Why Electrical Grounding Is Essential

Electricity can be as dangerous as it is indispensable in a home. Getting the benefits without suffering the drawbacks comes down to a little common sense and proper precautions.

One of the critical parts of protecting a home from electrical fires and other associated damage is proper grounding. However, the concept of grounding electricity and why it's essential often escapes most homeowners.

Please keep reading to find out what electrical ground is and why it's essential to keep a home safe.

What is electrical grounding?

To explain electrical grounding in a broad sense, let's start with some basics. The Earth is a positively charged mass with a negatively charged surface. Without getting too deep into specifics, being positively charged means electricity likes to flow into it. And it can essentially absorb electrical charges.

As a consequence, the ground serves as a common return path for any electrical current. In a nutshell, this characteristic provides an escape route for electrical discharges if there is a problem in a circuit. Otherwise, a faulty discharge could compromise an entire system if it doesn't have an alternate path.

How does a home grounding system work?

In the context of a home's electrical wiring system, proper grounding serves several purposes. 

Electricity arrives at a home via high voltage cables that carry a positive charge. In other words, they push electrons into the wiring system. Those electrons are then distributed through the home's circuits to consumers, such as appliances and lights.

After passing through consumers in the home, the electrical current is negatively charged and makes its way into the ground through "hot" wires. However, if a system malfunctions, the current can find a shorter path to the ground than going back the way it came, turning whatever stands between it and the ground into a conductor.

Most modern electrical systems have grounding wires that run parallel to the home's standard positive and negative wires to avoid this. The purpose of these grounding wires is to safely carry current into the ground if there is a ground fault.

This parallel grounding system is typically a copper wire connected to all the electrical installations and runs back to the electrical box. From there, it is connected to a grounding rod outside the home. When a fault occurs, this wire safely discharges electricity into the ground.

A typical outlet has three ports. One of the holes is for the positively charged current, the other for the negative or hot wire. The third port is for the ground and connects directly to the copper wire leading to the grounding rod.

The importance of home electrical grounding

Electrical grounding is not just a needless precaution; it's an integral part of any safe home wiring system. It redirects electricity when a short circuit would otherwise overload the system and cause damage. Adequate grounding can mean the difference between a minor electrical repair and catastrophic damage to the home.

When you need a licensed electrician for commercial or residential electrical needs, call Zimmerman Electric at 310-378-1323.