By doing grounding with your own hands in the country or in a private house, you can ensure complete safety the use of electrical appliances, protecting equipment from damage during short circuits and breakdowns wiring. Such a circuit diagram is simple in design, so it will not be difficult to complete it yourself. You just need to decide what is a ground electrode and how such a structure is arranged.
Content
- Description of protection
- Types of grounding
- Ready-made sets of equipment
-
Do-it-yourself contour
- Site selection and installation
- Checking the quality of the work performed
- Useful Tips
Description of protection
It is impossible to imagine the life of a modern person without electricity. Used electrical appliances, machinery and equipment have adequate protection against electric shock. However, if the insulating layer of the wires is damaged, a current breakdown to the device case may occur, which poses a great danger to human health. Especially for the prevention of high voltage shock, grounding structures are used, which allow you to divert excess currents underground, protecting electrical appliances and users from the effects of high voltage.
Giving the definition of grounding, electricians mean a construction of non-conductive devices, buried in the ground for 2-3 meters or more. The standard protective circuit includes contour elements consisting of electrodes and a special wire that runs from the mains in the house to a metal rod located deep in the ground. The principle of operation of current drainage is based on the property of the flow of charged particles to follow the least resistance, therefore, even if the insulation is damaged, you can touch such devices with your hands without fear of getting hit current.
Types of grounding
Today, various types of grounding are used, which differ in their purpose, design and principle of operation. The most widespread are the following types of devices:
- protective;
- workers.
These types of protection differ primarily in their purpose. Working grounding is necessary to ensure the uninterrupted and correct functioning of the equipment. The protective device prevents electric shock to people. It excludes equipment failure in case of voltage breakdown on the device case.
All requirements for the arrangement of such a protective system are stipulated in GOST and SNiP standards. Grounding is recommended for owners of private houses and summer residents using powerful electrical appliances and various heating equipment. It is only necessary to choose the right type of protection and its design scheme. Depending on the way of arrangement grounding is usually distinguished into the following types:
- TN-C;
- TN-S;
- OT;
- TT.
In the grounding, made according to the TN-C principle, a single cable is used that combines the neutral wire and the PE conductor. The voltage is directed to metal pins located more than two meters underground. Due to the simplicity of the design, such a protective system can be performed independently, even without having the appropriate electrical skills.
The TN-S grounding designation is a modernized scheme in which two wires are used at once, extending directly from the electrical panel and connected to a circuit buried in the ground. The underground metal structure has a complex shape, which makes it possible to cope even with the removal of high current power during short circuits. The use of the TN-S grounding system prevents human injury from high voltage, and appliances in the house are completely protected from electricity breakdown. Such a scheme may be designated TN-C-S.
A type of grounding OT implies a voltage withdrawal from the housing of household appliances and equipment with using a neutral directly to the ground with a parallel connection of a metal insulated from the ground housing. Such a scheme is structurally complex, therefore, it is resorted to only when it is required to ensure the maximum possible safety of electrical devices in the network.
Grounding according to the TT scheme is based on the use of a solidly grounded neutral. The essence of this method is that the conductive parts of the electrical equipment are connected to a grounding device located on the consumer's side. Such a protection system is structurally complex and requires professional calculation, therefore, it is not possible to carry it out on your own. The TT grounding works as reliably as possible, ensuring complete safety of electrical engineering.
Ready-made sets of equipment
Today on sale you can find ready-made grounding kits, the cost of which is about 4-6 thousand rubles. All that remains to be done is to carry out the installation of such a metal circuit by burying it in the ground for 1-3 meters and connecting the power wires from the switchboard to it. The use of ready-made kits can significantly simplify the arrangement of high-quality electrical protection of a private house.
Do-it-yourself contour
The standard grounding design for a private house or a summer cottage is not complicated, therefore it is possible to make it yourself. This will significantly reduce the homeowner's costs without sacrificing the quality of the work performed. To do this work you will need:
- shovel;
- level;
- welding machine;
- twine and pegs.
