Solar Panel Grounding: Why, Where, How & When to do it

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Renewable Energy Engineer Jesse Gorter explains how and where to ground solar pv panels.
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Hello Solar Energy Enthusiast!

My goal is to make sure you will enjoy this course! Since you are reading this, it means you are looking for a reliable source of information related to grid-tied solar energy systems: Through this course, I will share with you my extensive knowledge and experience.

And lucky you! Through this course you will get a condensed version of all the fundamentals you need to be aware of. I have included several short multiple choice questions, through which you can self-test whether you have absorbed the knowledge adequately throughout the course. And to spice it up, we will also take numerous virtual excursions to websites of manufacturers of different components of your solar system. Through this approach, we make sure that we bridge the following gaps:
-We make sure that you get the relevant and unbiased knowledge from an experienced professional
- You have the possibility to test your knowledge and freely browse through the content of the course as per your preferences
- We will bridge the gap between theory & real-life examples by reviewing numerous product options which you might come across as you will be shopping for your system components

I am glad that you are interested in this course: It will teach you all the relevant knowledge, without any 'fluff', and includes several brief multiple-choice questions to test your knowledge.

I have created this course for you, fueled by my academic background in Renewable Energy Engineering and extensive field experience in the design and installation of PV Energy Systems.

You are getting a very good deal: I will summarize for you all that I have learned over the years, and all you have to do is push the button and start soaking up the information. Lucky you!

Take action now! Educate yourself by staring this course, so that you will be able to make well-informed decisions for your system. TIP: Udemy offers a very generous refund policy in case the course content turns out different than expected.

See you soon!

Jesse

Jesse Gorter
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Engineer, Master of Engineering
Mechanical Engineer, Energy Technology, Bachelor of Engineering

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Any information provided including but not limited to videos and exercises is provided for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice: Always consult a licensed professional for any design or installation work, and ensure to abide by all applicable regulations, governmental or otherwise. If you choose to use any of the information provided you do so at your own risk.

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#dosolarpanelsneedtobegrounded #wherecanigroundsolarpanels #howtogroundsolarpanel

[emeliaclaytonclayton]

I live in an off- grid cottage in Lesotho. Your videos have enabled me to no longer buy petrol for my generator and reduced my propane consumption by over half. My next plan is to install another panel and buy a 350W slow cooker to further reduce my need for gas. We are blessed with plenty of sunshine here and with your advice one can live quite comfortably. Thanks again Jesse.

[HS]

i believe the ground wire going back to the panel is the way a fault is cleared due to the ground and neutral being bonded. The ground rod wouldn't carry enough current to clear a fault on its own. I have seen people hook 120v from a panel straight to ground rod that was not bonded and it didn't trip the breaker. It just drew about 5 amps or so and created a dangerous voltage gradient in the earth.

[Mark-hptr]

Actually, the way that he describes the short circuit being handled by the breaker due to earth ground is not correct. The scenario that he described, were there no ground to neutral bond at the main panel, would not trip a breaker at all. Since the earth has high impedance, you would not get a large rush of electricity to ground, tripping the breaker. You would get a steady flow, which would electrify the TV case, as well as anyone who touches the case. The electricity would flow at a low rate both through the ground wire to earth, as well as through a person to earth, and they would feel the tingle. This is why we bond ground to Neutral. The neutral connects the ground wire to a direct path back to the source - the electrical transformer. Without that direct connection that allows a huge rush of electricity, tripping the breaker, the electricity would use the ground to complete the circuit back to the transformer through the earth and through the transformer earth rod, completing the circuit, but not tripping the breaker. It is not the earth rod that is intended to complete the circuit and cause the breaker to trip, but rather, the ground-to-neutral connection. The grounding rod serves a completely different purpose. I have actually proven this electrically. I am not speaking theoretically.

[theunssnyman]

Thank you Jesse. Do you need to ground every single panel? What aboit the mounting structure ? All the panels are connected to a rail, is it acceptable to ground the rails only?

[jamesforte-mason]

If the grounding rod you showed is supposed to be copper then its a new variety because its rather rusty, and dry rusty terminals are not good conductive points

[eadmineadmin]

:) Example with TV is for AC electricity, where ground is part of the circuit, but why you need grounding for solar which is DC ?

[elektronkim]

The subject is compartmentalized to which level of electricity we are into and where the borders and regulations go. You can ignore most of it in your car as an example.

[petertomas]

I love your videos, they are so helpfull ! Could you tell me pls if i can ground my DC/AC inverter of my solar system to the grounding of the main 220 AC ground of the house in the circuit breakers box since there is a ground there too for the 220V AC or do i need to make a new seperate ground for my inverter ? Thank you.

[noahriding]

when you sever power from the panels on your roof going into a charge controller, is the solar panel still getting wear and tear?

[adeelrehman]

i am installing the grounding rod yesterday and came across a thought that the i place i have chosen to ground has a gutter a few steps away and often the placed get water logged too from the gutter making the whole floor wet. i was worried if that wet surface can be hazardous if someone comes in contact with it?

[robert]

Thickness of ground wire needed for 35 ft run ? Will 12 gauge work ?

[cmkennyly]

Can I connect my solar panels groud to my existing AV ground rod?

[vfsd]

Ok, this might be a strange question, we recently discovered that we are feeling tingles in our home when neighbors solar is on, mostly in feet and legs. Confirmed when neighbor turns off solar the tingles go away. We don't have to touch anything in our home to feel tingling. Its felt all day from when the solar comes on and stops when the solar goes off. We have power company coming to check it out as our electrician has confirmed its not a problem within out home. Neighbors deny any issues on their side. Any idea what's going on in this situation and how to solve? thanks

[joshm]

Having a rod in the ground will NOT save you from electrocution. Having a RETURN PATH which causes fault current to be INTERRUPTED by tripping a GFI, AFI or circuit breaker, is what saves you from death.

[ledaelovos]

hello sir is there a specific wire size in grounding panels and inverter thank you

[gssrustenburg]

What would happen if lightning strikes a lamp post, tree etc. nearby (I believe lightning can reach 1million volt) Will lightning not use my ground rod as a conductor and enter my television through the ground? I am not clued up about lightning. Your thoughts?

[busybeecleaningireland]

All good but pic with earthing road is not correct, it should be cover with anticorosion tape

[markshort]

I'm off grid and my pannels are in series to make 300 volt.. both my inverters are earthed and i have the neutral connected to earth in the A/C circuit breaker box but my solar panels aren't earthed, does that mean i should have an earth wire on my panels for safety reasons?

[MrCounselorman]

I am confused. The video stops before showing how to do the ground wiring?

[GensetExpert]

Should the ac and dc earth in an off grid system be connected together?