released onto the ground, the electricity
will fan out from the point of contact. There is a rippling
effect like dropping a pebble into calm water. In the
pool of water, the wave created at the point of contact
gets smaller as it rings out. Similarly, in this pool of
electricity, the energy is at full system voltage at the
point of ground contact, but as you move away
from the contact point, the voltage drops
progressively. This effect is known as ground gradient.
The ground gradient, or voltage drop, creates two
problems known as step potential and touch potential.
Step and Touch Potential
Assume that a live downed wire is touching the ground
and has created a pool of electricity. If you were to place
one foot near the point of ground contact (at x voltage)
and your other foot a step away (at y voltage), the
difference in voltage would cause electricity to flow
through your body. This effect is step potential.
 Step and Touch Potential
Similarly, electricity would flow through your body if
you were to place your hand on an energized source,
while your feet were at some distance from the source.
The difference in voltage in this case is referred to as
touch potential. If you touch an energized wire or
another energized object and the ground at the same
time, you may be killed or injured.
Personnel can either be harmed when physically
touching the equipment that has faulted or by standing
on the earth that the electricity has just entered.
 Step and Touch Potential
Unfortunately, the grounding systems that cure “step”
hazards and “touch” hazards are very different. A
Ground Potential Rise (GPR) Study determines what the
effects electrical faults and other transient over voltages
will have on personnel and equipment within the fault
area. For further understanding of the safety
requirements, please refer to 29 CFR 1910.269
 Earthing
Components
Earth chamber
Earth Clip
Earth clip bar and test point
7 Common Electrical Grounding
Design Mistakes
1. Using Concrete and Other Ground Enhancement
Materials
2. Using Undersized Ground Wires
3. Using a Water Pipe as a Grounding Electrode
4. Bonding to a Water Pipe at any Point in the System
5. Using Building Steel for Grounding
6. Improper Bonding to Gas Pipes
7. Believing that Crushed Rock Eliminates Hazardous
Step & Touch Voltages
Coke Breeze as Ground Enhancer
• Cheap ferrous material
• Used as a grounding enhancement
material in many forms (raw form
or mixed into concrete.)
• in fact, lower the resistance-to-
ground when used properly
• coke breeze has a different
electrochemical nobility than that of
copper thus causing a galvanic
reaction where the copper is
sacrificial.
• In other words, the coke breeze will
eat the copper, usually in 5 years or
less.
Using Building Steel for Grounding

❑ What is seldom understood is that there must be a

metallic connection from the girders and I-beams to
the rebar in the concrete. This connection is critical
in order to prevent electricity from using the
concrete as a conductor to the rebar.
❑ If there is no metallic connection from the girders
and beams to the rebar in the concrete, the electrical
fault will pass through the concrete slab to get to the
rebar, heating the concrete and possibly destroying
it.
Using Building Steel for Grounding

❑ Other issues exist when using building steel as an

electrode, such as electrical noise, harmonics, and
magnetic issues that can adversely impact the
performance of electronic components.

❑ While it is critically important that Building Steel

be bonded to the grounding system, it should NOT
be used as a grounding electrode.
Using Building Steel
for Grounding
 IEEE Standards
❑ Adherence to industry practices and
standards, such as IEEE Standard 80,
Standard 487, Standard 367, and
Standard 1590, is highly recommended.

❑ NEC 250.105 and NFPA (National Fire

Protection Association) 780
 Applicable Codes and Standards Pertaining to
Bonding and Grounding Systems (General)
• IEEE Standard 142™ -2007, “IEEE Recommended Practice
for Grounding of Industrial and Commercial Power Systems”,
• IEEE Standard 80™ - 2000 “IEEE Guide for Safety in AC
Substation Grounding”
• IEEE Standard 81™ -1983 “IEEE Guide for Measuring Earth
Resistivity, Ground Impedance, and Earth Surface Potentials of
a Ground System”,
• IEEE Standard 1100™-2005 – “IEEE Recommended Practice
for Powering and Grounding Electronic Equipment”,
• IEEE Standard 446™ -1995 “IEEE Recommended Practice for
Emergency and Standby Power Systems for Industrial and
Commercial Applications” (Chapter 7).
 Applicable Codes and Standards Pertaining to
Bonding and Grounding Systems (General)
• NFPA 70, 2011 Edition - National Electrical Code® (NEC®)
[Articles 250, 690, & 702]

