You may be wondering why you need to know about the electrical grounding system in your business. We shall learn more about how the concept impacts your business in this article.
An electrical flow relies on the ground as the common point of return. A grounding system, therefore, offers a backup pathway as the alternate route for an electrical current to take if there is any risk in the electrical system, thus preventing the occurrence of a fire or shock. Grounding means a low resistance path that allows for electricity to flow into the ground. A grounded connection has a connection between electrical equipment and the ground through a wire. When there is such a connection, your devices will have a path through which they can discharge excess electrical current. Such a discharge is what ensures the excess current does not destroy the equipment or cause other mishaps. You can look at that ground connection as a safety outlet.
You will ensure you enjoy the benefit of safety when you have the system perfectly grounded. It is how you preserve the equipment, live connections, human life, and everything in the environment.
There are some large scale commercial and electrical projects where you may be advised to ensure that as long as there is proper and regular maintenance, there is no need to install a grounding system. This is ill-advised, as your entire project is at high risk. The fear of adding on a grounding system because of the associated costs or bulk to the design is not a good enough reason to allow people to live or work under such immense risk. It so happens that most risks of fire and shock come from buildings where there was insufficient or absence of a grounding system.
An electrical current will always follow the path of least resistance. If you have employees operating electrical equipment with no grounding system, their bodies will serve as that path of low resistance. They will, therefore, suffer the misfortune to conducting that electricity, leaving them with severe injuries or death. An ungrounded system with electrical equipment is a dangerous environment to place your employees in and do nothing.
The connection of electrical systems and the ground is normally through the capacitance between the lines and the earth. There are three types of grounding systems commonly used. We have the ungrounded systems, resistance grounded systems, and the solidly grounded systems. Each of these will be effective in different scenarios. Their effectiveness is determined by various factors, such as the material used to make the grounding system, the ground electrode in terms of length, diameter, and number of ground electrodes, the soil type, moisture content, resistivity, temperature, and quantity of salt, the ground system design, and the location of the earth pit. You can learn more about soil resistivity testing on this site.
Grounding electrical currents is an important feature of any electrical system. It ensures there is overload protection, voltage stabilization, and safety from electrical hazards. You, therefore, cannot afford to put in place any electrical systems and use electrical appliances, whether in a commercial or residential setting, without ensuring there is an efficient grounding system. Your role as the business owner demands such responsibility.