Guide to Grounding, Bonding, Shielding and Surge Protection--Article Index

• 1. Introduction and basics
• 2. Grounding of power supply system neutral
• 3. Equipment grounding
• 4. Lightning: effect on buildings, electrical systems / protection
• 5. Static electricity and protection
• 6. Ground electrode system
• 7. Surge protection of electronic equipment
• 8. Electrical noise and mitigation
• 9. UPS systems and their grounding practices
• 10. Real-world examples and case studies

Few topics generate as much controversy and argument as that of grounding and the associated topics of surge protection, shielding and lightning protection of electrical and electronic systems. Poor grounding practice can be the cause of continual and intermittent difficult-to-diagnose problems in a facility. This guide looks at these issues from a fresh yet practical perspective and enables you to reduce expensive downtime on your plant and equipment to a minimum by correct application of these principles. This guide is designed to demystify the subject of grounding and presents the subject in a clear, straightforward manner. Installation, testing and inspection procedures for industrial and commercial power systems will be examined in detail. Essentially the discussion in this guide is broken down into grounding, shielding and surge protection for both power and electronics systems.

Grounding and surge protection for Telecommunications and IT systems are examined in detail.

Finally, the impact of lightning is examined and simple techniques for minimizing its impact are described. The terms grounding and earthing are understood to be interchangeable in this guide but due to the larger readership the term grounding has been the preferred usage. Our apologies to our European readers for this unfortunate compromise.

Typical people who will find this guide useful include:

• • Instrumentation and Control Engineers
• • Consulting Engineers
• • Electrical Engineers
• • Project Engineers
• • Maintenance Engineers
• • Electrical Contractors
• • Safety Professionals
• • Consulting Engineers
• • Electricians
• • Electrical Inspectors
• • Power System Protection and Control Engineers
• • Building Service Designers
• • Data Systems Planners and Managers
• • Electrical and Instrumentation Technicians.

We would hope that you will gain the following from this guide:

• • Knowledge of the various methods of grounding electrical systems
• • Details of the applicable national Standards
• • The purposes of grounding and bonding
• • A list of the types of systems that cannot be grounded
• • Details on how to correctly shield sensitive communications cables from noise and interference
• • Know-how on surge and transient protection
• • The ability to troubleshoot and fix grounding and surge problems
• • A good understanding of lightning and how to minimize its impact on your facility.

Some working knowledge of basic electrical engineering principles is required, although there will be a revision at the beginning of the guide. Experience with grounding problems will enable the guide to be placed in context.

Also see: Guide to Transistor Basics