How to properly make a ground loop. Use of ready factory sets. Grounding requirement.

The need for grounding in a private house is undeniable. Protection of relatives and friends from the possible receipt of various electrical injuries is a guarantee of safe living in their home. But what if a private house already built and there is no ground in it?

Then you have to do it yourself or hire electricians to do all the work. But in fact, in its device there is nothing complicated, it is possible to perform work on creating a ground loop for any owner who can handle a Bulgarian and a welding apparatus. Therefore, we will analyze the question in detail, on the points.

During the operation of electrical appliances, they are influenced by many different factors:

Vibration from work.
Condensate moisture from the air,
Temperature changes and much more.

Accordingly, with the passage of time, there is a growing likelihood that the insulation of wires or other conductors will be broken and a short circuit to the body of the device will occur. This is a dangerous situation and the consequences can be very different.

Let's consider 4 basic variants:

Grounding is not performed, there is no protective device. This is the most dangerous situation, in this case, it is possible to find out about the breakdown of the current on the case when the person receives an electric shock. The degree of damage to the body depends on many factors and can lead to death.
The earthing is done, there is no protective device. Since the fuse is triggered when the leakage current exceeds certain limits, it is not always possible to break the power supply when the current is interrupted by the body of the appliance. Therefore, an electrical shock with a voltage of up to 100 volts is possible. This can cause serious damage, and is deadly to people with pacemakers.
There is no ground, the circuit breaker is installed. In this case, the machine does not work if there is a breakdown of the current to the housing. Turning off the power will be only when the person touches the case, and will have contact with another conductor. That is, the human body closes the circuit and a current leakage occurs. In this case, the RCD will be activated within 0.1 - 0.3 seconds. and turn off the power. The blow will be weak, but unpleasant.
Grounding has been done and a protective circuit breaker has been installed. Only in this case is complete security guaranteed. In the event of a breakdown of current to the housing, the current will leak through the ground. Within 0.1 - 0.3 seconds. will trip the RCD and turn off the power. If the leakage is too high, the fuse can also work, reliably protecting people from.

Only the installation of all security systems will make it possible to protect people living in the house, so do not neglect safety.

Necessary materials and tools

For installation it is required:

Metal pins (armature, pipes, profile or corners) in an amount sufficient to create electrodes.
Metal strip width 50 - 100 mm, thickness not less than 3 mm. The length of the strip is determined by the length of the ground loop and is calculated in advance.
Stainless steel band. The width is also 50 - 100 mm. It is used as a current-conducting element, so its length should be enough to be laid from the wall of the house to the contour.
Welding machine. Only a welded joint will allow sufficient electrical conductivity between the elements. It is worth noting that for the cooking of stainless steel it is necessary to use specialized electrodes, which you need to stock up in advance.
Bulgarian. Metal will need to be cut and sharpen the electrodes to facilitate the process of clogging them.
Sledgehammer. The easiest way is to dig a hole half a meter deep - a meter and hammer the pins to the desired length, than dig in or drill wells.
Bolt M8-M10. At the end of the stainless steel strip, a bolt is installed to connect the wire withdrawn from the building.
Copper wire, section not less than 6 mm 2. It is fixed with a bolt to the current plate and is output to the switchboard to connect to the common ground loop.

Step-by-step installation instructions in a private home

The process of assembling a structure consists of the following steps:

On the selected place dig a pit or trench for electrodes and a trench to the house for a current-carrying strip. The depth should be such that the upper cut of the pins was 20 to 30 centimeters above the bottom. So it will be more convenient to make welding work. If you dig a trench, then take into account its width. In too narrow, it will be inconvenient to work and it is better to spend an extra hour on excavation, than then 2 times longer to engage in driving electrodes and installing strips.
The future electrodes are driven into the ground. To facilitate this action, it makes sense to lubricate the metal and periodically spill water into the driving position. There will be a little dirt, but the process will go easier.
Installation of the circuit. The metal bands are welded to the electrodes, then the welding places are covered with an anti-corrosion coating. This can not be neglected, since the metal will be in the ground and actively exposed to corrosion. And the continuity of the circuit is the guarantee of the contour operation.
Installation of current-conducting conductor. The strip of stainless steel is laid on the bottom of the trench, one end is welded to the ground loop, and the other is removed near the wall above the ground level. The output must be vertical, so that there is a minimum level of dispersion of the transmitted charge over the soil surface.
Digging holes. All installation is made, and the pit can be covered.
On the deduced part of the current-carrying band With the help of a bolt, a copper wire is attached, which is then output to the building's switchboard.

Checking

When the grounding is completed, it is necessary to check it. This requires a special device. Due to its specificity and high cost, it is not widely distributed in a professional environment, so it is difficult to find it.

There is a way to check using a voltmeter and an ohmmeter, but the process of its execution and processing of the results obtained requires special knowledge of electricity. Therefore, it is not suitable for most people.

But do not give up and hope that everything is done right.

There is an easy way to test the earth's operation:

For this purpose, an outlet, in which the phase is connected as usual, and instead of zero, a wire leading to ground is connected.
Then, an ordinary table lamp incandescent lamp. The brighter the lamp burns, the better the circuit will work.
Respectively, if the RCD is installed, there will be a bright flash, and then the automation will work.
After checking it is necessary to return the socket to the normal state, otherwise the automation will be turned off each time it is used.

Operating principle

Purpose of grounding - this is to electrically drain the current away from people, in the event of a power failure on the housing. Therefore, together with a residual current device (RCD), it plays the role of a fault indicator.

If a current breakdown occurs, a large leak is immediately generated due to grounding, because of this, the RCD switches off the power. And it becomes clear to the owner that there is something wrong with electrical appliances in the house and it is necessary to take measures.

