How to ground a computer: why such work is done, a closed loop device in a house and apartment

It is impossible to imagine a modern house today without a personal computer. Many do not think about the correct power supply of the PC, which leads to problems with the electrical wiring in the house. It will be necessary to properly ground the computer, which will prevent short circuits, frequent surges in the network and protect electrical appliances used at home from electric shock.

How to properly power the computer

Not everyone knows why a computer and other household appliances are grounded. This procedure is necessary to protect people from electric shock. Most often, problems with electricity are noted in old apartments and private houses, where the quality of the wiring is poor.

For safety reasons, it is recommended to ground electrical appliances that have

metal case. With the existing high-quality grounding, the electric current will go along a special circuit or core, without causing any harm to the person. And also the presence of grounding will be required in cases when the house is marked frequent power surges. Such an individual circuit and a power cable laid from the electrical panel will prevent the failure of a computer and other electrical appliances with significant voltage drops in the network.

Electric shock can occur in the following cases:

• The computer case builds up a static charge and a short circuit occurs when a large potential difference occurs. Under certain circumstances, the user of the PC may receive a slight electric shock, and the main danger is static voltage is for electronic components, which can be damaged by the first short closure.
• When powerful impulse noise appears in the power grid, which not only leads to malfunctions in the PC, but they can also completely burn the motherboard, processor, video subsystem or disable hard drives. Impulse noise occurs due to the operation of various electrical equipment. As a prevention of impulse noise and electrical equipment failures, high-quality grounding of electrical outlets and the entire network in the house should be performed.
• Serious electric shock can occur as a result of contact of phase conductors with the metal case of computer equipment.

In new homes, the sockets are already grounded, which eliminates the need to install a closed loop, preventing electric shock and the occurrence of short circuits.

Determining the presence of such grounding is extremely simple. The outlet will have a corresponding marking, which confirms the presence of an additional wire and the complete safety of using the wiring.

Implementation of an individual contour in an apartment

In old multi-storey buildings, power distribution is organized according to the scheme TN - Cwhich does not imply a separate earth conductor. In this case, a single protective circuit is used as a working protective circuit. power cable PEN, and the electricity supply to each apartment is carried out four-core cable, in which three cores are used as a phase conductor, and one as a zero. Electricity wiring is carried out directly in the apartment two-core wireand the sockets used are not grounded.

Use powerful loaded electrical equipment without grounding in this case will be unsafe. You can solve the existing problems by creating individual ground loop and simultaneous dismantling old wiring, which is replaced with a new three-core. However, such work has a high cost, so most homeowners still decide to run a cable to an outlet that powers the computer from a common apartment electrical panel.

This method of creating a separate circuit can be used not only for computers, but also for various household appliances.

The work algorithm in this case will be as follows:

1. A circuit is laid from a copper multicore cable of a large cross-section from the general distribution panel to the computer.
2. In the electrical panel, you need to find a place where conductors coming from one apartment are screwed to the metal case.
3. With a bolt or self-tapping screw, fix the grounding cable in the electrical panel housing.
4. To ensure maximum reliability of the connection, the end of the wire and the installation site should be cleaned with sandpaper.
5. A grounding wire is attached to the computer or plugged directly into a power outlet.

Experts recommend fixing the attachment of the ground wire to the outlet using the GND connector. From a technical point of view, the most correct and competent solution would be to connect ground wire To special contact at the outlet. Therefore, you should use a new type of socket, which has a special socket for "ground".

Grounding the PC in the country and in a private house

Most summer cottages and private houses do not have high-quality grounding of electrical wiring, respectively, such work will need to be carried out by the homeowner himself. Each of us can do this work, even with minimal wiring skills.

Most often, in old houses and summer cottages, electrification is carried out according to a single-phase scheme, and the grounding of outlets can be done by connecting a separate ground loop.

Subsequently, a computer and other household appliances can be connected to such a circuit.

In specialized stores you can find ready-made special kits for self-installation of the ground loop. If you are installing a cable for a set of peripheral devices or one system unit, then no complex wiring required. All that needs to be done is to dig in or drive sharp metal pins to a depth of 150 centimeters. Metal clamp fasten to the end of the pin earthing cablewhich connects to computer case or connects to the appropriate socket contact.

Connection is also possible ground wire directly to electrical distribution board. In this case, the technology of work is completely similar to grounding in an apartment of a multi-storey building. You just need to remember that do not connect used aluminum or copper wiresas such metals come into contact with each other, the contact breaks down quickly, resulting in a short circuit and fire.

Common mistakes when working with the electrical network

The quality of the grounding performed and the complete safety of using a computer or other household devices in the house will directly depend on how correctly this work is done. Many craftsmen, in the absence of a PE cable in the electrical internal wiring, begin to lay additional power lines or incorrectly connect the wire laid by them to the outlet or computer.

Do not ground your computer as follows:

• The ground wire is not routed from the computer to the electrical panel, but to the radiator. At the first significant load, for example, during welding, the computer and other equipment grounded in this way will fail.
• It is also forbidden to connect the ground wire to the gas pipelines. This leads to an explosion of the gas supply system, and the consequences of such an accident will be sad.
• Connecting the cable to the lightning rod. Such arrangement of the electrical system in the house will damage the computer at the first thunderstorm and lightning strike at the house.
• It is forbidden to connect the ground loop to the neutral wire in a simple outlet. This will lead to the fact that the phase with a voltage of 220 volts will fall on the computer case. It is extremely dangerous for human life and health.
• Do not connect the cable to water pipes. In this case, the risk of electric shock and short circuit also increases with significant loads on the electrical network in the house.

You can learn more about the prohibited methods of grounding a computer in the rules for electrical installations.

To ensure the smooth functioning of PCs and other electrical appliances in the home, you will need to create an individual ground loop, which can be performed even with minimal knowledge in the field electrical installation.

Phoning the microphone, what to do

Working at a computer, we often encounter such a situation when the microphone began to hum and crackle. This happens due to the effect of electromagnetic radiation from the power supply cable. To avoid such troubles, you should connect the computer with an individual cable or into an outlet with a high-quality grounding.

Extraneous noise, rattling and crackling in the microphone may appear due to the use of a poor-quality audio cable that does not have protection against electromagnetic radiation. If the braiding is damaged or the cable is not shielded, excess noise in the microphone and speakers cannot be avoided. You can solve such problems by using high-quality audio cable or additional wire shieldingwhich connects the microphone and audio card in the computer.

All household appliances, mobile gadgets and other devices create strong magnetic fields that affect the microphone, which begins to crackle and hum. It is not always possible to prevent this, even with good grounding or using expensive shielded cables. As a preventive measure, it is recommended to install a computer on maximum possible distance from powerful electrical appliances, and should not be stored in the immediate vicinity on a table tablets, smartphones, mobile gadgets and chargers to them.

By grounding your computer, you can completely solve problems with short circuits and static electricity build-up. In new houses, all sockets already have a high-quality ground loop from the very beginning. But the owners of summer cottages and country cottages will need lay the power cable to the electrical panel or install a special grounding system for a private house. This work is not difficult, so each of us can handle it.