SHORTS - WHY WE BOND (Neutral & Ground) Explained in 3 Minutes

Here's a short version of the video I did a while back on why we bond neutral and ground together at the service panel of a premises wiring system.

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#electrician #electrical #electricity

[kl]

These 3 minute videos are shockingly effective 👌🏽

[z]

Bringing GFCI into the conversation gets tricky; one of the big dangers in older circuits is that breakers are normally tripped only in short situations, where an abnormally large current suddenly flows, because the resistance of the device (bulb, motor, heater) is bypassed. The surge heats up the breaker, and it trips - eventually, before setting a place on fire. If a body comes between the load and the return neutral, resistance is added and you die, without the breaker heating to trip. GFCI breakers detect a difference in the two lines, and trip very fast if current in the neutral run is less than the hot wire, which would be a normal situation when a person becomes a path for current to go to ground.

[irwinjimenez]

The animation is fantastic. These types of quick videos w/animation are perfect for teaching the greenies/newbies some of the basics. Can you do one for 3/4-way sitches? Relays & contactors? Timers? Timing relays, etc?

[josephshaff]

One of the more difficult thing for me to understand as a Drafter has been the difference between Neutral and Ground. I've never had it explained really well. Thanks that helps alot.

[WApnj]

The graphic animation is great. Much better than your usual 'draw over the screen' presentations.

[jimuhelski]

This is an extremely effective presentation. I appreciate your effort in putting this together.

[bmacdoug]

I agree with most of what you said. The reason there are grounds at all is to ensure that a fault, as your animation showed very clearly, causes a high current to flow in the circuit, tripping the breaker and de-energizing the circuit. If there were no grounding, it would be possible for the light fixture to remain energized at 120 Volts due to a fault, waiting for someone to touch it, make a connection to ground through their body, and be electrocuted. Adding a grounding conductor to the metal parts of the fixture (green or uninsulated wire, and with the other end connected to the earth) ensures that there is no possibility that the fixture is at any voltage other than zero, compared to earth. However, using a stake in the ground to ensure an earth connection relies upon the earth's conductivity, how wet the earth is, how far the ground point is from the utility earth conductor, etc. and so there are too many ways for this not to work. As you note, connecting the grounding conductor to the grounded neutral wire from the utility ensures that this path has almost zero resistance back to the utility. The effect is that when a fault occurs, a very large current flows momentarily through the fixture, then the grounding wire, and back to the neutral. This ensures that the breaker trips immediately, clearing the fault in a few milliseconds.

[dnznznfjsnsnsms]

For once, someone made this make perfect sense. You are a saint of the electrical world

[MrPhotodoc]

This just completed a circuit in my brain as a novice in this fascinating field of electricity.

[charleyfloyd]

Been preaching the same message to my continuing education students for years. It's surprising how many electricians have trouble with the concept.

[abdullahalahmadi]

the rule appears to be that you should never connect ground to neutral anywhere else than at the main panel. The reason for that (from countless individuals/websites online) is that once you do that, you would be a using a device's ground and neutral returns in parallel, and once the ground in a system is energized, this effectively energizes all other objects connected to ground in the system.

But given that ground and neutral are already connected together at the main panel, doesn't that do exactly what is meant to be prevented with this rule? Once you have conductors (ground/neutral wires) at equal potential somewhere in the system, how does connecting them elsewhere change their relative potential?

[cookinwithchris]

This grounding n bonding video might be one of the best explanations with animation ... I feel like anyone who doesn't understand grounding and bonding would understand after this video

[chriswalker]

Awesome video. So nice when someone can explain something clearly and concisely in such a short time. Good work

[alaalkhatib]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that the circuit is complete in case of the fault even without earthing the neutral, the image you used is for TT earthing scheme, and fault currents dissipated into the ground at the faulty load will correspond to currents being pulled up from the earthing point of the source, thus completing the circuit

[zafarsyed]

These shorts are educational and energizing!

[captzoom]

Thank you all these years nobody's ever explained it so easily and simply like you just did I really appreciate it now I completely understand it and I can explain it to someone else thank you

[dangerdoberman]

The face on the electrical panel had me rolling HAHAHAA!

[robelmichael]

In Norway, we are told that the reason we don’t mix earth with L or N is because we want to protect humans, pets or livestock from a potential current leakage, by connecting earth with the metal part of the component.

[Anunakipower]

Excellent short video it says a lot. Thank you!

[marcocisafrulli]

There are systems where the neutral is put to earth only into the distribution cabin. Therefore only the neutral of the transformer is put to earth. In case of faults, like the one you described in the video the GFCI comes into play.