• IEEE Standard 2012™ - National Electrical Safety Code

(NESC)

• NFPA 780, 2011 Edition – Standard for the Installation of

Lightning Protection System

• UL 96A – Installation Requirements for Lightning Protection

Systems

• UL 467 – Bonding and Grounding Equipment

 Applicable Codes and Standards Pertaining to
Bonding and Grounding Systems (General)
• NFPA 70 , (NEC Article 250 & NEC Article 517)
• NFPA 99 , (Chapter 4 and Chapter 8)
• IEEE Standard 80 (IEEE Guide for Safety in AC Substation Grounding)
• IEEE Standard 81 (IEEE Guide for Measuring Earth Resistivity, Ground Impedance,
and earth Surface Potentials of a Ground System)
• IEEE Standard 142 (IEEE Recommended Practices for Grounding of Industrial and
Commercial Power Systems)
• IEEE Standard 446, Chapter 7 (IEEE Recommended Practice for Emergency and
Standby Power Systems for Industrial and Commercial Applications)
• IEEE Standard 601, Clause 3.6 and Chapter 6 (IEEE Recommended Practice for
Electrical Systems in Healthcare Facilities)
• IEEE Standard 1100 (IEEE Recommended Practice for Powering and Grounding
Electronic Equipment)
 Applicable Codes and Standards Pertaining to
Bonding and Grounding Systems (General)
• NEC Article 250 (Contrary to popular belief, there are no testing or maintenance
requirements in Article 250.)
• NFPA 99, Chapter 4 – Electrical System Requirements (Paragraph 4.3.3 –
“Performance Criteria and Testing”)
• NFPA 99, Chapter 8 – Electrical Equipment (Paragraph 8.4.1.3 – “Testing
Requirements”)
• IEEE Standard 81 (IEEE Guide for Measuring Earth Resistivity, Ground
Impedance, and earth Surface Potentials of a Ground System)
• IEEE Standard 142, Chapter 4 (IEEE Recommended Practices for Grounding of
Industrial and Commercial Power Systems)
• IEEE Standard 601, Clause 6.8.6.e – Field inspection procedure (This clause
recommends testing, but does not mandate testing or provided for specific
testing methods.)
• If a grounding system is not routinely inspected or tested, how do you know if it
is adequate or effective for the needs of your facilities?
 Selected Clauses from IEEE 142

• Clause 2.1.4 Overcurrent Protection Operation

“The equipment ground system is an essential part of the overcurrent
protection system. The overcurrent protection system requires a low-
impedance ground return path in order to operate promptly and
properly. The earth ground system is rarely of low enough
impedance and is not intended to provide an adequate return path.
The impedance of the grounding conductor must be low enough
that sufficient ground-fault current will flow to operate the
overcurrent protective device and clear the fault rapidly.”

• Clause 2.8.8 – Earth Resistivity

“Earth is inherently a rather poor conductor
whose resistivity is around one billion times
that of copper.”
 Selected Clauses from IEEE 142
• Clause 4.1.3 - Resistivity of Soils:
“It is strongly recommended that the resistivity of the
earth at the desired location of the connection be
investigated. The resistivity of soils varies with the depth
from the surface, the type and concentration of soluble
chemicals in the soil, the moisture content, and the soil
temperature. The presence of surface water does not
necessarily indicate low resistivity.”

