Typical Wiring and Grounding Problems

Missing Ground Connections

Multiple Ground Connections Ground Loops Neutral Sizing Standards and Solutions

80 % off all power quality issues are wiring and grounding issues with in the facility. National Electric Code (NCE) provides minimum requirements for wiring. Often necessary to go beyond standards to limit impact of variations.

IEEE Dictionary (Standard 100) IEEE Green Book (Standard 142)

National Electric Code (NCE)

Definitions: p438-441

Personal Safety:
To prevent the possibility of high touch voltage

Grounding to assure protective device operation

Proper operation of circuit breakers and fuses

Problems with Conductors and connectors

Missing safety ground: Multiple neutral-to-ground connections Ungrounded equipment Additional Ground rods Ground loops Insufficient neutral conductor

Missing a ground connection can result in line voltage present on the exposed surface, no circuit breaker will trip, very hazardous.

Only one neutral to ground connection at service entrance Ground and neutral should be separate at all panels and junction boxes. If downstream neutral ground connections, then parallel return path through the ground contact. This can lead to misoperation of protective devices.

Important in data processing and communication equipment. When different equipment have different grounds, but connected through a communications layer. If the grounds are at slightly different potentials a ground loop occurs. Introduces major noise issues. Can be avoided by using optical fiber in the communication layer.

Switch mode power supplies and fluorescent with electronic ballasts introduce third harmonic. Third harmonic current will add in the neutral instead of cancelling out as in the main 60 Hz current Will impact the sizing of the neutral conductor. Can be up to 170% of the fundamental frequency phase current.

Proper grounding practices:

Ground Electrode:
Electrode Resistance: resistance from the ground wiring to the rode. Rod-earth: resistance between soil and rod. Ground resistance: resistance of the soil

Important due to the voltage across the resistance during faults or lighting strike, that can rise the ground potential for the whole facility

Service entrance connection:

This is the only point where neutral ground and grounding electrode are connected.

Can be accomplished by using the following for a grounding electrode:

Underground water pipe Building steel Ground Ring Concrete encased electrode Ground rod

Isolated ground:
Improve the noise performance of sensitive loads.

Separately derived Systems:

Can be accomplished using a delta-wye isolation transformer. Secondary ground produces new ground reference that can reduce the noise levels for sensitive loads

Must have low impedance over range of frequencies

When the ground conductor is longer than 1/20 of the wavelength, it is no longer effective.

Power sensitive equipment with individual branch circuits Conduit should never be the sole source of grounding Green-wire grounds should be the same size as current carrying conductors Use building steel whenever available, provides an excellent low impedance ground.

There should never be current flowing through the ground system under normal conditions. An equipotential reference should always exist for all device on the system All metallic system housing should be connected to ground. There should only be one neutral to ground bond in a system There should be sufficient interconnects in the ground plane to provide a low path impedance over a range of frequencies.