Let's consider step by step the whole situation:

For some reason there was a breakdown of the current. It does not matter whether it is spilled water, wiring from time to time or some other reason, the breakdown has occurred.
Since the housing is grounded, the current starts to flow along the ground wire to the electrodes, stumped in the street.
Thanks to a large area electrodes, the voltage drops and dissipates in the surrounding ground.
Protection device is triggered, due to a large current loss and turns off the circuit power. The leakage current ceases.

These 4 stages occur in 0.1 - 0.3 seconds, so a person may not even have time to notice what happened when the automation will protect it from getting electric trauma.

Device in a private house

The ground loop is very simple. These are a few pins dug in or stuck to a sufficient depth and connected by iron strips with a width of 5-10 cm. From them a strip of stainless steel leaves to the house, and already it leads to grounding.

The location of the electrodes does not play a big role, but the most common are the following schemes:

The rowman. The pins are deepened on one line, the current-conducting strip is welded to the extreme. The disadvantage is the absence of a second circuit, if the connection of the bands and electrodes is broken, only the pin to which the current-carrying band is attached will work.
Triangular. The most popular scheme, in view of its simplicity. The pins are arranged in the form of an equilateral triangle, connected by strips of iron, and a current-conducting strip is welded to one of the corners. The presence of a closed circuit guarantees the operation of the ground, even if one strip is damaged or poorly welded.
Rectangular. Similar to triangular, but the contour is brewed in the form of a square or rectangle.
Circular. Option, when the pins are deepened in a circle or an oval. The advantages are the same as those of the previous two, but more difficult to perform.

Calculation

The process of the exact size of the ground loop and the number of necessary electrodes is very complicated and takes into account a number of factors.

However, for a private house, high precision and the use of complex formulas are not necessary, just an approximate calculation, which with a margin overrides possible leakage current.

The number of electrodes depends primarily on the soil and the level of the adjacent groundwater:

If the soil is sandy or sandy-loamy, contains stones and gravel, it has a high resistance.
Clay soil and different loams are better suited.
The lowest resistance have ash and saline soils.

Therefore, in the first case, 7-10 electrodes are required, in the second 5-7, and in the third, 3-5 pieces. A high level of ground water allows you to get by with a minimum number of electrodes, if the soil is dry and up to the water is far, then it is worth increasing their number.

The length of the electrode also matters. The NEC safety standard requires that the lower end of the pin be at a depth of at least 2.4 meters from the ground level. To achieve a full grounding, it will be better if it reaches a mark of 3 m.

The top edge should be at least 0.5 meters from the surface. The length of the pin is calculated according to your wishes and possibilities. The cross section must not be less than 1.5 cm, if it is a rod or fittings, in the case of a corner or profile, then the minimum size is 30 by 30 mm.

Rules and requirements for earthing

It is important to properly place the electrodes in the ground. Between them, the distance should not be less than a meter, ideal is 1.8 - 2 m. Then even high voltage will dissipate in the soil without problems, the work of the electrodes will be independent.
Also, it is wise to choose the place for the installation of the circuit. In case of its operation, an electric charge will be scattered around it. Therefore it is important to choose a place so that in a radius of 1-2 m there are no people from it. It can be a place in the middle of a flower bed or under an alpine slide, which is rarely approached, preferring to admire from a certain distance. The current will be small and serious electric injury can not be obtained, but health is not an area with which you can joke.

Errors and costs

The most common mistake is the small distance between the electrodes. In no case should it be allowed to be less than 1.5 meters. This is due to the fact that the current decreases with distance from the electrode, if there is no charge in the soil. If the fields from the 2 electrodes intersect, the scattering process will deteriorate significantly and the time that the RCD de-energizes the network will increase.
The second most common error is the saving on electrodes. They are made 3 or 6, regardless of the type of soil and water level. Somewhere this is enough, and somewhere may not be enough. As in the previous case, the rate of charge dissipation decreases and the increase in the operation of the automation.
The third most popular, but not in the significance of the error is that they do not put the RCD. Hoping that the grounding saves, the protective automatics are not mounted. This approach can lead to gigantic leakage of current, heating of wires and as a result, a fire. Only in a complex they can provide full protection, and installation of one without another is inadmissible.

The main costs when installing the grounding yourself, it's metal. The purchase of fittings and metal strips, depending on the size of the contour and the region, costs from 3 to 10 thousand rubles. A sheet of stainless steel is separately purchased, cut into short strips and welded into one. Its price ranges from 2 to 4 thousand rubles., Depending on the thickness.

Accordingly, the minimum costs for creating a ground loop are about five thousand, the maximum can be ten or even more.

Despite the apparent complexity, the process of making the ground is simple. Having analyzed all the steps in detail, and having considered all the main points, you can make sure that anyone can do it. An adequately skillful master will cope without attracting outsiders and wage workers.

The design of all electrical appliances, tools, household appliances and other equipment provides for insulation elements and protective devices, which must prevent the voltage from entering conductive housings or casings. Nevertheless, the probability of such a phenomenon is never ruled out: isolation can be broken through by a discharge, burned out of unreliable, sparking contacts in wire connections, circuit elements, etc. can fail. In this case, the phase voltage can get on the device body, touch to which it becomes extremely dangerous for humans.

The situation is especially dangerous if, next to such a faulty device, there are metal objects that have a so-called natural grounding - heating risers, water pipes or gas pipes, open elements of reinforcement of building structures and m.. At the slightest touch to them the chain can close, and the deadly current will pass through the human body towards a lesser potential. Equally dangerous are similar situations, and if a person stands barefoot or in wet shoes on a wet floor or ground - there are also all the prerequisites for closing the AC circuit from the body of the device.