The owner of the house first of all needs to decide what kind of ground electrode will be performed (vertical or horizontal). Their difference is the depth of the laying, as well as the location of the metal elements in the ground. The vertical earthing switch can be used with electricity consumption of no more than 15 kW. It is made from a corner with dimensions of 50x50x5 mm and from a pipeline with a diameter of at least 32 mm. The horizontal earthing switch can be made of 40x4 mm strip steel and steel wire with a cross section of 10 mm or more.
The conductor is made of steel wire, metal strip, or copper wire. When laying the cable in a trench, its thickness must be at least 25 mm. If an open installation is intended, then the minimum wire thickness is 16 mm.
The peculiarities of homemade grounding of a private house include the method of laying an electrode located at a depth not less than one and a half meters, while the distance between the ground loop and the blind area of the building must be at least 100 cm. Withstanding such a minimum removal, it will be possible to ensure the trouble-free operation of the protective system, guaranteeing complete safety and high quality of its functioning.
Site selection and installation
Installation of the ground loop is carried out near the foundation of the house, taking into account the minimum permissible distances to the building. The length of the connecting line is kept as short as possible, which significantly reduces material consumption. Subsequently, correctly locatedth ground loop will not interfere with economic activities, breakdown of flower beds and laying of engineering communications.
Work on the installation of grounding conductors begins with the arrangement of the trench. Its depth should be at least 75 cm. A trench is made in the form of a triangle with a larger side equal to 3 m.To simplify earthwork, one should first, with the help of pegs and twine, carry out a breakdown on the ground, only then proceed to arrangement of the moat.
The metal contour is made from a corner with dimensions of 50x50x5 mm. It will take at least 3 meters of material, which is cut with a grinder and connected by welding or rivets. At the vertices of the triangle, the ends of the corner are bent upward, making them protrude 10 cm above the ground.
To combine the ground loop into a single circuit, a metal strip 5 mm thick and 50 mm wide is used. Using electric welding, a strip is used to connect the corners at the vertices of the triangle. The seams are carefully welded along the entire length, which ensures the construction quality, reliability and durability. The joint should be additionally painted to prevent rust.
Finally, it remains to bring the phase from the electrical panel in the house to the circuit. This connection is carried out using a metal strip or thick copper wire. You will need to dig a trench into which the ground loop is laidgoing directly to the house. A screw is welded to the bus, which connects it to the copper core. Next, the wire goes to the shield, where it is fixed with crocodiles or special durable fasteners.
Checking the quality of the work performed
For the most accurate measurement of the resistance of a self-made circuit, special equipment is used. You can also use the proven folk method, which allows you to determine the quality and performance of the manufactured grounding.
A powerful consumer of 2 kW is required, which is connected at one end to the phase on the switchboard, and at the other end to ground. Using a multimeter, check the voltage in the network with the consumer turned on and off. With a slight difference in indicators, it can be concluded that the correct working ground loop has been completed.
Useful Tips
Before proceeding with the trench for the ground loop, it is necessary to draw a diagram on paper site, which subsequently will allow you to easily determine the location of all metal elements under earth. This will simplify the possible repair and modernization of the do-it-yourself grounding.
The electrodes are placed not only at the apex of the triangle, but can also be located on the same line. The total loop resistance should not exceed 3 ohms. If necessary, this indicator can be reduced by installing one or two additional rods.
You can often hear that the grounding of a private house should be carried out exclusively by professionals, therefore, such work with your own hands is not allowed. However, not a single regulatory document prohibits the self-installation of the ground loop.
Having completed the grounding of a private house or summer cottage with your own hands, you can ensure complete safety operation of electrical equipment, preventing electric shock during short circuits and breakdowns conductors. You just need to decide what is called grounding and how this work is done. Various schemes of the protective circuit can be performed, the choice of which will depend on the characteristics of the operation of electrical equipment and the total load in the house. Doing such work on your own is not particularly difficult, so every homeowner can save on contacting electricians.
