Electrical Grounding

• Grounding: the intentional and

permanent connection between
neutral and ground

• Ground Fault: unintentional connection

between an energized conductor and
ground

• 90% electrical faults are ground faults

 Purpose of Grounding , Earthling ,
Bonding

• Personal safety ( Fire, Injury)

• Ensure operation of protective devices
 Types of Grounding

• Isolated ground (Ungrounded)

• Solid or effective ground
• Low impedance ground
• High impedance ground
 Ungrounded power system
Advantages
 Low fault current for line-to-ground faults
(typically < 5A)

 No Arc Flash Hazard for ground faults

 Continue operation during FIRST ground fault

 Ungrounded power system
Disadvantages
 Difficult to locate ground faults

 Severe transient over-voltages possible during ground faults

 Higher costs due to labor and downtime

locating ground faults

 Second ground fault on another phase will

result in phase-phase fault
Ungrounded power system
Ungrounded power system
 Solidly Grounded System
Very high ground fault currents
• Fault must be cleared, shutting down
equipment.
• Generators may not be rated for ground fault

Tremendous amount of arc flash / blast

energy
• Equipment and people are not rated for
energy
ARC FLASH
 ARC FLASH
• Dangerous condition associated with release of
energy caused by an electrical arc

• Burns resulting from arc flash and ignition of

flammable cloths

• Arc temperature can reach 35000 F

• Fatal burn can occur at distance over 10 ft.

Before and After Arc Flash
Grounded power system
Grounded power system
Grounding through zigzag transformer
 Electrical Bonding
• Bonding: connection of all non-current
carrying conductive parts of a distribution
system together to form a bonding system

• Bonding System is connected to the

Grounding Electrode by a Grounding
Conductor

• Bonding is not affected by the choice of

power system grounding
Without Bonding
Bonding
Live, Neutral, Earth & Fuses

E
Electrocution
Ground Fault
 Electric shock
( when Grounding is not proper )
Fault sense by ELCB
 Protective Earth Connection
(Earthing)
• A protective earth (PE) connection ensures that all
exposed conductive surfaces are at the same
electrical potential as the surface of the Earth, to
avoid the risk of electrical shock if a person
touches a device in which an insulation fault has
occurred. It ensures that in the case of an
insulation fault (a "short circuit"), a very high
current flows, which will trigger an overcurrent
protection device (fuse, circuit breaker) that
disconnects the power supply.
 Functional Earth Connection
• A functional earth connection serves a
purpose other than providing protection
against electrical shock. In contrast to a
protective earth connection, a functional
earth connection may carry a current during
the normal operation of a device. Functional
earth connections may be required by
devices such as surge suppression and
electromagnetic-compatibility filters, some
types of antennas and various measurement
instruments. Generally the protective earth is
also used as a functional earth, though this
requires care in some situations
IT Network
TT Network
TN-S earthing system
TN-C earthing system
TN-C-S earthing system
• TN-S: separate protective earth (PE) and neutral (N)
conductors from transformer to consuming device, which
are not connected together at any point after the building
distribution point
• TN-C: combined PE and N conductor all the way from the
transformer to the consuming device
• TN-C-S earthing system: combined PEN conductor from
transformer to building distribution point, but separate PE
and N conductors in fixed indoor wiring and flexible power
cords In a
• TT earthing system, the protective earth connection of the
consumer is provided by a local connection to earth,
independent of any earth connection at the generator
• TN networks save the cost of a low-impedance
earth connection at the site of each consumer.
Such a connection (a buried metal structure) is
required to provide protective earth in IT and TT
systems.

• TN-C networks save the cost of an additional

conductor needed for separate N and PE
connections. However, to mitigate the risk of
broken neutrals, special cable types and lots of
connections to earth are needed.

• TT networks require RCD protection, and often

an expensive time-delay type is needed to
provide discrimination with an RCD downstream.
• In TN, an insulation fault is very likely to lead to a
high short-circuit current that will trigger an
overcurrent circuit-breaker or fuse and disconnect
the L conductors.

• In the majority of TT systems, the earth fault loop

impedance will be too high to do this, and so an
RCD must be employed
• In TN-S and TT systems (and in TN-C-S beyond
the point of the split), a residual-current device
can be used as an additional protection.

• In the absence of any insulation fault in the

consumer device, the equation IL1+IL2+IL3+IN =
0 holds, and an RCD can disconnect the supply
as soon as this sum reaches a threshold
(typically 10-500 mA).

• An insulation fault between either L or N and PE

will trigger an RCD with high probability.
• In IT and TN-C networks, residual current
devices are far less likely to detect an
insulation fault. In a TN-C system, they would
also be very vulnerable to unwanted
triggering from contact between earth
conductors of circuits on different RCDs or
with real ground, thus making their use
impracticable.

• Also, RCDs usually isolate the neutral core,

and it is dangerous to do this in a TN-C
system