Search

Premium Membership ♕

Limited Time Offer: Save 15% on PRO Plan with discount code: LRN15 and study specialized LV/MV/HV technical articles and studies.

Home / Technical Articles / What makes a good grounding system?

The Grounding system that works

The performance of the grounding system is determined by the quality of the following five components all of which are of equal importance.

What makes a good grounding system?
What makes a good grounding system? (photo credit: irm.org)
  1. The grounding electrode conductor
  2. The grounding connections
  3. The grounding electrode
  4. Electrode to soil resistance
  5. The soil

1. The grounding electrode conductor

Typically made from copper or copper-bonded steel, the grounding electrode conductor must be large enough to withstand the maximum available fault current over the maximum clearing time.


2. The grounding connections

Often overlooked, the grounding connections are used to tie the elements of the electrode system together. Exothermically welded connections provide a molecular bond that will never loosen or corrode. Mechanical connectors, such as crimp, bolted, and wedge type, rely on physical point- to-point surface contact to maintain the integrity of the electrical connection.

Installed ground clamp
Installed ground clamp. The 2″ x 0.022″ copper strip is treated with a copper based anti oxidation grease and then clamped to the clean copper plated 8′ ground rod. (photo credit: beevo.org)

IEEE® Standard 837 (Standard for qualifying permanent substation grounding connections) provides detailed information on the application and testing of permanent grounding connections.


3. The grounding electrode

The grounding electrode provides the physical connection to the earth and is the instrument used to dissipate current into it. There are two main types of electrodes //

‘Natural’ electrodes are intrinsic to the facility and include metal underground water pipe, the metal frame of the building (if effectively grounded), and reinforcing bar in concrete foundations.

‘Made’ electrodes are installed specifically to improve the performance of the ground system and include wire meshes, metallic plates, buried copper conductor and rods or pipes driven into the ground. The ground rod is the most widely used electrode.

Grounding Electrode (ground rod)
Grounding Electrode (ground rod) – photo credit: diyadvice.com

4. Electrode to soil resistance

Amount of rod surface and rod replacement are the controlling factors. Doubling diameter reduces resistance by only 10% and is not cost effective.

TIP // Doubling rod length, however, theoretically reduces resistance by 40%. The most common solution is proper placement of multiple rods that are driven to the required depths.

5. The soil

The soil resistivity, measured in ohm-centimeters or ohm-meters, plays a significant role in determining the overall performance of the grounding system and must be known before a proper grounding system can be engineered.

Measuring soil resistivity allows the design engineer to locate an area with the most conductive soil and to determine the depth of the conductive soil so that electrodes can be placed accordingly.

The grounding system will carry little or no current for long periods of time until a fault occurs or a lightning strike or other transient requires dissipation. At that point, the grounding system components will be expected to perform like new while conducting large amounts of current.

Most of the grounding system is concealed below grade, making inspection of the grounding components difficult or impossible. The underground environment is a harsh one. The initial selection of the components used in the grounding system is of critical importance to its long-term effectiveness.


Grounding Systems (VIDEO)


Difference between ‘Natural’ and ‘Made’ electrodes

The ground electrode is a critical component of the grounding system. Many different types of electrodes are available, some “natural” and some “made”. The natural types include metal underground water pipe, the metal frame of a building (if effectively grounded), a copper wire or reinforcing bar in a concrete foundation or underground structures or systems.

Consideration should be given to bonding of natural earths to ensure electrical continuity with a facility’s other “earths”.

“Made” electrodes are specifically installed to improve the system grounding or earthing. These earth electrodes must ideally penetrate into the moisture level below the ground level to reduce resistance. They must also consist of metal conductors (or a combination of metal conductor types), which do not corrode excessively for the period of time they are expected to serve.

Made electrodes include rods or pipes driven into the earth, metallic plates buried in the earth or a copper wire ring encircling the structure.

Underground gas piping or aluminum electrodes are NOT permitted for use as ground electrodes.

To conclude //

Grounding systems are VERY important. It is not expensive to build an appropriate ground system during initial construction of a facility, but it can be very expensive to add to it, enhance it, or replace it after the facility is complete.

Care should be taken to design a system that is appropriate both for clearing ground faults and dissipating lightning energy.

Reference // Grounding and Bonding For Electrical Systems by ERICO

Premium Membership

Get access to premium HV/MV/LV technical articles, electrical engineering guides, research studies and much more! It helps you to shape up your technical skills in your everyday life as an electrical engineer.
More Information
author-pic

Edvard Csanyi

Electrical engineer, programmer and founder of EEP. Highly specialized for design of LV/MV switchgears and LV high power busbar trunking (<6300A) in power substations, commercial buildings and industry facilities. Professional in AutoCAD programming.

10 Comments


  1. Mohamed Abuu
    Jan 21, 2022

    Is very helpful, thanks so much. For my part they are very helpful and I always translate them into the mother tongue and educate others.


  2. Mohamed Abuu
    Jan 21, 2022

    Is very helpful, thanks so much. God blessed


    • Edvard
      Jan 21, 2022

      Thank you, Mohamed.


      • Mohamed Abuu
        Jan 21, 2022

        Thanks,🙏 and i want to know the good exactly value of the soil resistivity.


  3. SUDARSHAN PRASAD
    Aug 31, 2019

    Thank you so much for publishing a good technological method to make a healthy earth grounding.


  4. Robert Reavis
    Jun 09, 2019

    The photo with the caption “Grounding Electrode (ground rod) – photo credit: diyadvice.com” hads the grounding conductor under the bolt instead of on the other side of the rod, clamped between the rod and the clamp.


  5. BENLAKHDAR Djemai
    Nov 12, 2018

    Thank you very much for your explains.


  6. uday
    Jun 05, 2016

    It is proposed copper brazing (welding) between ground rod and ground line before clamping since ground line is shown multiple stand copper wire to avoid oxidization (layer) between ground rod ground line,clamp


  7. GAIKWAD S. S.
    Mar 14, 2016

    ELECTRICAL ENGINEER @ (GIACL LTD.)
    Above information is very useful can you send size of conductor & depth of earthing for different current rating.

    thank you


  8. Ronnie Dagayday
    Mar 10, 2016

    This is ver helpful. Please publish Full technical articles about Grounding and also Bonding. Thank you.

Leave a Reply to Robert Reavis

Tell us what you're thinking. We care about your opinion! Please keep in mind that comments are moderated and rel="nofollow" is in use. So, please do not use a spammy keyword or a domain as your name, or it will be deleted. Let's have a professional and meaningful conversation instead. Thanks for dropping by!

  ⁄  two  =  four

Learn How to Design Power Systems

Learn to design LV/MV/HV power systems through professional video courses. Lifetime access. Enjoy learning!

Subscribe to Weekly Newsletter

Subscribe to our Weekly Digest newsletter and receive free updates on new technical articles, video courses and guides (PDF).
EEP Academy Courses - A hand crafted cutting-edge electrical engineering knowledge