This blog’s creation originated from Peninsula Light Co.’s grounding blog which can be found here. A visit that allows oral communication and visual contact between the inmate and the visitor, but prohibits any physical contact between them. Therefore, it is necessary you have and need to maintain a NEC code-approved ground system as part of your electrical system. The SPD works by shunting damaging electrical surges away from your sensitive electronics to ground, and they need the best possible ground to work properly. The best surge protection equipment is much less effective without a properly installed and maintained grounding system. With insufficient grounding, varying voltages in the home may cause damage to motorized appliances due to under voltage or damage to electronics as a result of overvoltage.Īnother critical issue relative to sensitive electronic equipment is the proper installation and operation of surge protective devices (SPD). Proper grounding of your home and business is important to eliminate or minimize the possible damage. Should a tree branch fall, or a car hit a pole, the service wire from the utility system to your home may be disrupted.Proper grounding provides stability to your home’s electrical system and reduces the impact of these surges. In addition, voltage spikes can occur when large appliances or heavy machinery at nearby locations are switched on or off. High voltage surges are often caused by lightning strikes on or near power lines.Protection against power surgesĪmong the various situations that may occur on your electrical system, the most common are high voltage surges, and damage or loss of one of the service conductors. If you have concerns about your business or home grounding, contact a licensed electrical contractor. If you do not provide proper grounding in accordance with the NEC, there is no way to mitigate electrical damage that may occur beyond your electrical panel. ![]() Unfortunately, we have no control over how well your electrical panel is grounded. If soil conditions change due to drainage or other factors that affect soil moisture, a ground rod that was acceptable at the time of installation may no longer meet approved requirements. Ground rods that are installed in rocky or dry soil should be checked to make sure they still have a low resistance. Ground rods that are bent over, have disconnected wires or are severely corroded must be replaced. This device is a great tool for electricians, DIYers, and home owners alike, as it helps to quickly and safely identify whether a wire is live or not. This reduces the effectiveness of the ground. A non-contact voltage tester is a device that can detect the presence of an electrical current without needing to touch the wires or components. Rods that are not fully installed may extend a foot or more above the surface of the soil. In some cases, problems with ground rods are easy to see. However, sometimes ground rods extend a few inches above the surface, making it easy to inspect the connection. The tops of the ground rods are typically below the surface and may not be easy to inspect. Below the surface, the wire is connected to one or more ground rods. Typically, this is a copper wire about one-fourth-inch in diameter and can be seen going down into the soil. Causes of damage include corrosion, freeze/thaw cycles, landscaping equipment or careless installation of grounds for other equipment, such as cable TV, security systems or generators.Ī visual check of grounding can be done by inspecting the wire that connects the electrical panel near the meter to the ground rod. ![]() Ground rods and their connections to your business or home’s electrical system may be damaged over time and must be properly maintained. it is also possible that the circuit is protected by A GFCI device that has tripped other than a failed electrical connection.Ground rods are simple and inexpensive but are crucial to protecting your electric equipment and appliances. Have you checked your circuit breakers? if the handle is partially tripped it needs to be moved to the off position then back to the on position to reset it. (this is how transformers work but they have many wraps of wire to develop the potential). The larger the load on the plugged in cord the larger the field will be on the cord that is not plugged in but many times no load is needed to induce the field in just a few feet. You can duplicate this with 2 extension cords plug 1 in and put another one not plugged in next to the first. ![]() This is normal and quite common I have more expensive Fluke testers and very cheap ones and they all work the same. The wiring normally is run in close proximity and the live wires induce a voltage that can be detected by the non contact tester but there is no potential or current available so the lighted tester will not light. Non contact testers work by identifying an electrical field.
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