One of the expressed properties of an electric current is that it will necessarily choose a conductor with a minimum resistance. Hence, it is necessary to create a line in advance with a minimum resistance and zero potential, according to which, in case of breakdown to the case, the voltage will be safely discharged.

The resistance of the human body is a variable one, depending on individual characteristics, and even on the temporal state of a person. In electrotechnical practice, this value is usually taken as 1000 Ω (1 kΩ). Therefore, the resistance of the ground loop must be many times lower. There is a complex system of calculations, but usually operate at values of 30 Ohm for the household power supply of the private house and 10 Ohm in the event that the grounding is also used as a protection against lightning.

It may be objected that all problems can be solved by installing special protective devices (RCDs). But for proper operation of the RCD, earthing is also a necessity. If there is even the slightest leakage of current, the circuit will close almost instantly and the device will operate, disconnecting the hazardous section of the home electrical network.

Some owners are prejudiced that it is sufficient to use water or heating pipes for grounding. This is extremely dangerous and absolutely unreliably. Firstly, it is impossible to guarantee effective tapping of the voltage - the pipes can be highly oxidized and do not have enough good contact with the ground, and in addition, they often have plastic sections. Do not exclude the possibility of electric shock when touching them in the event of a breakdown of the power supply to the housing, and such a danger can be affected, including by neighbors.

Most modern electrical appliances are immediately equipped with a power cable with a three-pin plug. Appropriate sockets should be installed and during the work on the installation of wiring in the house. (Some older appliances have instead a contact terminal on the grounding casing).

There is a strictly defined color "pinout" of wires: the blue wire is uniquely "zero", the phase can have a different color, from white to black, and the grounding is always yellow-green.

And so, knowing this, some "wise" owners, wishing to save on updating the wiring and organizing a full ground, simply make a jumper in the sockets between the zero contact and the grounding. However, they do not solve the problem, but, rather, exacerbate it. Under certain conditions, for example, during a burnout or poor contact of the working zero in some part of the chain, or in case of accidental rephasing, a phase potential will appear on the device case, and this can happen in the most unexpected place of the house. The danger of electric shock increases in this situation many times.

Earthing is a reliable protection against many troubles

The conclusion from all this is that grounding is mandatory constructive element home electrical network. It performs the following functions:

Effective tapping of voltage leakage from conductive parts, touching which can cause electric shock.
Equalization of potentials in all objects in the house, for example, grounded appliances and heating pipes, water supply, gas supply.
Ensuring the correct operation of all installed systems and safety devices - fuses, automatic devices or RCDs.
Of no less importance is grounding and in preventing the accumulation of static charges on housings.
It is especially important for modern electronics, especially - computer technology. For example, the operation of switching power supplies of computers is often accompanied by a voltage on the chassis of the system units. Any discharge can lead to the failure of electronic components, malfunctioning, loss of information.

Now that the importance of the grounding system is clarified, you can go on to the question of how to make it a private home environment yourself.

What are the grounding systems in private houses

So, a correctly executed earthing system should ensure reliable contact with ground zero potential and with the minimum possible resistance of the created circuit. But, groovent -grumbrellathe strife - its different types are seriously different from each other resistivity:

Type of soil	specific soil resistance (Ohm × m)
Sand (at a groundwater level below 5 m)	1000
Sand (at a level of groundwater above 5 m)	500
Fertile soil (chernozem)	200
Wet sandy loam	150
Semisolid or forest-like loam	100
Cretaceous layer or semi-solid clay	60
Graphite shales, clayey marl	50
Plastic loam	30
Plastic clay or peat	20
Underground aquifers	from 5 to 50

Obviously, those layers that have the smallest resistivity are, as a rule, located at considerable depths. But even when the electrode is buried, the results can not be enough. This problem is solved in several ways - from increasing the depth of installation of the pin electrodes, to increasing their number, the distance between them or the total area of contact with the ground. In practice, most often apply several basic schemes:

Scheme "a" - installation of a buried metal closed loop along the perimeter of the house. As an option - shallowly clogged pins, connected along the ring by a tire.

In dacha construction it is used infrequently because of the large volume of excavation work or due to the peculiarities of the location of the buildings on the site.

Scheme "b", perhaps, the most popular among the owners of suburban housing. Three or more moderately buried pin electrodes connected by one bus - this design is easy to perform independently even in a confined space.
Scheme "c" shows grounding with one electrode installed at a greater depth. Sometimes a similar system is arranged even in the basement of the building. The scheme is convenient, but not always feasible - it is almost impossible to implement on rocky soils. In addition, for such a system of grounding, you need to use special electrodes - it will be discussed a little later.
Scheme "g" - quite convenient, but only if it was thought out at the design stage of the house, and completed during the foundation pouring. To implement it in life on the finished building will be extremely unprofitable.

So, it's easiest to implement the "b" scheme or, if possible, "in" with minimal expenses.

Earthing using self-made metal parts

To make a grounding system of this type, you will need metal profiles, a welding machine, tools for excavation, a sledgehammer. In some cases, with complex dense soils, a manual drill may be needed.

Schematically, this system looks like this:

Location The buried electrodes are chosen in such a way that it is most convenient to connect the grounding bus to the switchboard. The optimal distance from the house is 3 - 6 meters. The permissible limits are not closer than one meter and not more than ten.

The dimensions indicated on the diagram are by no means a dogma. So, the side of the triangle can be up to three meters in length, and the depth of the pinning can be somewhat smaller - 2.0 ÷ 2.5 m. The number of electrodes can also vary - if the soil is plaque and the depth can not be blocked, you can increase the number of electrodes.

