How to make a grounding circuit

It has long passed the time when the preliminary grounding has been prerogative exclusively industrial enterprises. With an increase in the number of household appliances in our dwelling, the protective ground has become an indispensable attribute of any private house. And this is not surprising. Any disruption in the insulation of electrical appliances can lead to very serious consequences for the inhabitants of the house.

The best way to protect yourself - to equip grounding. There is no need to attract the contour of the home of professionals to the device. Anyone will quite cope with this task. The main thing is patience and attentiveness during work.

Purpose and Device Contour of Grounding

The protective ground is a compound between the current-friendly parts of electrical installations and the ground, performed intentionally.

With the normal operation of the electrical appliances, their housing is not under voltage. Work with such devices is safe. Unfortunately, the more devices, the higher the probability of the exit of any of them. The slightest damage to the insulating layer - and the body of the device will be under voltage. Touch to a similar device are deadly dangerous.

Such situations also prevent protective grounding. Everyone knows that the electric current flows to the side with the smallest resistance. The presence of the grounding circuit in a private house with a low resistance value is the key to the fact that the current will go to the ground.

The most common embodiment of the grounding circuit is electrodes, gluned in the ground. They are interconnected in the form of a closed contour of a certain form. Often used triangular contour form. It is possible to perform the grounding contour along the perimeter of the building. Among the main criteria for choosing an outline, the convenience of its installation and the size of the territory used for its device are allocated. The ground loop attach to the electrical protection using a special ground cable.

The optimal distance between the house and the ground circuit is 5 m. At the same time, the distance is closer than 1 m and then 10 m is considered invalid.

Tip: The minimum depth of the grounding loop is 0.8 m. The contour, located within the boundaries of the soil freezing, does not work in winter.

Electrodes are plugged into the soil by 1.5 - 3 m. The depth selection for each individual case depends on the structure of the soil and its humidity. The more the soil is saturated with water, the less the electrodes are plugged.

Materials required for mounting ground loop

As a rule, the grounding circuit is made from undergraduate materials. The grounding electrode is able to serve any rod made of ferrous metal. The choice is very wide. The main criterion is convenience when driving into the ground. Most used steel corners. It is possible to use fittings for a smooth structure, pipes, anoxide. The only requirement is a metal cross section from 1.5 cm ².

To determine the number of necessary electrodes, the calculations are applied extremely rarely. Basically use an experienced way. The most common number of electrodes is three. Thus, the contour of the grounding of the triangular form is obtained. The vertices of the triangle are electrodes. The distance between adjacent electrodes is less than 1.2 m is unacceptable. It is calculated based on the resistance of the soil. The connection of the electrodes is carried out with each other using metal strips. A similar strip also serves to connect a circuit with distribution.

Before editing the grounding circuit, be sure to consult a qualified electrician living in the same area. A similar specialist from experience knows how to make a grounding contour, ideal for this area:

• what should be the distance from the building to the contour;
• what should be the distance between adjacent electrodes;
• the number of electrodes required;
• depth on which the electrodes should be scored;
• depth on which the contour should be placed.

The indisputable advantage of the self-made grounding system is its low price.

It is not necessary to make the ground contour only from the girlfriend. Special finished grounding systems appeared on sale.

A set of modular grounding systems consists of the following:

• rods made of high quality steel and copped copper. The length of the rods is about 1.5 m, the diameter is 0.14 m. Each rod is equipped with cutting of cochedral thread;
• brass clutches for connecting the elements of the grounding circuit;
• tips. Contribute to facilitate the clogging of the rod into the ground. Mixed to the rod with a thread. There are tips of several species. Designed for various types of soil;
• clips to attach horizontal elements to vertical;
• anticorrosion paste for processing all elements of the grounding system.

Advantages of modular grounding systems:

1. Stainless steel rods and copper coated are less susceptible to corrosion.
2. No need for welding work.
3. There is no need for special equipment when installing.
4. Saving Square. For equipment of the entire system, it is enough to 1 m ².
5. Durability.

