0
Where is the only place the neutral and ground wires can be on the same buss bar?
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
The main electric panel is where neutral is bonded to ground. There is usually a screw or strap that connects the two so the same type panel could be used as a subpanel and have the neutral and ground unbonded in subpanel.
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
Add your answer:
Earn +20 pts
Why would you have 115 vac on your neutral bus in the panel that has a separate ground buss?
Certainly your neutral bus is not properly bonded to the ground buss and grounding electrode conductor. But the size of your voltage worries me. You need a competent electrician to check this one for you.
Does the white and ground wire connect to same ground bar in a meter base?
There should be no ground wire in the meter stack from the mast head to the meter base. If the meter base to distribution panel conduit is PVC, then a green grounding conductor must be pulled into the conduit. This green wire is independent and isolated from the neutral wire and should never be terminated together at this point. Only the line service conductors and the neutral wire go through the meter base. The neutral goes through a lay in lug. This type of lug requires the insulation to be stripped of of the wire where it passes over the lug. This stripped wire is then laid into the lug and is secured to the meter base by the removable top piece of the lug. The neutral wire remains unbroken from the mast head to the distribution panel's neutral buss bar. Using this lay in lug the watt meter picks up the neutral wire for the plug in meters operation. If your terminology is not correct and you mean the "distribution panel" instead of "meter base" then the answer is no. There are two individual buss bars in the distribution panel. In some panels there may not be an actual "ground buss bar" but ground screws lined up in a row in the back of the distribution panel's enclosure. In all distribution panels there is a neutral buss bar where all of the neutral conductors from the branch circuits connect. Do not mix the bare ground wires and the white neutral circuit wires under this neutral buss bar.
Can neutral and ground wires be connected to the same buss bar in a service panel?
No. The sub panel is wired that same as an ordinary three wire load. The three wire is connected the sub panels terminal points as red to L1, black to L2, white to the neutral bar and the ground wire in the cable set to the ground bar. The one thing that has to be done is the bonding screw that bonds the neutral bus to the panels metallic enclosure has to be removed. The electrical code states that there is only one place that the ground is joined to the neutral bar and that is at the service entrance point into the main distribution panel.
Can you connect a ground to a neutral bar?
In any distribution panel there are individual bars for each termination. The ground buss is in direct contact with the metal enclosure. The neutral is isolated from the metal enclosure. The only place where the two come into contact with each other is where a bonding screw protrudes through the neutral bar and into the metal enclosure.
What is the difference between the neutral and ground bar?
In any distribution panel there are individual bars for each termination. The ground buss is in direct contact with the metal enclosure. The neutral is isolated from the metal enclosure. The only place where the two come into contact with each other is where a bonding screw protrudes through the neutral bar and into the metal enclosure.
Why would you have 115 vac on my neutral bus in the panel that has a separate ground buss?
Certainly your neutral bus is not properly bonded to the ground buss and grounding electrode conductor. But the size of your voltage worries me. You need a competent electrician to check this one for you.
Why would you have 115 vac on your neutral bus in the panel that has a separate ground buss?
Certainly your neutral bus is not properly bonded to the ground buss and grounding electrode conductor. But the size of your voltage worries me. You need a competent electrician to check this one for you.
Does the white and ground wire connect to same ground bar in a meter base?
There should be no ground wire in the meter stack from the mast head to the meter base. If the meter base to distribution panel conduit is PVC, then a green grounding conductor must be pulled into the conduit. This green wire is independent and isolated from the neutral wire and should never be terminated together at this point. Only the line service conductors and the neutral wire go through the meter base. The neutral goes through a lay in lug. This type of lug requires the insulation to be stripped of of the wire where it passes over the lug. This stripped wire is then laid into the lug and is secured to the meter base by the removable top piece of the lug. The neutral wire remains unbroken from the mast head to the distribution panel's neutral buss bar. Using this lay in lug the watt meter picks up the neutral wire for the plug in meters operation. If your terminology is not correct and you mean the "distribution panel" instead of "meter base" then the answer is no. There are two individual buss bars in the distribution panel. In some panels there may not be an actual "ground buss bar" but ground screws lined up in a row in the back of the distribution panel's enclosure. In all distribution panels there is a neutral buss bar where all of the neutral conductors from the branch circuits connect. Do not mix the bare ground wires and the white neutral circuit wires under this neutral buss bar.
Can neutral and ground wires be connected to the same buss bar in a service panel?
No. The sub panel is wired that same as an ordinary three wire load. The three wire is connected the sub panels terminal points as red to L1, black to L2, white to the neutral bar and the ground wire in the cable set to the ground bar. The one thing that has to be done is the bonding screw that bonds the neutral bus to the panels metallic enclosure has to be removed. The electrical code states that there is only one place that the ground is joined to the neutral bar and that is at the service entrance point into the main distribution panel.
Can you connect a ground to a neutral bar?
In any distribution panel there are individual bars for each termination. The ground buss is in direct contact with the metal enclosure. The neutral is isolated from the metal enclosure. The only place where the two come into contact with each other is where a bonding screw protrudes through the neutral bar and into the metal enclosure.
What is the difference between the neutral and ground bar?
