Wiki User
∙ 14y ago<<>>
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.
Wiki User
∙ 14y agoThe neutral bus bar in a service panel can be grounded at the main service disconnect or at the first disconnecting means. This ensures that the neutral is properly grounded to the Earth.
No, the bare grounded neutral conductor of a service should not be buried directly in the ground. It should be installed above ground or within a suitable raceway or conduit to provide proper protection against damage or corrosion.
Neutral is neither Hot nor ground. Neutral is the return wire for electrical service. It is a requirement , by law, that the Neutral Wire Feed into an electrical service box (main panel) be BONDED to the box and the Earth ground. Thie effectively makes the neutral in circuits out of the service panel equal to ground. But as it enters the service panel from the utility and meter pan, it is not ground. <<>> The only time that the neutral can have voltage on it is if it gets disconnected from the distribution point. Then the voltage that is supplied to the load will continue through the load and stop at the disconnection point. If you touch the uninsulated part of the neutral wire and touch any grounded equipment at the same time your body will act as a conductor for the load circuit. You will receive a nasty shock. This scenario is the only time that the neutral is "hot".
If you are working with a sub panel, there are a few reasons to isolate the neutral. Firstly, currents will then return to the main panel and service ground.
The neutral conductor, or "grounded conductor", takes the unbalanced current back to its origin if wired correctly. If it finds a ground path before it makes it back to the panel, it will take it. If you take a neutral off its path back to a panel, and happen to touch a grounded surface, such as a metal case, you will become the ground path. That being being said for safety's sake, I will continue. The neutral wire completes the circuit. A neutral wire unattached to a neutral bar is an extension of the "hot" wire, or ungrounded wire, and will spark if grounded. If that unattached neutral touched a different circuit of a different phase, then what ever was connected between the hot and neutral wires just went poof. I hope that helps a little.
No, the neutral wires from different panels should not be tied together at the main neutral lug. Each panel should have its own separate neutral connection to the main service panel to ensure proper grounding and to prevent potential hazards such as ground faults. Mixing neutral wiring from different panels can cause electrical imbalances and safety issues.
No, the bare grounded neutral conductor of a service should not be buried directly in the ground. It should be installed above ground or within a suitable raceway or conduit to provide proper protection against damage or corrosion.
Neutral is grounded in a distribution panel. At best, it is only a few tens of millivolts away from ground and it certainly would not be DC - it would be AC.
Yes. The panel must be grounded with its own grounding rod. The ground will not be provided with the feeders to the panel, these will only contain your phase wires and neutral. Also make sure that any subpanel installed does not have the neutral bonded to ground. This should only be done at the main panel where the electrical utility service is connected.
Neutral is neither Hot nor ground. Neutral is the return wire for electrical service. It is a requirement , by law, that the Neutral Wire Feed into an electrical service box (main panel) be BONDED to the box and the Earth ground. Thie effectively makes the neutral in circuits out of the service panel equal to ground. But as it enters the service panel from the utility and meter pan, it is not ground. <<>> The only time that the neutral can have voltage on it is if it gets disconnected from the distribution point. Then the voltage that is supplied to the load will continue through the load and stop at the disconnection point. If you touch the uninsulated part of the neutral wire and touch any grounded equipment at the same time your body will act as a conductor for the load circuit. You will receive a nasty shock. This scenario is the only time that the neutral is "hot".
If you are working with a sub panel, there are a few reasons to isolate the neutral. Firstly, currents will then return to the main panel and service ground.
The neutral conductor, or "grounded conductor", takes the unbalanced current back to its origin if wired correctly. If it finds a ground path before it makes it back to the panel, it will take it. If you take a neutral off its path back to a panel, and happen to touch a grounded surface, such as a metal case, you will become the ground path. That being being said for safety's sake, I will continue. The neutral wire completes the circuit. A neutral wire unattached to a neutral bar is an extension of the "hot" wire, or ungrounded wire, and will spark if grounded. If that unattached neutral touched a different circuit of a different phase, then what ever was connected between the hot and neutral wires just went poof. I hope that helps a little.
Assuming inside the lighting/distribution panel, the Neutral bar is "bonded" to the ground bar. Then the neutral prong (usually larger) of the receptical is then directly wired to the Neutral bar in the panel. The above technique keeps the NEUTRAL at GROUND potential, however, the metalic frame of the appliance remains UN-GROUNDED if the supply cord is only 2-wire. The NEUTRAL connection inside the appliance is not allowed to be bonded to the frame of the appliance. Therefore, the un-grounded metal frame of the appliance can become a shock hazard if there is a fault in the appliance's internal wiring
It is the conductor that is used in service distribution panels that bonds the distribution panel's neutral bus bar to the ground electrode (rod). This brings all of the distribution panel neutrals that are connected to the same supply system to the same potential, that being zero. Should a supply service neutral open this ground wire will maintain the systems integrity until repairs can be made.
AWG # 3/0 copper.
Unless the panel is the Main Panel (first panel in the system after the service feed) all panels have a neutral bar. Otherwise you are missing pieces. If this is the Main Panel, the neutral bar is bonded to the ground by a bus-bar. If this is the case, neutrals should all be connected to the same side of these bonded bars. Electrically it makes no difference, however it is a good practice to keep electrical panels neat and organized. If this is not the Main Panel and there is no neutral bar, STOP, PUT DOWN THE TOOLS, CALL A PROFESSIONAL. This panel is missing pieces and may be dangerous. It is possible to have a panel without a neutral. This panel would serve only 240 volt loads where no neutral is needed, however I have not seen this done in residential applications.
If the sub panel is in the same building remove the bonding screw that bonds the neutral bar to the panels enclosure. Remove the ground from the second ground rod. The sub panel is grounded by the ground wire from the sub panel's feeder. If the panel is separate from the main building treat the sub panel as a separate service. It will need its own ground rods and ground wire from the rods to the neutral bar of the sub panel. Leave the bonding screw in. There will be no ground wire in the conduit between the two services.
You should not have to crimp the copper grounding electrical wire to the aluminium service neutral. There is only one place where these two wires should meet. In the service distribution panel there is a neutral block where the two wires are connected. There are individual terminal points in the block. Tighten the ground rod wire under one of these points and place the incoming service neutral under another point in the same block. In this same block there will be a machine screw that bonds the neutral block to the distribution panel's enclosure.