5/31/2023 0 Comments You re grounded![]() ![]() To date, neither the NEC of NFPA 70 specify an orientation, leaving it entirely up to the interpretation of the installer. However, do you notice anything? While the code was so focused on the right thing (safety), they forgot about those of us who are a bit on the OCD side. By this time, two-slot receptacles quickly became a thing of the past. The NEC updates its codes every three years and finally after five revisions, the 1962 edition was the first to require that all 120-volt electric receptacles in residential and commercial buildings be three-slot. This was of course before the invention of GFCI and AFCI protection receptacles, but the idea certainly contributed to their inception down the road. The code was specifically targeting wet locations where a person was most likely to be shocked. By 1956, the code was expanded to require three-slot outlets in locations such as garages, outdoors, and basements. At this time, the NEC began ramping up requirement for these receptacles to be installed in laundry areas only. What does the NEC require? Well, for starters, three-slot grounding receptacles weren't really required or even installed much of anywhere until 1947. (I couldn't resist the double puns here).Last week, Drew Allen resurrected a highly debated question to his LinkedIn followers: Ground pin up or down which do you prefer? And what does the National Electric Code (NEC) require? There's never been a clear answer with electricians and engineers alike divided on the most appropriate method of installation for three-pronged outlets, but let's check with the code. And to make matters worse, ground's effectiveness changes with the weather worse in summer, better in the wetter months of winter and spring.įor now, let's start understanding how we deal with grounds inside the equipment we own, then we'll move on to more grounded subjects. In other words, in a crowded community of homes and buildings, all that noise we're throwing into Earth becomes the equivalent of a toxic waste dump. Problem is, when we use ground to lower noise in our audio system–as in yesterday's black hole example–the hole we're sending our noise to is more gray than black. Ground is included mostly as a safety valve for us humans and a sink for unwanted noise for our audio equipment. All the power your home uses runs through the two or three incoming AC wires, not ground. Don't try this at home, but you could disconnect ground from Earth and little in your home would change, everything functioning as it should. ![]() Not everything in our homes uses ground and - and this is important to understand - ground is not used to conduct electricity. These wires haven't any connection to ground. Power coming into your home is typically fed by two, or three wires from a transformer on the utility pole. Grounds like these are installed mostly for safety and are required by law in nearly every country. This, or something like this, is the lowest electrical point in your home's AC system. You may have seen something similar to this picture in your backyard.Ī metal rod driven into the earth with a wire attached to it. When a crime had been committed in the McGowan household I was the first suspect (usually for good reason) and the procedure was to immediately ground me as the first step in any crime investigation, with worse measures soon to follow, depending on the severity of the crime and the fate of the judge and jury (my father).Įach of our homes, apartments, condos, are grounded to one point through the home's electrical system. Those words from years ago still sting in my memory.
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