Calculation of grounding

No matter how much grounding system is selected, the obligatory step is preliminary calculations of the grounding parameters. Typically, grounding is performed by experiment. This method will help to avoid multiple complex calculations.

Algorithm for mounting the grounding contour in this case is as follows:

• Build at a distance of 5 m from the house of the entourage of the triangular shape. The length of the electrodes take 3 m, the distance between them is 2 m. Use rods from metal.
• Connect the electrodes among themselves.
• We produce measuring the resistance of the grounding circuit. To measure resistance, use a special device - an ohmmeter. The maximum allowable resistance of the ground loop is 10 ohms. The optimal value is 4 ohms. Compare the result with the optimal value.

• If the resulting resistance value is optimal, add another electrode to the contour.
• We connect all the electrodes to the new circuit.
• We again measure contour resistance.
• We repeat the above procedures until you reach the resistance of the 4 Ohm contour.

It is possible to determine the number of electrodes necessary and the length of the horizontal earthing with the help of calculations:

• In the presence of a homogeneous soil on the section, determine the resistance of one electrode using formula 1:

To determine the value of the resistivity of the soil, use Table 1.

In the presence of an inhomogeneous soil on the site, we define the resistance of one electrode according to Formula 2:

In this case, the values \u200b\u200bof the seasonal climatic coefficient are shown in Table 2:

By Formula 3, we define the required number of electrodes without taking into account the resistance of the horizontal earthing:

To determine the normalized ground resistance, we use Table 3:

We define the resistance of the horizontal entry by Formula 4:

At the same time, to determine the earthing length, we use formula 5:

Calculate the resistance of the electrodes, taking into account the resistance of the horizontal entry by formula 6:

We define the final number of electrodes required for the grounding contour device:

To determine the demand coefficient of vertical earthingers, we use Table 4:

The final value of the number of electrodes obtained as a result of the above calculations, round up to a larger whole. What method to take advantage of - experienced or calculated - the personal matter of everyone. Choose any, based on your own preferences.

How to make a ground contour with your own hands

After carrying out all preliminary calculations and the preparation of the necessary materials, we proceed directly to the installation of the grounding circuit.

Tip: The best time for mounting the ground loop - summer. And not only due to the fact that in the warm season it is easier to produce earthworks. The fact is that in dry ground resistance more. Having achieved the optimal value of resistance in dry weather, it is not necessary to worry about the deterioration of this indicator in the future. On the contrary, with an increase in soil moisture resistance will decrease.

Consider the main stages of the installation of the triangular ground circuit, the diagram of which is presented in the figure.

• At a distance of about 5 m from the house in a convenient location, cut the trench in the form of an equilateral triangle. Trench depth is about 1 m, width - 0.5 m. The length of the side of the triangle must comply with the previously performed calculations. From any angle to the distribution shield at home, proceed the trench.

• Wake into each of the vertices of the triangle electrodes. The ends of the electrodes will pre-poison with the help of a grinder.
• With very solid soil, pre-try the well under the electrodes. By inserting the electrode into the well, pour it off with a mixture of soil and salt.
• Do not immerse the electrode in the ground completely, leave the top above the ground.
• Connect the electrodes with a steel strip, not less than 40 width and a thickness of at least 5 mm. For mounting electrodes and strips, use welding.
• Connect one of the electrodes with the distribution panel by paving in a previously prepared trench identical steel strip.
• Connect the strip and switchgear with a 10 mm bolt. Be sure to breed a bolt to the shield.
• The next step is to measure the grounding circuit. Use the Ommeter to measure.

• If the measurement result corresponds to the optimal resistance value - the ground loop is mounted correctly. You can proceed to instill trenches.
• If, when measuring the ground loop, it turns out that the resistance exceeds the regulatory value - add another electrode.
• To bury the trench, use an exceptionally homogeneous soil. The presence of impurities of rubble and construction debris is unacceptable.
• Ground contour is ready.