EE8236 ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS IN BUILDINGS

Lecture 08

2.8 Earthing

The whole of the world may be considered as a vast conductor which is at reference (zero)
potential. People are usually more or less in contact with earth, so if other parts which are
open to touch become charged at a different voltage from earth a shock hazard exists. The
process of earthing is to connect all these parts which could become charged to the general
mass of earth, to provide a path for fault currents and to hold the parts as close as possible to
earth potential. In simple theory this will prevent a potential difference between earth and
earthed parts, as well as permitting the flow of fault current which will cause the operation of
the protective systems.

The standard method of tying the electrical supply system to earth is to make a direct
connection between the two. This is usually carried out at the supply transformer, where
the neutral conductor (often the star point of a three - phase supply) is connected to earth
using an earth electrode or the metal sheath and armouring of a buried cable. Lightning
conductor systems must be bonded to the installation earth with a conductor no larger in
cross -sectional area than that of the earthing conductor.

2.8.1 Earth Fault Loop impedance

The path followed by fault current as the result of a low impedance occurring between the
phase conductor and earthed metal is called the earth fault loop. Current is driven through
the loop impedance by the supply voltage.

The extent of the earth fault loop for a TT system is shown in {Fig 2.8.1}, and is made up
of the following labeled parts.

Figure 2.8.1: The earth fault loop

62
 1. the phase conductor from the transformer to the installation
2. the protective device(s) in the installation
3. the installation phase conductors from the intake position to the fault
4. the fault itself (usually assumed to have zero impedance)
5. the protective conductor system
6. the main earthing terminal
7. the earthing conductor
8. the installation earth electrode
9. the general mass of earth
10. the Supply Company's earth electrode
11. the Supply Company's earthing conductor
12. the secondary winding of the supply transformer

The earth fault loop impedance can be used with the supply voltage to calculate the earth-fault
current.

where , IF = fault current, A

Uo = phase voltage, V
Zs = loop impedance

For example, if a 230 V circuit is protected by a 15 A semi-enclosed fuse and has an earth-
fault loop impedance of 1.6 Ohms, the earth-fault current in the event of a zero impedance
earth fault will he:

This level of earth-fault current will cause the fuse to operate quickly. From (Fig 2.6.12) the
time taken for the fuse to operate will be about 0.16 s. Any load current in the circuit will be
additional to the fault current and will cause the fuse to operate slightly more quickly.
However, such load current must not be taken into account when deciding disconnection
time, because it is possible that the load may not be connected when the fault occurs.

Note that there is no such thing as a three-phase line/earth fault, although it is possible for
three faults to occur on the three lines to earth simultaneously. As far as calculations for fault
current are concerned, the voltage to earth for standard supplies is always 230 V, for both
single-phase and three-phase systems. (Note that PSC and Maximum earth fault currents are
different).

63
Earthing Conductor
The earthing conductor is commonly called the earthing lead. It joins the installation
earthing terminal to the earth electrode or to the earth terminal provided by the Electricity
Supply Company. It is a vital link in the protective system, so care must be taken to see
that its integrity will be preserved at all times. Aluminium conductors and cables may now
be used for earthing and bonding, but great care must be taken when doing so to ensure that
there will be no problems with corrosion or with electrolytic action where they come into
contact with other metals.
Where the final connection to the earth electrode or earthing terminal is made there must be
a clear and permanent label Safety Electrical Connection - Do not remove. Where a buried
earthing conductor is not protected against mechanical damage but is protected against
corrosion by a sheath, its minimum size must be 16 mm² whether made of copper or coated
steel. If it has no corrosion protection, minimum sizes for mechanically unprotected earthing
conductors are 25 mm² for copper and 50 mm² for coated steel.

Earth Bar
A main earth terminal or bar must be provided for each installation to collect and connect
together all protective and bonding conductors. It must be possible to disconnect the
earthing conductor from this terminal for test purposes, but only by the use of a tool. This
requirement is intended to prevent un-authorized or unknowing removal of protection.

In every installation a main earthing terminal shall be provided to connect the following to the
earthing conductor:
i. The circuit protective conductors
ii. The protective bonding conductors
iii. Functional earthing conductors (if required)
iv. Lightning protection system bonding conductor, if any.

Protective Conductor Types

The circuit protective conductor (increasingly called the 'c.p.c.') is a system of conductors
joining together all exposed conductive parts and connecting them to the main earthing
terminal. Strictly speaking, the term includes the earthing conductor as well as the
equipotential bonding conductors.

The circuit protective conductor can take many forms, such as:
1. - a separate conductor which must be green/yellow insulated.
2. - a conductor included in a sheathed cable with other conductors
3. - the metal sheath and/or armouring of a cable
4. - conducting cable enclosures such as conduit or trunking
5. - exposed conductive parts, such as the conducting cases of equipment
64
This list is by no means exhaustive and there may be many other items forming parts of the
circuit protective conductor as indicated in {Fig 2.8.2}. Note that gas or oil pipes must not
be used for the purpose, because of the possible future change to plastic (non-conducting)
pipes.

