Types of Earthing Systems

— What does TT, IT & TN

Earthing mean?

Standards Used for Earthing Systems Definitions

Over the past century, Electrical Safety Standards have evolved into highly
developed systems that cover all the major aspects for a safe installation,
including Earthing Systems. In Low-voltage (LV) Electrical Installations, the
reference standard IEC 60364 is used for the measures to be implemented to
guarantee the protection of personnel and property.

The IEC 60364 standard has defined three types of Earthing Systems, namely
TT, IT, and TN systems. Since IEC publishes International Standards for all
electrical, electronic, and related technologies and is the leading international
organization in its field, IEC 60364 is the apex level document that informs the
standards for LV Electrical Installations around the world. Therefore, the three
types of earthing systems defined in IEC 60364 are also recognized in many
national standards. BS 7671: 2008, also known as the IEE Wiring Regulations
17th Edition is the British Standard published on January 2008 used by the UK
and other countries. Similarly, Indian Standard IS 732:1989 (R2015) is used in
India for electrical installations.

Types of Earthing Systems

As mentioned above, the three major types of Earthing Systems used by IEC
60364 are

1. TT
2. IT
3. TN — TN-C, TN-S, TN-C-S

The TN system is further subdivided into TN-C, TN-S and TN-C-S and thus we
will refer to 5 types of Earthing Systems prevalent worldwide.

Nomenclature

The First Letter of each system refers to the power source from a star-
connected winding.

The Second Letter refers to the consuming equipment that needs to be earthed.

From the ‘Handbook of Electrical Engineering: For Practitioners In The Oil,

Gas And Petrochemical Industry’ by Alan L. Sheldrake
For the first letter, “T denotes that the start point of the source is solidly
connected to earth, which is usually at a location very near to the winding.

I denote that the start point and the winding are isolated from earth. The start
point is usually connected to an inductive impedance or resistance. Capacitive
impedance is never used.”

And for the second letter, “T denotes that the consumer has solidly earthed
independently of the source earthing method.

N denotes that a low impedance conductor is taken from the earth connection
at the source and routed directly to the consumer for the specific purpose of
earthing the consuming equipment.

S denotes that the neutral conductor routed from the source is separate from
the protective earthing conductor, which is also routed from the source. This
implies that five conductors need to be routed for a three-phase consumer.

C denotes that the neutral conductor and the protective earthing conductor are
one and the same conductor. This means that four conductors need to be
routed for a three-phase consumer.”
To put it in simpler terms:

T = Direct connection to the Earth, T stands for Terra meaning earth

I = Isolated

N = Neutral

S = Separate

C = Combine

The most common systems are TT and TN. A few countries, such as Norway,
use the IT system. The table below table lists examples of the Earthing Systems
used for public distribution (LV Consumers) in a few countries.

TT Earthing System

In this type of Earthing System, connection to the supply source is directly

connected to earth & load end or installation metalwork is also directly
connected to the earth. Therefore, in case of an overhead line, the mass of the
earth will be the return path for the line. The neutral and earthing conductor
must be separated through the installation because the power distributor only
provides the supply neutral or protective conductor for the connection to the
consumer.
IT Earthing System

The distributor system does not have any connections to earth or it has only a
high impedance connection. The basic feature of IT earthing system is that in
the event of a fault between phases and earth, the system can continue to
operate without interruption. Such a fault is referred to as a “first fault”. Thus,
usual earthing protection is not effective for this system and this type is not
meant for consumer power supply. The IT Earthing System is used for power
distribution systems such as substations or generators.

TN-S Earthing System

In this system, the Ground Conductor & Neutral Conductor are separate
throughout the distribution system. The protective conductor is the metallic
covering of the cable supplying the installation. All the exposed conductive
parts of the installation are connected to this protective conductor or via the
main earthing terminal of the installation.

TN-C Earthing System

The Neutral and the protective earth are combined into a single conductor
throughout the system. All the exposed & conductive parts of the installation
are connected to the PEN conductor. As per the 8(4) of the Electricity Safety,
Quality and Continuity Regulations 2002, “Consumer shall not combine the
neutral and protective functions in a single conductor in his customer’s
installation”.
TN-C-S Earthing System

The Neutral and the protective earth are combined in a single conductor in a
part of the system. This type of earthing is also known as multiple protective
earthing. The supply system PEN conductor is earthed at two or more points
and an earth electrode may be necessary at or near the consumer’s installation.
All the exposed conductive parts of the installation are connected to the PEN
conductor via the main earthing terminal & the neutral terminal and these
terminals are linked together.