A good advice is to contact the local energy service department in advance for advice on how to implement a ground loop. These experts certainly have thought out and tested in this region schemes. In addition, they will be able to help calculate the size and based on the planned load of the home electrical grid - this also matters.

What can serve as electrodes? For these purposes, a steel corner with a shelf of 50 × 50 mm and a thickness of at least 4 ÷ 5 mm is most often used. Can be used pipes, better - galvanized with a wall thickness of at least 3.5 mm. You can take a steel strip with a cross-sectional area of about 48 mm² (12 × 4), but it is more difficult to drive vertically into the ground. If it is decided to use a steel rod, thenit is better to take galvanized, a diameter of not less than 10 mm.

To connect the pins into one circuit, use a band of 40 × 4 mm or a 12 to 14 mm wire rod. The same material is suitable for laying the grounding bus to the point of entering it into the house.

So, initially the markup is done on the selected place.

Then it is advisable to open a small foundation pit of the intended shape to a depth of 1 meter. The minimum depth is 0.5 m. Simultaneously, a trench is digging to the same depth - along it a grounding bar will go from the contour to the base of the house.

The task can be simplified somewhat, digging not a solid foundation pit, but only trenches along the perimeter of the contour being created. The main thing is that their width should allow conducting electrodes plugging and welding works.

Electrodes of the required length are prepared. The edge with which they will be driven into the ground, it is necessary to sharpen with a grinder, cutting it at an angle. Metal must be clean, unpainted.

In the intended locations, the electrodes are driven into the ground with a sledge hammer or electric hammer. They are buried so that in the trench (trench) they protrude above the level of the surface by about 200 mm.

After all the electrodes are clogged, they are connected from the metal strip 40 × 4 mm by a common bus (horizontal earthing switch). Only welding is applicable here, although it is possible to meet the recommendations with a bolted connection. No, to ensure a reliable and durable earthing, this strapping must be welded - the threaded contact placed under the ground will rapidly oxidize, the resistance of the circuit will increase dramatically.

Now you can build a tire from the same strip to the foundation of the house. The tire is welded in one of the clogged electrodes and is laid in a trench then it goes to the base of the building.
The tire is attached to the base. The figure does not show, but it is advisable to provide a small bend before the fixing point, so-called "Compensation hump", to compensate for the linear expansion of the metal at temperature differences. At the end of the strip, a bolt with M10 thread is welded. It will be attached to the copper terminal with a ground wire, which will go to the switchboard.

To pass the wire through the wall or through the plinth, a hole is drilled and a plastic sleeve is inserted into it. The wire is copper, with a cross section of 16 or 25 mm² (this parameter should be checked with specialists in advance). The nut and washers for the connection are also better to use copper.

Do not rush to immediately fill the mounted circuit with ground.

- It is recommended, firstly, to capture it in a photograph with reference to surrounding stationary land objects - this may be required to make changes to the project documentation, as well as to conduct control and verification activities in the future.

- Secondly, it is necessary to check the resistance of the resulting circuit. For these purposes it is better to invite specialists of the power supply organization, especially since their call, one way or another, will be necessary to obtain permits.

If the test results show that the resistance is high, one or more vertical electrodes will need to be added. Sometimes, before the test, they go on and on, steadily watering the places near the boarded-up corners with a saturated solution of ordinary table salt. This will certainly improve performance,

By the way, if you can not score corners, then you resort to drilling wells to the required depth. After installing the electrodes, fill them with the greatest possible density with clay soil, which is also mixed with the salt.

After the operation of the ground loop has been checked, it is necessary to treat the weld seams with an anti-corrosion agent. The same can be done with the tire going to the building. Then, after drying the mastic, the excavation and trenches are filled with soil. It should be homogeneous, not littered and without crushed stone inclusions. Then the backfill site is carefully tamped.

Video: installation of grounding equipment using a metal corner

Using ready-made factory kits

It is very convenient for the organization of grounding at the dacha ready-made kits of factory manufacturing. They are a set of pins with connecting couplings, allowing you to increase the depth of immersion in the ground as a result of clogging.

This earthing system provides for the installation of a single pin electrode, but at a great depth, from 6 to even 15 meters.

The kit usually includes:

Steel pins are 1500 mm long with a galvanized or coppered surface, or made of stainless steel. The diameter of the pcs may differ in different sets - from 14 to 18 mm.

To install such a system of grounding, it is also advisable to dig a small pit with a depth of up to a meter and the same in diameter, although some prefer even outdoor seating.

It is inserted into it either a conductive bus from a metal strip, or immediately a ground cable with a section of 25 sq. M. mm. A special gasket is provided for connection to the steel strip, which does not allow for electrochemical contact between the rod mill and steel (zinc). In the future, the bus or cable is put into the house and connected to the switchboard in the same way as described above.

Video: manual punching of pin electrodes

What type of coating rods to choose - galvanized or coppered?

From the point of view of economy, galvanizing with a thin layer (from 5 to 30 microns) is more profitable. These pins are not afraid of mechanical damage during installation, even leaving deep scratches do not affect the degree of protection of iron. Nevertheless, zinc is a fairly active metal, and, while protecting iron, it oxidizes itself. Over time, when the entire zinc layer has reacted, iron remains unprotected and is quickly "eaten up" by corrosion. The service life of such elements is usually not more than 15 years. And to make zinc coating more thick - it costs a lot of money.