Fig 2.8.2: Some types of circuit protective conductors

Fig 2.8.3: Protective connection for socket outlet in conduit system

Bonding Conductors
The purpose of the protective conductors is to provide a path for earth fault current so that
the protective device will operate to remove dangerous potential differences, which are
unavoidable under fault conditions, before a dangerous shock can be delivered.
Equipotential bonding serves the purpose of ensuring that the earthed metalwork (exposed
conductive parts) of the installation is connected to other metalwork (extraneous conductive
parts) to ensure that no dangerous potential differences can occur. The resistance of such a
bonding conductor must be low enough to ensure that its volt drop when carrying the
operating current of the protective device never exceeds 50 V.

65
 Fig 2.8.4: Main bonding connections

Where, R is the resistance of the bonding conductor

Ia is the operating current of the protective device.

Two types of equipotential bonding conductor are specified.

1. Main equipotential bonding conductors

These conductors connect together the installation earthing system and the metalwork of
other services such as gas and water. This bonding of service pipes must be affected as close
as possible to their point of entry to the building, as shown in {Fig 2.8.4}. Metallic sheaths of
telecommunication cables must be bonded, but the consent of the owner of the cable must he
obtained before doing so. The minimum size of bonding conductors is related to the size of
the main supply conductors (the tails) and is given in {Table 2.8.1}.

2. Supplementary bonding conductors

These conductors connect together extraneous conductive parts - that is, metalwork which is
not associated with the electrical installation but which may provide a conducting path
giving rise to shock. The object is to ensure that potential differences in excess of 50 V
between accessible metalwork cannot occur; this means that the resistance of the bonding
conductors must be low. {Figure 5.14} shows some of the extraneous metalwork in a
bathroom which must be bonded.

66
 Fig 2.8.5: Supplementary bonding in a bathroom
The cross-sectional areas required for supplementary bonding conductors are shown in
{Table 2.8.1}. Where connections are between extraneous parts only, the conductors may be
2.5 mm² if mechanically protected or 4 mm²if not protected. If the circuit protective
conductor is larger than 10 mm², the supplementary bonding conductor must have have at
least half this cross-sectional area. Supplementary bonding conductors of less than 16 mm²
cross sectional area must not be aluminium. {Fig 5.15} shows the application of a
supplementary bonding conductor to prevent the severe shock which could otherwise occur
between the live case of a faulty electric kettle and an adjacent water tap.

67
 Fig 2.8.6: Supplementary bonding conductor in a kitchen

Protective Conductor Cross Sectional Area

Thumb rule for selecting circuit protective conductor cross sectional area.

Table 2.8.2: Protective conductor and main equipotential conductor sizes

Protective Conductor Cross Section Area Calculation: The cross-sectional area, where
calculated, shall be not less than the value determined by the following formula or shall be
obtained by reference to BS 7454:

NOTE: This equation is an adiabatic equation and is applicable for disconnection times not
exceeding 5s.

68
Where:

S- is the nominal cross-sectional area of the conductor in mm2

I- is the value in amperes (rrns for a.c.) of fault current for a fault of negligible impedance,
which can flow through the associated protective device, due account being taken of the
current limiting effect of the circuit impedances and the limiting capability (12t) of that
protective device.

t- is the operating time of the disconnecting device in seconds corresponding to the fault
current I amperes

k- is a factor taking account of the resistivity, temperature coefficient and heat capacity of
the conductor material, and the appropriate initial and final temperatures. (Given below
tables 2.8.3 to 2.8.7)

Table 2.8.3

Table 2.8.4

69
Table 2.8.5

Table 2.8.6

Table 2.8.7

70
Table 2.8.8

Table 2.8.9

71
Examples for Calculation:
A load takes 30 A from a 230 V single phase supply and is protected by a 32 A semi-
enclosed fuse to BS 3036. The wiring consists of 4 mm² single core p.v.c. insulated cables
run in trunking, the length of run being 18 m. The earth - fault loop impedance external to the
installation is assessed as 0.7 Ohms. Calculate the cross-sectional area of a suitable p.v.c.
sheathed protective conductor.

This is one of those cases where we need to make an assumption of the answer to the
problem before we can solve it. Assume that a 2.5 mm² protective conductor will be
acceptable and calculate the combined resistance of the phase and protective conductors from
the origin of the installation to the end of the circuit. From, 2.5 mm² cable has a resistance of
18 mohms/m and 4 mm² a resistance of 11 mOhms/m. Both values must be multiplied by 1.2
to allow for increased resistance as temperature rises due to fault current.

Why must we have earth electrodes?

The principle of earthing is to consider the general mass of earth as a reference (zero)
potential. Thus, everything connected directly to it will be at this zero potential or above it by
the amount of the volt drop in the connection system (for example, the volt drop in a
protective conductor carrying fault current). The purpose of the earth electrode is to connect
to the general mass of earth.

72
 Fig 2.8.7: Connection of earthing conductor to earth electrode

Earth Electrode Types

Acceptable electrodes are rods, pipes, mats, tapes, wires, plates and structural steelwork
buried or driven into the ground. The pipes of other services such as gas and water must not
be used as earth electrodes although they must be bonded to earth. The sheath and armour of
a buried cable may be used with the approval of its owner and provided that arrangements
can be made for the person responsible for the installation to be told if the cable is changed,
for example, for a type without a metal sheath.

73