At 11:58 AM 10/7/2005, Gary Schafer wrote:
>You seem to be saying two different things here?
>
>The neutral wire IS to be grounded to earth along with the safety ground
>at the service panel. Both are tied together and connected to earth
>ground at the main service panel. The power company also grounds the
>neutral connection at the transformer to earth ground.
Not necessarily.. for the same reason as you have a single interconnect
between neutral and ground. You don't want neutral return currents flowing
back to the transformer via the ground path.
Also, if the neutral opens between your house and the transformer (which
does happen, particularly on an overhead service), you don't want the
entire neutral return current flowing through ground. You'd rather have
the voltages on the two sides become unbalanced. Radical voltage
fluctations may destroy equipment, but at least it doesn't create a shock
safety hazard.
I suspect, however, that there is some variation in local practice
here. It probably depends on things like how many loads are serviced from
the transformer, how far the transformer is from the load, and so forth.
I seem to recall reading some fairly complex story about a swimming pool, a
multiunit apartment complex, and how the NEC required grounding strategy
resulted in the pool being electrified.
>The neutral should never be grounded anywhere else.
>
>73
>Gary K4FMX
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