Copper, on the contrary, without reacting, protects the iron that it closes, which is more active in terms of chemistry. Such electrodes can serve without a loss of efficiency for a very long time, for example, the manufacturer guarantees their safety in loamy soil up to 100 years. But at installation it is necessary to be cautious - in places of damage of a layer омеднения for certain there will be a site of corrosion. To reduce the likelihood of this, the copper plating layer is thick enough, up to 200 microns, so these pins are much more expensive than conventional zinc plated.

What are the common advantages of such a set of grounding systems with one deeply placed electrode:

Installation is not particularly difficult. No voluminous earthwork is required, no welding machine is needed - everything is done by the usual tool that is in every house.
The system is very compact, it can be placed on a tiny "patch" or even in the basement of the house.
If copper electrodes are used, the lifetime of such grounding will be several tens of years.
Due to good contact with the soil, a minimum electrical resistance. In addition, the seasonal conditions do not affect the efficiency of the system. The freezing level of the soil is no more than 10% of the length of the electrode, and winter temperatures in no way can negatively affect the conductivity.

There are, of course, its shortcomings:

This type of grounding can not be realized on stony ground - most likely, it will not be possible to hammer electrodes to the required depth.
Perhaps someone will be deterred by the price of the kit. However, this is a question from with porn, since high-quality metal rolling for the usual grounding scheme is also not cheap. If you still add life time, simplicity and speed of installation, no need for a specialized tool, then it is quite possible that this approach to solving the problem of grounding may seem even more promising from the point of view of economy.

Video: how to make a ground connection without a modular pin system

Content:

How to protect people living in a private home from electric shock? For this, there is a safety measure, in which the main electrical installation is connected to the ground by means of a conductor. Possessing basic skills, you can make a private home grounding yourself, saving a lot on the services of special organizations.

It is necessary to study in detail the rules for the installation of electrical installations (PUE), safety techniques when working with devices. The choice of equipment and tools should be approached carefully, giving preference to reliable manufacturers. Before starting work, you should examine the existing equipment and actual house wiring. The initial data are necessary for the correct calculation of the grounding device - the most important component of the entire system.

As a result, the optimum values of the resistance value, the number of electrodes and the distance between them will be obtained. Then, a markup is made on the ground near the building to determine the best option structure. Depending on the type of grounding device selected, the methods of trenching and electrode burial depend. Installation of the installation is the most important stage, depending on the literacy of its performance, it depends on whether the entire earthing system will work effectively.

The role of grounding

Let's ask a question. Why do we need grounding? The abundance of household appliances and other electrical appliances imposes stringent requirements on housing security. As in any building, the grounding in a private house is the establishment of the contact of the body of the electrical installation with the soil soil. It provides protection of the person from negative influence of a current, and also carries out a number of other important functions:

optimization of electrical installations;
warning of network problems;
preservation of working capacity of equipment during overvoltage;
a decrease in the power of high-frequency electromagnetic radiation.

Principle of grounding

When a person touches the device on the surface of which a voltage has appeared, the electric current is sent to the soil not through his body, but through a conductor. It's all about the difference in resistance values: for a person - 1 kOhm, for a conductor - 4 Ohm. Electric current chooses the easiest and fastest way to earth, which has a high electrical capacity. As a result, the residual current device (RCD) responds to the leakage current in the circuit and turns off the problem area.

Basic concepts

The key element of the system is the grounding device, which can be factory or own manufacture. It includes:

1. Earthing device - metal construction, in contact with the ground. It carries out the descent and dispersion of the current. Kinds:

natural (parts of building elements buried in the soil);
artificial (specially manufactured conductors, used when the resistance of natural is not the norm).

If you ground the private house with your own hands, PUE recommend the use of natural earthing:

steel pipeline;
street metal structures (pillar, pillar);
protective lead coating of power cable;
metal or reinforced concrete part of the building structure, located in the ground (foundation, column).

2. Grounding conductor - an element connecting the earthing electrode and the electrical installation. It represents wires of wires in isolation of yellow color, parts of external and internal contours, a tire in a switchboard.

How to calculate the resistance of a grounding device

The magnitude of the conductivity of the earth electrode directly affects the resistance of the entire system. As the size of the electrode increases, the resistance decreases, and the amount of current received increases. According to the PUE, the maximum permissible resistance values are as follows:

To competently make a grounding in a private house, you need to make preliminary calculations. Example of formula for a single earthing switch with a circular cross-section:

The source data is in specialized reference books. To verify the operability of the assembled equipment, a measurement is made directly on site. If the value exceeds the norm, it is required to increase the number of earthing switches or the depth of their location.

When several electrodes are used, the calculation becomes more complicated. For each, the indicator is given by the formula indicated above, in order to obtain their total value. Further, a utilization factor is used showing the effect of the earthing switches on each other. The most effective distance between electrodes is equal to the length of their penetration, multiplied by 2.

To calculate the number of electrodes, the formula is:

Grounding rules in a private house

Before you independently make a grounding in a private house, you need to familiarize yourself with the ways of its implementation.

Zeroing

A working, but not very reliable, way. Through the switchboard passes a wire - zero potential, contacting the body by means of a bolt connection. To ground a new conductor, it must be secured under this bolt or similar fixation is to be made next to it. However, in this case the wire is not protected from combustion at the inlet.

Earthing circuit

Grounding scheme in a private house. A photo

The safest way. How to implement it:

next to the house to dig a pit deep in two bayonets of a shovel. Mechanical drilling of a hole in the ground can not be made, since such a circuit will not work;
hammer into the bottom of the pit a metal corner (about 3 m long, 40 x 40 cm wide or 50 x 50 cm wide);
connect a flexible multicore wire PV-3 (section from 6 mm2) to the angle and bring it to the shield.

In order for the earthing loop in the private house to have the maximum effect, its design must have a metal bond: consist of 3-4 corners welded together by a metal strip of similar width.

