We have been many groundbreaking discoveries to thank for our modern understanding of electricity – including the realisation of the importance of electrical grounding.
Despite its importance however, it’s one area of electrical engineering that leaves many business owners and homeowners puzzled!
Fortunately, you don’t have to be one of them – today, our commercial electrician company is taking a break from helping businesses all over the city to explain:
- How electrical grounding works
- Why it’s so important
- Crucial safety tips for electrical grounding
Interested in finding answers to all of these questions and more? Read on to find out!
What is electrical grounding, and what is its role in residential and commercial electrical connections?
While you may not know that much about how electricity powers your business or home, one thing that we all know is that electricity is dangerous – extremely so.
Over the years, a wide range of different safety features and safeguards have been developed to help protect property and people from the risks of electricity.
One of the most fundamental of these discoveries is electrical grounding.
In a traditional electrical circuit, there are two wires:
- An “active” wire that supplies power directly to your appliances
- A “neutral” wire that carries currents back to the power source to better control and regulate voltage
In most modern homes and businesses in Australia however, there’s an added third wire: the ground wire.
What the ground wire does is add a third wire to your electrical circuits, one that runs parallel to your active and neutral wires, and that’s securely connected to the ground at your breaker box.
How ground wires keep you safe
Explaining how electrical currents behave and why would take hours, but what you need to know is this: electrical currents automatically travel to the ground, seeking the path of least resistance to get there.
What the ground wire does is offer an additional pathway for electrical currents to travel in the event of a short circuit or other electrical problem.
Think of it as your electrical circuitry’s very own built-in safety measure, designed to keep you safe from electrical shocks and short circuits
Instead of going to ground via a piece of furniture or worse, a person who happens to be nearby, electrical currents will safely travel to ground via the ground wire.
And that in turn protects you from:
- Electrical overloads
- Instability in voltage levels
- Electrocution and shocks
The consequences of working without a ground wire
While they’re commonplace nowadays, that wasn’t always the case.
Many older commercial properties and residences throughout Victoria were built before the National Electrical Code was updated to make ground wires mandatory, and haven’t been rewired to keep up.
Long story short, there are a lot of electrical circuits out there without proper grounding!
In the event of a short circuit, currents will seek the fastest path towards the ground.
Without a ground wire, that can mean running through your building’s frame, the plaster in the walls and the ground, all of which can expose you to electric shocks.
Not only that, but it can also stop you from using most newly-made appliances.
Electrical sockets that aren’t grounded only have 2 slots, meaning any appliance with 3 prongs (that’s to say, most of them) simply won’t fit.
Can an exposed ground wire shock you?
In some properties, the ground wire is bare – that is to say, it’s completely uninsulated, with no protective sheath.
Don’t worry, this isn’t a mistake from your electrical contractor!
Rather, this is a deliberate choice – the lack of insulation maximises its conductive properties, making it the path of least resistance and maximising its effectiveness at redirecting currents.
Under normal circumstances, the ground wire doesn’t usually have an electrical current running through it, making it safe to touch.
That said, you shouldn’t make a habit of touching them anyway!
Does the thought of exposed wiring of any sort make you uncomfortable? Our commercial electrician in Black Rock and residential electricians can replace exposed ground wires with insulated ones, giving you peace-of-mind.
Do appliances have a ground wire as well?
Yes!
When buying appliances, it’s important to choose one that has a ground wire, especially if it’s an appliance that frequently uses lots of electricity like a toaster or kettle.
That’s because short circuits don’t just happen in your home or business’ electrical circuits – they can also occur in individual electrical appliances as well.
When this happens, the ground wire ensures that the current safely returns to your property’s electrical circuit without shocking you in the process.
When going appliance shopping, it’s crucial that you choose items that have a ground wire.
Just one question: how can you tell you’re buying an appliance with a ground wire?
Simple: does it have 3 prongs? If so, it has a ground wire.
Stay safe with our commercial electrician company
Electricity is dangerous, full stop. Luckily, there are many systems, techniques and more designed to help keep you safe.
And ground wires are one of them.
Of course, the most important part of staying safe around electricity is making sure that all of these safety features are installed, maintained properly and working properly.
And for that, you need to get in touch with a commercial electrician Braeside.
Among the many services our team offers is electrical maintenance and repair services for electrical wiring. We can:
- Inspect and fix ground wires
- As adding ground wires to properties that don’t already have them
- Check out your other electrical safety features
On top of helping commercial properties, we’re also residential electricians too, so you can call us to help out with your house too.
Get in touch today – give our team a call on 1300 410 141 or click here to touch base online.