• Clause 4.1.6 - Soil Treatments:

“To be effective, a regular maintenance scheme must
be established to ensure low resistance grounding is
achieved.)
 Selected Clauses from IEEE 142

• Clause 4.4.5 - Electrical Grounding and Corrosion:

“The effect of the grounding installation on
corrosion must be considered. Systems,
equipment, and lighting sometimes unknowingly
contribute to galvanic corrosion of underground
conductors, structures, and piping. Galvanic
corrosion is caused by electrically connected
dissimilar metals which form a galvanic cell.
Under these conditions the following factors
determine the rate of corrosion.”
Lightning Protection
Characteristics of Lightning

• Static Electricity
• Ultra-High Voltage
Generation
• The Discharge
• Surface Dispersion
• Basic Laws of
Electricity
 Lightning
• Static Electricity
o Separation and storage of electrical charge
o A spark is an extremely small lightning discharge

• Ultra-High Voltage Generation

o Surface of earth is normally negatively charged
o Top of storm clouds are positively charged
• Forces nearby earth to become positively charged
o Develops a multimillion-volt potential
 The Discharge
• Clouds send negative charged leaders down
• Earth sends positive leaders up

• Conducting path when leaders meet

o Unidirectional (DC) current flow
o Voltage potential 100 to 1,000 million volts
o Current range 10,000 to 200,000 amperes
o Duration from 1 microsecond to 1 second
 Anatomy of a Lightning Stroke

Current begins
Electrons begin the return stroke,
zigzagging an intense wave
downward in a of positive
forked pattern. As the leader and
charge traveling
This is the streamer come together,
As the stepped leader upward about
“stepped leader.” nears the ground, it
a powerful electrical
60,000 miles per
current begins flowing.
draws a streamer of second.
positive charge upward.

Copied from page 132 of The Weather Book by USA Today.

 Surface Dispersion
• Surface dispersion
o Main portion of lightning bolt penetrates earth
o Spurs find far-reaching paths along surface

• Surface dispersion is deadly

o Stay out of the water
o Keep away from trees
 Basic Laws or Electricity
• Lightning creates magnetically induced current in all
metal items within its influence
o The longer the wire, greater the current
o The closer the strike, greater the current

• Any impedance to current flow results in

o Build up of high voltage at that location
o Resulting in arc-over to reach ground
• Ignites flammable material
• Vaporizes metal of insufficient cross-section
 Cone of Protection
• Lightning rod protects areas within its cone
o 60 degree cone is 99% effective
o 45 degree cone is 99.9% effective
 THE CONE OF PROTECTION
❑The profusion of lightning bolts is staggering.
Conservatively, 100 million flashes streak across U.S.
skies annually, and 20-25 million of them--about one-
quarter--are ground strikes. Well-grounded lightning
rods can provide outdoor protection at locations such
as golf courses and fairgrounds.
❑ PROTECTION FROM A SINGLE ROD
❑ A single lightning rod of height H protects objects on
the ground within an imaginary "cone of protection"
of radius H centered at the base of the rod.
 References and Resources
• The Bonding and Grounding Issues In Power Distribution Systems, by S.
Frank Waterer, Maintenance Technology, January, 2011
• http://www.mt-online.com/component/content/article/282-
january2011/1652-bonding-and-grounding-issues-in-power-distribution-
systems.pdf
• http://sedatacenters.com/resources/news/new_educational_videos_
on_bonding_and_grounding/
• Understanding the Differenced Between Bonding, Grounding, and
Earthing, Larry Ray and S. Frank Waterer, EC&M magazine, January,
2009
• http://ecmweb.com/grounding/avoiding_confusion_helps_customers_
0109/
• http://static.schneider-
electric.us/docs/Electrical%20Distribution/Services/1910DB1103.pdf
• http://www.designworldonline.com/articles/3102/282/Square-D--
Critical-Power-Competency-Center-Releases-New-Whitepaper.aspx
• http://www.panduit.com/groups/MPM-
NL/documents/Article/CMSCONT_033926.pdf
• V. K. Mehta
• Schneider Electric
• IEEE etc
Thank you