In addition to direct grounding during the work, it is necessary to fulfill at least one of the following conditions:

equalization of potentials;
decreased voltage;
installation of the device for automatic shutdown;
use of double insulated wires;
application of isolating transformers.

To help to make proper grounding in a private house, specially designed and regularly updated PUEs are called for. This regulation prohibits:

earth electrical installations for any type of pipeline, including plastic;
output the grounding conductor to the outside for connection to the busbar on unprotected contact areas.

What will be required for the work

As artificial earthing You can use steel corners, pipes, rods, galvanized electrodes. These elements can not be painted to avoid reducing their conductivity. For anticorrosive purposes, they are treated with special compounds. Other values are equally important:

the minimum cross-section of electrodes: rectangular hire - 48 mm2, a rod from ferrous metal - 10 mm, galvanized - 6 mm. The thickness of the walls and shelves is 4 mm;
the minimum cross-section of materials for metal connection: rod - 5 mm, rectangular steel - 24 mm2. The thickness of the walls and shelves is 2.5 mm.

Also, grounding in a private house involves the use of tires made of electrical bronze. It will require a sledgehammer to penetrate the natural electrode or a jackhammer - for artificial, stepladder, arc welding for black rolled products.

When routing through the rooms you need:

wire (minimum cross-section for copper non-insulated - 4 mm, insulated - 1.5 mm, aluminum non-insulated - 6 mm, insulated - 2.5 mm);
socket with a contact for grounding;
bracket, plinth or box for fixation and decoration.

Stages of installing a grounding device in a private house

Preparatory work.
Deepening of the structure.
Collection of metal
Connection to the switchboard.

Preparatory work. The layout of the location of the earthing switches is made based on several conditions:

the distance to the foundation is about one meter, the shape of the contour is any: a line, a triangle, a circle, etc .;
the optimal gap between the electrodes is 1.2 m;
minimum parameters of the trench: for natural earthers 50 cm deep, width at the depths of 1 m; for artificial - pit 0.5 x 0.5 x 0.5 m.

If metal is used, then for the best immersion in the soil, its end can be sharpened by applying the Bulgarian. Material that was in use must be cleaned of any coatings. When mounting the factory module on the electrode, twist the pointed head, and place the joints with a paste.

Deepening of the structure. Metal studs of their own production are driven into the ground by means of a sledgehammer. When the metal is not very hard, it is advisable to put on wooden gaskets for compaction during strokes. The top part of each earthing switch should leave the bottom of the trench for 15 - 20 cm.

A jackhammer with a cartridge with a punching power of 20 - 25 J deepen factory electrodes. At the first lowered to a depth of 1.5 m of the pin, the clutch and the next part of the earthing rod are wound. Then the work continues with a hammer and the joining of other parts until reaching the design depth.

Collection of metal. To connect all the electrodes can be using metal bands to get a ground loop in a private house - the final element of the design. Black metal is joined by a welded seam, non-oxidizable materials - bolted joints.

When the strip is ready, it continues to the side of the house and is attached to the foundation. At the end of the contour, the M8 bolt is welded to fix the conductor. In the factory installation for this purpose, a clamp is hung on the final pin, which is then protected by a waterproofing tape. The trench is buried by dense fine-grained composition or seized ground. In the factory module with one electrode, a plastic well can be provided.

Connection to the switchboard. The conductor can be brought into the house using a plastic or metal pipe-sleeve. Further, its end should be pressed with a bolted connection and connected to the grounding bus located on the housing according to the TT system (when the ground loop is not connected to the zero working conductor N). The yellow wires of the wires must also be clamped in the bus connectors. Multimeter checks the resistance of the grounding device.

To date, a huge number of various household appliances has begun to play an important role in our lives. It is difficult to imagine what we would do at home without a TV or computer. How much washing and cooking would be complicated if it were not for microwave oven and washing machine.

Even without talking about the house or apartment, it is worth remembering how relevant the problem of electrification a country house or giving.

After all, sometimes there is a need for the work of power tools: you need to install a boiler or corny phone.

In all this there is another nuance, which every day becomes more urgent: modern technology begins to not only consume more electricity, the types of this equipment is becoming more. Accordingly, the question arises about the need for grounding, or rather, how to properly connect it.

If earlier the grounding was actual only in shops or on industrial objects, now it is necessary and in the most ordinary apartment house, apartment.

You can do it yourself, and this does not require much effort and time, the main thing is to do everything according to instructions, carefully and adhering to all the recommendations.

How to connect the ground wire

To make the ground loop yourself, you should pay attention to various trivialities and even theories. It is necessary to understand the basics.

Even if you do not understand or are afraid of electricity - there is nothing dangerous here. The only question is the correctness and consistency of the actions undertaken.

So, when you connect any device to the socket, you probably noticed that the contact is made in 2 places. This is the so-called single-phase alternating current. The first contact, in fact, is the phase, the second is zero. Both these wires originate from the switchboard.

How it looks can be seen above. Again, the third cable is also connected. This will be the notorious grounding. It is done bypassing the switchboard, immediately on the ground loop. It should be sure to say that the shield itself also needs grounding.

How to check the work done

To make a contour with your own hands, it does not take much time or effort. Moreover, even an absolute layman can do this.

There is one difficulty in this matter. To check whether it is qualitative, whether the work was successfully performed, a special device will be required - an ohmmeter.

Buy it will be a senseless waste of money, since you will spend a single stop. It is possible that solving such a problem will be quite simple: find an electrician and lend this device from him, rent it.

Measurement is done as follows: two electrodes are taken and carried at a distance from each other up to 25 meters. Between them and the contour measurements are taken. Himself stopped to do quite simply. If you have an instrument on hand, you can do all the work in less than an hour.

