What is earthing?

Earthing means connecting any non-current carrying conductor part of an electrical

system with general mass of earth in such a manner that there is an immediate
discharge of electrical energy to the earth in the event of electrical potential developed
at that part of the system. For example, metallic frame work of electrical appliances,
metallic covering of electrical cables, the earth terminal of three pin socket outlets,
stay wires and also neutral point of single phase and three phase supply systems must
be properly earthed. Earthing is done to ensure that no current carrying part of the
system rises to be potential beyond its normal value, no non-current carrying
conducting part of a system rises to a potential beyond earth potential that is zero.
Proper earthing also helps to avoid electrical shock to the human beings also to avoid
the chance of fire hazard due to leakage current through unwanted path.

Why earthing is required in an electrical installation?

Properly designed, constructed and installed electrical equipments and appliances
should not have any of the non-current carrying conducting parts which is in contact
with any current carrying part. But accidentally may be due to failure of insulation
between current carrying and non-current carrying conducting parts of the
equipment/appliance, if any of the non-current carrying conducting parts comes in
contact with any of the current carrying parts of the equipment/appliance, there will be
a static electrical charge developed in the non-current carrying conducting part. Now
if any human being touches that non-current carrying conducting part of the
equipment or appliance, the accumulated static charge will get a path to the earth
through his body and hence it is discharged immediately, as a result he gets an
electrical shock. But if the non-current carrying conducting parts that are metallic
frameworks parts of the equipment or appliance properly earthed, then at the
occurrence of touching between any current carrying part or live part to the non-
current carrying part of the equipment/appliance, the live part of the
equipment/appliance gets low impedance path to the earth through the properly
earthed metallic frameworks and hence there will be a huge current drawn from
source, passing to the earth through this path. As a result the circuit breaker or MCB,
or fuses associated with this equipment/appliance will immediately break to
discontinue the supply to the equipment/appliance. Thus proper earthing of non-
current carrying metallic parts of electrical equipments and appliances provides safety
of operation.
What should be the distance of earth from a building?
An article electrode should not be situated within a distance of 1.5 m from the
building whose installation system is being earthed.

What should be the size of earth continuity conductor?

The conductor by which a metallic framework of an electrical equipment/appliance is
connected to the earth is referred as earth continuity conductor. The cross-section of
earth continuity conductor should not be either less than 2.9 mm2 or half of the
installation conductor size.

What should be the earth resistance of an electrical

installation?
Earth resistance is defined as the resistance between actual earth and the earthed body
of the installation. This is nothing but the resistance of the path connecting the body of
the installation to the actual earth. This resistance should be low enough to carry
sufficient current to the earth to ensure proper operation of protective relays or
blowing of fuses associated to the installation. The earth path consists not only the
earth continuity conductor but also it includes soil in between the end of the earth
continuity conductor inside the ground and actual earth. As the resistivity of soil
depends upon its moisture content, it varies time to time throughout the year. As a
result earth resistance of an installation is not constant throughout the year, it varies
with weather conditions. Earth resistance of an installation is minimum in rainy
season whereas it is maximum in dry season. Although this resistance varies time to
time, but there are some standards of maximum allowable earth resistance. 1.
Maximum allowable earth resistance of a large power station is 0.5 ohm 2. Maximum
allowable earth resistance of major power station is 1.0 ohm 3. Maximum allowable
earth resistance of small substations is 2.0 ohm 4. Maximum allowable earth
resistance for all other cases is 5 ohm. This should be noted that, the resistance
between any point on the earthed body and the earth pit should be less than 1 ohm.

What are the different methods of earthing of electrical

installations?
There are different methods used for earthing of electrical installations depending
upon the requirements. Such as strip or wire earthing, rod earthing, pipe earthing
and plate earthing etc.

What is strip earthing or wire earthing?

In this system of earthing, a copper strip of minimum cross-section 25 mm × 1.6 mm
is buried horizontally inside the ground at minimum depth 0.5 m and alternatively a
galvanised iron strip of minimum of cross-section 25 mm × 4 mm can be buried
horizontally at a same depth inside the ground. For this purpose around conductor can
also be used and at that case the minimum cross-sectional area for copper conductor
would be 3 mm² and for galvanised iron conductor it would be 6 mm². The buried
portion of the electrode that is either script or round conductor should be long enough
to provide required minimum resistance to the earth path. Generally the length of the
conductor inside the ground is maintained more than 15 m. The buried conductor
should be widely distributed as possible preferably in a single straight trench or in a
circular trench or in a number of trenches radiating from a point. This type of earthing
is mainly used in rocky area where excavation work is quite difficult.