In any distribution panel there are individual bars for each termination. The ground buss is in direct contact with the metal enclosure. The neutral is isolated from the metal enclosure. The only place where the two come into contact with each other is where a bonding screw protrudes through the neutral bar and into the metal enclosure.
Can the bare grounded neutral conductor of a service be buried directly in the ground?
A bare grounded neutral should never get close to the ground if it is wired properly. When the neutral leaves the meter base it is in conduit and should enter into the distribution panel where it connects to the neutral buss. It is at this junction that the copper ground wire is connected after coming from the outside ground rod or ground plate which ever grounding system was used.
Why would both ground wires and neutral wires be on same buss bar?
Both the earth wire and the neutral originate from the star point of the transformer. The neutral is used to complete the circuit with one phase, while the earth wire is used to conduct any current from the exposed metal body of the equipment to earth and to the star point of the transformer. This is done to protect people and animals in the event of accidental contact with electricity. Electricity will always follow the route of least resistance. Copper/aluminium has a much lower resistance than the human body. In the event of the live wire making contact with the earthed metal body of the equipment, the earth wire will conduct the electricity to the earth mass. Without an earth wire connected to complete the route of least resistance to earth, the human body will conduct the full load current to earth if you should touch the live metal of faulty equipment. This could result in electrocution ------------ Equipment ground-ING conductors (commonly called "ground wire" or "the ground" and is usually green or bare) and groundED conductors (commonly called the "neutral" and is usually white or gray) are required to be bonded together at the main service panel. It is common practice to put both ground and neutral conductors on the same buss bar in the main service panel which effectively bonds them together. Then, if the incoming neutral and outgoing grounding electrode conductor (that's the conductor that is connected to building ground, or ground rods, and/or water pipe ground) are connected to the same buss then everything is bonded together and grounded as required. Ground wires and neutrals should not share a buss bar and should be isolated from each other in any sub-panel.
Where do you connect the ground cable in a panel with no ground bus?
Many panels do not have a ground buss. Look for a set of screws mounted directly on the back of the panel adjacent to the breaker outputs. These are to be used for the ground wires. Square D panels are one of many that use this configuration.
What are two places that neutral buss bar in the service panel can be grounded?
Answer for USA, Canada and countries running a 60 Hertz supply service.There is only one place that the neutral can be grounded and that is at the service distribution box that containing the first over current device. You have the neutral coming into the box and the ground wire going to either a grounding rod or the water line where it comes into the house.
Is the neutral bus bonded to the equipment ground in a subpanel?
Definitely not. The neutral wires must be put on the neutral buss and that is the only place that they are to be terminated in a distribution panel. In a distribution panel there is no ground buss, it is just the metal enclosure that is used. The ground wire is only used to return a system fault back to the distribution panel to trip that circuits breaker.Distribution panels typically have two "busses"-- one for ground and one for neutral. These are terminal strips where the ground and neutral wires are connected. In some panels, these busses are electrically connected or "bonded." In other panels they are isolated. Most panels come with an optional "bonding screw" that can be installed or removed depending on whether the busses need to be connected. NEC is very specific on when these busses are to be connected. Ground and neutral busses should only be bonded at the main panel where the service enters the building. Other distribution panels will have separate ground and neutral busses and they should be isolated electrically--connecting these is a commonly seen mistake.I believe the question refers to the case where the two busses are properly bonded together, so are electrically equivalent. Then is it acceptable to have some ground wires on the neutral bus and vice-versa. Electrically it will work, but code or electrical inspectors may deem it to be confusing or sloppy practice and reject the installation.As always, if you are in doubt about what to do, the best advice anyone should give you is to call a licensed electrician to advise what work is needed.Before you do any work yourself,on electrical circuits, equipment or appliances,always use a test meter to ensure the circuit is, in fact, de-energized.IF YOU ARE NOT ALREADY SURE YOU CAN DO THIS JOBSAFELY AND COMPETENTLYREFER THIS WORK TO QUALIFIED PROFESSIONALS.
Do the grounding conductors and bonding conductors ever connect to a common point?
Answer for USA, Canada and countries running a 60 Hertz supply service.The grounding electrode conductor is brought into the main disconnect section of the distribution panel and a connection is made to the neutral block. The terminations in the panel at this point are two incoming "hots" to the main breaker and a neutral wire to the neutral terminal block. In the neutral termination block there is a ground screw that screws through to the distribution panels metal enclosure, there by making the metal enclosure the same potential as the ground plate or rods and the neutral wire that comes in from the street. The grounded circuit conductors of the wiring system are terminated on a separate ground buss that is located in the circuit breaker section of the panel. This buss is bolted directly to the rear of the distribution panel's metal enclosure in the circuit breaker section of the distribution panel. This ground buss is at the same potential as the ground electrode conductor above because of the grounding screw that connects the neutral block to the metal enclosure. Code requires when wiring sub panels within the same building that the neutral block screw be taken out of the circuit and a separate ground wire be run directly from the main distribution panel. This is to prevent any short circuit currents from the sub panel traveling back on the sub panel feeder's neutral wire.In house wiring you have earth ground connect to the ground bus in the main electric panel. Your neutral bus is "bonded" to the Ground bus only at the main panel. When you run branch panels you do not connect neutral to ground in these branch panels, only the main panel. There is typically a screw in an electric panel where the bonding occurs.