At this time, the study of the instructions to the device is included. Now go to the direct installation.

How to install a ground loop

If we talk about the need to ground the network of a small country house, then this process is as follows:

you need to take 3 electrodes;
connect them together;
to drive into the earth to a certain depth.

These 3 steel electrodes ideally drive to a depth of 1.5-2 meters. Between them, the electrodes are connected by welding with a steel strip or reinforcement. As a result, you will need to get a triangle.

The distance to which the contour should be taken can be from 3 to 4 meters. But still, it is strongly recommended to take the outline far away. Live soil preparation looks like the picture below.

As for the size of the resulting triangle, how far it is to install the rods - the electrodes, depends on the ground. To be precise, everything depends on how wet the soil is. The higher this parameter, the closer to each other it is possible to drive the electrodes and to a much smaller depth. If the soil is dry, respectively, the depth should be large, the distance between the rods and the edges of the triangle is longer.

If you are too lazy to find out the depth on your own, you can simply visit the nearest state service, contact not the officials, but the ordinary electrician on duty.

He will be able to tell you the depth required by the contour in your region, and he will be able to advise you, give you accurate data. If you can not weld the contour, you can buy it. Available copper-finished prefabricated contours are available. Their effectiveness is high enough, but the price, unfortunately, is appropriate.

In case the soil is very dry, for example, sandy or limestone, it is possible to increase its moisture artificially. It is enough to just do a few wells in the place where the contour will be installed, and fill them with water.

In the event that you set the path to suburban area, it is worth recommending that you do not drive in the electrodes, but beforehand make the depressions into which you lower the structure.

In addition, the remaining free niches can be covered with soil mixed with salt. This method has its own plus, and its minus:

this will improve the efficiency of the circuit by reducing its resistance;
such a method will lead to corrosion of the metal.

Nevertheless, you can safely use this method, because corrosion will be formed over a long period.

Again, the installation of the circuit should be made in the summer, especially in its hottest period. It is at this time that you will be able to obtain data on the maximum dryness of the soil, which is exactly what happens during this period.

This method has a number of advantages: so you will not only be able to find out the minimum value of loop resistance, but also make it easier for yourself to work. After all, digging such a soil will be much easier than in winter, when it is frozen, and in spring - absorbed moisture.

As materials for work, I can also fight to buy a black steel corner and the same tape. One more clarification: the corners should not be painted.

There is an opinion that on a site it is necessary to choose that place which is in a constant shadow and where all rain water falls. This is the strongest error. Rain water can penetrate into the soil to a depth of 1-1.5 meters, and this is not enough for the contour, it should be at a greater depth, where, by the way, the moisture level is more stable due to groundwater.

It can be difficult to drive the armature. You can not achieve the goal, just bend your workpieces. Most simple way will pre-dig deepenings.

The sequence of actions should be as follows: first perform earthworks, dig holes for the installation of pins, install them, weld them together, fix them in the ground and then connect them to your home system. It should look something like this.

Last helpful advice: the circuit should be installed from the side of those premises of the house, which are the most dangerous in terms of electrical safety. They are easy to calculate by weak wiring, a large number of devices or devices that consume more power.

Video - self-ground loop

In the video below, you can see all the above manipulations, you can personally see how and what to do.

Content:

Many people live and spend their time in cottages and private country houses. They try to create for themselves maximum comfort and comfort, to surround with all modern conveniences. The vast majority of such facilities are fully electrified, so the question often arises as to how to make a grounding in a private house with your own hands.

Earthing scheme in a private house with their own hands 220 and 380v

In each private house the grounding is arranged depending on what voltage is connected to it - 220 or 380 volts. Both grounding schemes are practically the same. In both cases, the earth loop device will be exactly the same. The existing differences relate to the method of connection, depending on the type of electrical network.

When connected to a single-phase network with a voltage of 220 volts, three wires are used: phase, neutral and ground. There are also three corresponding contacts in the sockets. If a three-phase 380 V voltage is connected, five wires are already used, three of which are phase, and the other two perform the functions of zero and ground. There are also five contacts in the sockets.

It is strictly forbidden to use a neutral wire instead of a grounding conductor, regardless of the voltage in the electrical network. In this case, it is quite possible the failure of expensive household appliances and equipment. In addition, there is a real threat to the health and lives of people in the house.

When grounding in a private house, the difference in resistance should be taken into account. If the installation is carried out according to all rules, then the grounding resistance with a voltage of 220 volts will be about 30 Ohm. At a voltage of 380 volts, this figure will be 10 ohms. A large role is played by the resistivity of the soil, in which the ground loop is laid. For example, rocky soil has very low rates.

Earthing schemes

First of all, you need to determine the most suitable variant of the grounding scheme for a private house. Depending on this, the whole system will be mounted in the future.

The following earthing schemes are most popular:

Closed circuit in the form of a triangle. Its main advantage is considered to be more reliable operation. In the event of damage to the jumper between the pins, the operation of the system will continue from any other side.
The linear circuit consists of several pins, dug in one line, connected in series with each other. The disadvantage of such a system is its complete failure when the jumper is damaged, installed at the very beginning.

For private houses, the triangle is best suited. By the volume of work this scheme does not differ from other systems, however its efficiency is much higher. Based on specific conditions, you can use your own option and configure the grounding in the form of a rectangle or other shapes.

Necessary tools and materials

For the manufacture of artificial earths, steel rolled metal is used. Best for these purposes are round rods, pipes of different cross-section and corners.

