>OTOH, I've read suggestions by licensed electricians and electrical
>inspectors suggesting that all these Hondas should be red-tagged because
>they are not and cannot be properly grounded in accordance with the NEC.
Proper generator grounding depends upon what application the generator is
being used for. Grounding methods required for one application are be
expressly forbidden in others. Grounding requirements are in article 250 of
the NEC, a complex section even for professionals. If you're planning to
connect any generator to permanent wiring, have the plans reviewed by a PE
competent in electrical wiring, the local "Authority Having Jurisdiction",
or a licensed Master Electrician. Don't rely on any advice you get over the
internet, including mine!
That said, there are at least four ways the generator could be applied in
an NEC-compliant system: as a "Separately Derived Source"(*), as a standby
power or co-generation system that isn't separately derived, as a portable
generator with plug-connected loads, or as a vehicle-mounted generator with
[lug-connected and vehicle-mounted loads. Needless to say, different
grounding requirements apply to each. There is no one "right" answer to
generator grounding.
(*) The phrase "Separately Derived Source" has a specific definition in the
Code. If the construction and installation don't meet all the requirements
of that definition, it isn't separately derived and must not be treated as
such. Confusion about whether a system is (or should be) Separately Derived
often leads to incorrect grounding of generator and UPS systems.
--Tim (KR0U)
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