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A residential grounding electrode is an 8-foot length of copper rod, driven into the ground outside the home and connected to the neutral side of the main panel with a copper cable. Tighten the ground rod lug securely on the wire, thus completing the ground circuit all the way to the panel box through the meter base and increasing protection from lightning. Ground rods are an important part of having a safe electrical system. ... will have to install a 6 foot ground bar outside the garage and run a ground wire from the sub-panel box to the ground rod. By connecting a green ground wire from the metal frame of the refrigerator, if the chassis inadvertently becomes charged for any reason, the unwanted electricity will travel through the wire back to your electrical panel, and tripping the circuit-breaker stopping the flow of electricity. Electricians handle grounding varyingly. The mark allows an electrical inspector to immediately know you have used a proper rod. % of people told us that this article helped them. What material should my ground rods be made of? We use cookies to make wikiHow great. Hi Texe, This article was co-authored by Ricardo Mitchell. With a bit of planning and care, you can install grounding rods for a new electrical panel or for an existing panel in order to minimize the threat of electrical fire and injury. Strip a half inch of insulation off the other end of the No. wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. Research source. This article refers to sub panels that are located in an attached building, or the same building structure. In this condo, there is a 200A main breaker/disconnect outside of the dwelling that feeds this sub-panel. Question: When you add a second electrical panel with separate neutral and common bars, do you ground the common to the box along with a ground rod connection? Electricians handle grounding varyingly. Ricardo Mitchell is the CEO of CN Coterie, a fully licensed and insured Lead EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) Certified construction company located in Manhattan, New York. This article looks at common 120 volt and 240 volt house wiring circuits and the circuit breakers that are installed identifying the types and amperage sizes used in most homes. For information about a sub panel located in a detached or remote building please see the following article which discusses the topic of grounding for a Detached Building in detail: Installing a Sub Panel for a Detached Building, Grounding for a Sub Panel Located in the Same Building, The Following links will assist you with Grounding for Sub Panels. To learn how to choose a good location for your grounding rod, read on! It's important for all electrical systems to be grounded. This will ensure that if it gets hit or pushed on, it won't get dislodged from the grounding rod. They create a route for stray electricity, which occurs during a short or other malfunction, to have a efficient route out of a building. Remember, a grounding rod should probably be thought of as a lightning rod, since its real job is to shunt the current from any lightning strikes into the earth. This article about sub panels refers to the separation of the ground and the neutral which is required by the NEC electrical code. Thanks for your electrical question John, I hope your doing well, and Thanks for the nice complement. [1] I plan to install a 60 amp GFIC at the service box for the home, then run 3, #4 THWN wires and a #8 ground in pvc approx 160' to a sub panel located at the boathouse and use regular breakers there (I will have 6 or less breakers). If the sub panel is located in the same building, then 4 service wires have to go back to the main panel to complete the grounding. Grounding for a Sub Panel Located in the Same Building. Second, the main electrical panel must be grounded to a grounding electrode such as a ground rod or rods driven into the earth near the foundation of your house. You need to be very careful when you are doing any work in an electrical panel. See more about Home Wiring for Wisconsin. This electrical question came from: John, a Homeowner from Manitowoc, WI. Run the four wires and install a ground rod. Some electricians do not run a ground to the sub panels and just pound ground rods. ISOLATED NEUTRAL BUS for the neutral conductors (white wires.) ", "Good info and photos on ground rods. Because of this, it's best to keep it at least 2 feet (0.61 m) from the side of the building. Then, dig a hole 2-4 feet deep where you want to insert the rod. If a grounding rod is too close to a building foundation, it could interfere with it. If you can find someone to take turns driving the rod, it will make for a much easier job. A listed ground rod will have a marking near the top of it that states that it is approved. ... By the way, you should see the ground rod that was installed when the house was built in … Drive the rod into the ground using a hammer, drill, or driving tool, until it’s all the way in. Use a wire cable to supply the sub panel from the main panel, and insert the conductor connections before re-installing the panel cover and restoring … An equipment grounding conductor for grounding and bonding any normally non–current-carrying metal parts of equipment, interior metal piping systems, and building or structural metal frames is run with the circuit conductors to a separate building or structure and connected to existing grounding … https://iaeimagazine.org/magazine/2006/03/16/ground-rod-electrodes-what-you-need-to-know/, http://call811.com/before-you-dig/how-811-works, http://www.adamselectric.coop/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Grounding-Bonding.pdf, https://www.ecmag.com/section/codes-standards/connecting-grounding-electrode-conductor-protecting-copper-and-more, consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow. Hello, So, I think I understand this correctly; however, I want some feedback. However, some want the entire thing covered in earth. A ground rod is/was required at a detached structure served by a feeder regardless of what type of feeder is/was run. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/6\/6c\/Install-Ground-Rods-Step-01.jpg\/v4-460px-Install-Ground-Rods-Step-01.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/6\/6c\/Install-Ground-Rods-Step-01.jpg\/aid9818227-v4-728px-Install-Ground-Rods-Step-01.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"