It is strictly forbidden to use profile reinforcement as earthing conductors and earthing switches. This is due to the roughened outer layer found in all products of this type. As a result, the distribution of current across the section is disturbed, and the oxidation process occurs much faster.

In order to protect the metal against corrosion, the use of galvanized electrodes is practiced. In some cases, electrically conductive concrete can perform the function of the earth electrode.

There are factory-made kits consisting of solid copper-plated pins. Their length is 1.5 meters, and at the end there is a thread. To connect the pins, special brass threaded couplings are provided. Immersion in the ground of electrodes is carried out by manual impact instruments of increased power with the aid of an adapter and a guiding head. The electrodes are connected to the ground conductor by clamps made of stainless steel. Protection of joints from corrosion at joints is carried out by coating with a special paste.

Do not paint earthing strips or apply other coatings to them, which reduce the conductivity. However, under the influence of corrosion, the thickness of steel parts is gradually reduced. This factor must be taken into account, therefore, the electrode section is selected with a certain margin. Thus, a sufficiently long operation of the circuit is ensured.

AT normative documents the minimum permissible cross-section of earthing switches is determined, which should be taken into account when selecting materials. Thus, for a rod zinced, this parameter is 6 mm2, for a rod of ordinary black metal - 10 mm2, and for rectangular rolling - 48 mm2. The walls of pipes or shelves of rolled steel are selected with a minimum thickness of 4 mm.

Of great importance is right choice material used to connect the electrodes. In most cases, a strip is used, but under certain conditions it is allowed to use a pipe, a corner or a wire. With the help of these materials, the ground can be connected directly to the electrical panel. The cross-section of the ground conductor inside the building must match the cross-section of the phase conductor used in the wiring.

All grounding conductors are connected to a single grounding bus used for switching. The tire itself is made of special electrical bronze. It is one of the elements of the switchboard and fixed directly to its wall. A sledgehammer and a stepladder may be required to carry out the work. The joining of details from rolled black metal is carried out by means of welding.

Earthing system installation

In private houses, the use of a triangle with equal sides is practiced. In order to make a ground loop in a private house with their own hands, the markup for the future design performs exactly the same configuration. The grounding distance from the foundation of the building should not exceed 1 meter.

After performing the marking, along the entire perimeter of the triangle, a trench breaks to a depth of 0.8 to 1 meter. Its width is from 50 to 70 cm, which ensures the convenience of welding and other works. The trench itself is necessary for laying horizontal connecting earthing switches.

At each vertex of the triangle, vertical earthing switches from a 2 to 3 meter long corner are clogged. They are buried almost completely by the impacts of the sledgehammer. To make the corners better enter the ground, their ends are sharpened. To facilitate the work will help the device of small wells opposite each vertex of the triangle, about 1.5 m deep. In this case, the corners are hammered into the ground for a shorter distance.

After completing all preparatory work, you can start the direct installation of the ground loop:

At the very beginning of the work, the corners are hammered into the ground in such a way that their upper edge protrudes over the surface of the bottom of the trench by about 20-25 cm.
At the end of the installation vertical earthing, horizontal tying is performed to create a closed loop. All connections are made by welding - the steel strip is welded to the ends of the corners. Do not use bolted connections, because after some time, these places are oxidized. As a result, the contact is lost, and the ground loop begins to work inefficiently.
After complete assembly of the ground loop, it must be connected to the electrical panel. This is done using a grounding conductor, for which a steel wire with a cross section of 8-10 mm is used. It is welded to the contour and then laid in a trench to the point of connection with the shield. At this point a bolt with a diameter of 6 or 8 mm is also welded, to which the grounding wire will be fixed.
If there is no steel wire, a steel strip may be a grounding conductor, the same as in a horizontal earthing switch. The strip will be even more effective, since it has a larger area of contact with the ground. However, it is more difficult to work with, especially when laying trenches on the folds.
At the end of all welding work, the welding places are treated with special anti-corrosive compounds. For this purpose, paint can not be used because it completely disrupts the metal to ground connection and the grounding system simply will not work.

After checking all the connections, the excavated trench is covered with earth. Further, grounding must be connected to the equipment installed in the house. Many private homes use a system tN-C grounding, where it is grounded. After installing its own ground loop, such a circuit will no longer work and will require a modification to the TN-C-S or TT system.

TN-C-S Grounding System

There is no separate ground conductor in the TN-C circuit, so it needs to be remodeled into the TN-C-S circuit. To do this, it is necessary to divide the electrical panel into a combined PEN wire, which is both a zero working and protective conductor. After the separation, two separate wires should be obtained: N - working and PE - protective.

Since only two supply wires are connected to the house, it is necessary to use a special PE grounding wire connected to the shield via a metal surface to receive three-core internal wiring. It connects the PEN wire, which is connected to the outside network.

Then the PE bus is connected by a jumper with the same bus connected to the zero working conductor N. The zero bus is necessarily isolated from the switchboard. After that, the shield itself is connected to the ground loop. For this purpose, a stranded copper wire is used, one end of which is connected to the shield, and the other is attached to the ground conductor by means of a bolt welded at the end.

Earth connection according to TT circuit

This system does not require separation of the PEN conductor. The scheme provides for the connection of the phase conductor to the bus isolated from the electrical board. Then it will perform the function of zero wire. After that, the shield body is connected to the ground loop.

Thus, grounding in a private house with your own hands according to the TT scheme does not provide any electrical connection of the circuit with the PEN conductor. This connection has significant advantages over the TN-C-S circuit. When PEN wires off, the zero potential on the instrument housings will be retained. Therefore, the TT circuit is considered to be more reliable and safe. A serious disadvantage is its high cost, because the scheme necessarily presence of protective devices.

How to make your home ground yourself

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