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Nec 250 Part Ix Instruments

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170 views6 pages

Nec 250 Part Ix Instruments

Uploaded by

vladimir rosas ayala
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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NEC 250 PART IX: INSTRUMENTS, METERS, AND

RELAYS

12. NEC 250 PART IX: INSTRUMENTS, METERS, AND


RELAYS

This short section of the National Electrical Code (NEC) tells us that there are
some special requirements for instruments, meters, and relays under certain
circumstances regarding the grounding of these items. Many of these
circumstances involve instruments that monitor circuits of over 1000 V or those
circuits that actually handle 1000 V or more.

Instrument transformers are a category of high-accuracy electrical devices used


to isolate or transform voltage/current levels, specifically for metering and
instrumentation. The most typical usage of these transformers is to monitor high-
voltage/high-current circuits, and safely isolate secondary electronic systems
from high-voltage/high-current hazards. They may also be used in control
systems for phase-shifting circuitry and similar electronic systems.

12.1. 250.170. INSTRUMENT TRANSFORMER CIRCUITS

This section tells us that the secondary circuitry of instrumentation transformers


must be connected to ground for the following instances:

All instrument transformer circuits mounted on switchboards, regardless of


voltage

All instrument transformer circuits mounted on metal-enclosed switchgear,


regardless of voltage

Any instrument transformer circuit with primary voltage operating at 300 V to


ground or more
Switchboard  One or more panels accommodating control switches,
indicators, and other apparatus for operating electric circuits.

There are two exceptions to this rule.

Exception no. 1: If the primary windings are connected to circuits under


1000 V and any live parts or wires are only accessible to qualified
personnel.

Exception no. 2: The secondaries of current transformers connected to


three-phase delta circuits do not need to be grounded.

The 2014 edition of the Code added requirements in this section to include metal-
enclosed switchgear.

12.2. 250.172. INSTRUMENT TRANSFORMER CASES

The cases, frames, and/or chassis of instrument transformers must be grounded


using an equipment-grounding conductor per Parts IV, V, and VI of Article 250 of
the NEC.

Equipment-grounding (bonding) conductor  The low-impedance


fault-current path that is typically run with or encloses the circuit
conductors, used to connect the non-current-carrying metal parts of
equipment, raceways, and other enclosures to the grounded (neutral)
conductor and equipment-grounding (bonding) conductor at service
equipment or at the source of a separately derived system. Often
called the green-wire or third-wire ground conductor.

In other words, you must ground the chassis of instrument transformers using a
properly sized equipment-grounding conductor per Table 250.122 (see Appendix
B).

There is one exception:

Exception no. 1: The frames of current transformers for systems less


than 150 V do not need to be grounded if they are used exclusively to
supply current to meters.
12.3. 250.174. CASES OF INSTRUMENTS, METERS, AND RELAYS
OPERATING AT LESS THAN 1000 VOLTS

You must connect any equipment-grounding conductor to relays, meters, and


instruments with windings operating at 1000 V or less, as specified in 250.174(A),
(B), and (C).

Equipment-grounding (bonding) conductor  The low-impedance


fault-current path that is typically run with or encloses the circuit
conductors, used to connect the non-current-carrying metal parts of
equipment, raceways, and other enclosures to the grounded (neutral)
conductor and equipment-grounding (bonding) conductor at service
equipment or at the source of a separately derived system. Often
called the green-wire or third-wire ground conductor.

250.174(A). Not on Switchboards or Switchgear.  You must ground all


instruments, relays, and meters that operate at 300 V or more to ground if they
are not installed on a switchboard or switchgear. The cases, chassis, and/or
exposed metal parts must be grounded. There are exceptions for these items if
access is restricted to only qualified personnel. See Art. 250.170 for more
information.

Switchboard  One or more panels accommodating control switches,


indicators, and other apparatus for operating electric circuits.

The 2014 edition of the Code added requirements in this section to include
switchgear.

250.174(B). On Metal-enclosed Switchgear and Dead-front


Switchboards.  All instruments, meters, and/or relays installed on
switchboards or metal-enclosed switchgear and having no live parts exposed on
the front of the panels must be grounded via a properly sized equipment-
grounding conductor, regardless of the voltage, or if they are connected directly
in the circuit, or if they use current or potential transformers.
Switchboard  One or more panels accommodating control switches,
indicators, and other apparatus for operating electric circuits.

Equipment-grounding (bonding) conductor  The low-impedance


fault-current path that is typically run with or encloses the circuit
conductors, used to connect the non-current-carrying metal parts of
equipment, raceways, and other enclosures to the grounded (neutral)
conductor and equipment-grounding (bonding) conductor at service
equipment or at the source of a separately derived system. Often
called the green-wire or third-wire ground conductor.

The 2014 edition of the Code added requirements in this section to include metal-
enclosed switchgear.

250.174(C). On Live-front Switchboards.  All instruments, meters, and/or


relays installed on switchboards that DO HAVE live parts exposed on the front of
the panels should NOT be grounded via the equipment-grounding conductor if the
voltage exceeds 150 V, if they are connected directly in the circuit, or if they use
current or potential transformers. Mats of rubber insulation or other suitable
insulation materials should be installed on the floor to provide protection to
personnel.

When dealing with circuits of this type, the concern involves the accidental
formation of erroneous neutral-to-ground bonds, which must be avoided.

Neutral-to-ground connection (bond)  is where a grounded


current-carrying conductor, the neutral, is intentionally bonded to
earth/ground. In general, this should only occur at the transformer and
at the first service disconnect(s). The Code uses several names for
neutral-to-ground connections: system bonding jumper, main bonding
jumper, and supply-side bonding jumper.

12.4. 250.176. CASES OF INSTRUMENTS, METERS, AND RELAYS—


OPERATING VOLTAGE 1000 VOLTS AND OVER

If you have an instrument, meter, and/or relay that has electrical circuitry that
carries 1000 V or over, you should not connect the equipment-grounding
conductor to their cases. You must isolate these systems by elevation, suitable
barriers, grounded metal, insulated covers, insulated guards, or other suitable
means to prevent contact by persons.

This does not apply to instruments, meters, and/or relays that use secondary
transformers to step voltage down (such as a 100:1 ratio transformer) from
higher voltages to lower voltages for monitoring. It only applies to those systems
that actually handle 1000 V or more.

12.5. 250.178. INSTRUMENT EQUIPMENT-GROUNDING


CONDUCTOR

The equipment-grounding conductor for instruments, relays, and meters must be


sized according to Table 250.122 (see Appendix B), but may not be smaller than a
12 AWG copper or 10 AWG aluminum conductor. If the cases are mounted directly
to a grounded metal switchboard or to a metal-enclosed switchgear panel, they
will be considered grounded, and no additional equipment-grounding conductor is
needed.

Of course, you may ground these items, and you may even be required to have
an individual equipment-grounding conductor for each meter, instrument, or
relay based on manufacturer requirements. This is especially true for
sophisticated electronic systems that may need the additional grounding for the
elimination of electrical noise and harmonics. See Art. 250.136 for more
information.

The 2014 edition of the Code added requirements in this section to include metal-
enclosed switchgear.

Citation
EXPORT
David R. Stockin: McGraw-Hill's National Electrical Code® 2014 Grounding and
Earthing Handbook. NEC 250 PART IX: INSTRUMENTS, METERS, AND RELAYS,
Chapter (McGraw-Hill Professional, 2014), AccessEngineering

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