What is rod earthing?

In this type of earthing, a metallic rod of sufficient length is driven vertically into the
ground normally by hammering on the top. Normally galvanised iron rod of 16mm
diameter or hollow galvanised iron pipe of 25 mm diameter of minimum length 2.5 m
are used for this purpose. The electrical installation which to be earthed, is connected
to the top of the earth rod or pipe by means of copper or aluminium earth continuity
conductor of sufficient cross-section. The rod earthing system is mainly used where
soil has sandy characters and also it is often used for temporary earthing purpose. This
is cheapest and easiest method of earthing as this method does not require any
excavation work.

What is pipe earthing?

Pipe earthing system is most commonly used and reliable system. In this method of
earthing, a galvanised steel pipe of suitable length and diameter is buried vertically in
the permanent wet soil under the ground. The length and diameter of the pipe are
determined by the conditions of soil and the current to be carried. Normally minimum
diameter and length of the pipe is maintained 40 mm and 2.5 m respectively for
ordinary condition of soil and greater length is used for rocky and dry soil conditions.
The depth under ground level at which the pipe is buried, depends upon the moisture
condition of soil but it should not be less than 3.75 m under the ground. The earthing
pipe is surrounded by alternative layers of charcoal and salt to keep moisture and
thereby reduces the earth resistance. Another galvanised iron pipe of lesser diameter
(19 mm) is fitted vertically on the top of the earthing pipe by means of reducing
socket. The top of this pipe is projected in a cement concrete work on the ground. One
or more GI plates are welded on this pipe by keeping the pipe openings clear to
facilitate the connections of earth continuity conductors from different electrical
installations. The cement concrete work is done to keep the water arrangement
accessible and in dry season to keep the earth resistance minimum, 3 to 4 buckets of
water are put in the concrete work or through the funnel if it is fitted to the top of the
19 mm diameter pipe.
What is plate earthing?
This is another popular method of earthing. In this method a metallic plate of
sufficient size is buried in wet soil vertically under the ground. If copper plate is used
for this purpose the minimum dimensional of the plates should be 60 cm × 60 cm × 3
mm and if it is GI plate, then minimum dimensional should be 60 cm × 60 cm × 6
mm. In case of copper plate, a copper earth continuity conductor is connected to the
plate with the help of copper nuts bolts and washers whereas in the case of GI plate,
GI earth continuity conductor is connected to the plate with help of GI nut bolts and
washers. This earthing plate along with connected earth continuity conductor, is
buried vertically at minimum 3 m depth under the ground. The surroundings of the
plate are filled with alternative layers of charcoal and salt of minimum 15 cm
thickness of each layer. From the buried plate, the earth continuity conductor is passed
through a GI pipe of 12 mm diameter. These GI pipe is used to protect the earth
continuity conductor from direct contact of soil. Now another GI pipe of 19 mm
diameter is driven vertically to the GI plate. Top of this 19 mm diameter pipe should
be projected vertically on the ground level. A concrete chamber is made around the
projected 19 mm diameter pipe and this chamber is covered by cast iron shutter. The
19 mm diameter pipe is used to keep the water arrangement accessible to the earthing
plate. In this type of earthing, 1 to 2 buckets of water is poured on every 3 to 4 days
through a funnel at the top of the 19 mm diameter pipe to facilitate the moisture
content of the surroundings of the earthing plate.

How to test the earth continuity path of an electrical

installation?
In a properly designed wiring system, there are number of earth points located
different positions throughout the wiring. For example each plug socket will have a
third earthing point. The metallic body of each electrical appliance is connected to the
earth through an earth points. This test ensures the continuity between an earth point
and the actual earth. In this test, one terminal of earth continuity tester is connected to
the earth point whose continuity is to be checked and other terminal of the tester is
connected to the main earthing system of the building. The pointer of earth continuity
tester will give the resistive value between the said earth point and actual earth. In any
case, the value must not be greater than 1 ohm. If it is greater than 1 ohm, then the
earthing connection should be physically rechecked and properly rectified to achieve
desired minimum earth resistance.
1. Lighting

The single most important concept in creating a good lighting plan for the
home is to use an array of different types of lighting. "My best advice
whatever you're doing, whatever you want to achieve, is to create three
layers of lighting—ambient, task and accent," says Patricia Rizzo of the
Lighting Research Center. Too many people make the mistake of expecting
one type of lighting to do it all. Each type meets a particular need.
Ambient

Also called general lighting, ambient lighting provides overall illumination for a room, and is
intended to create a uniform light level throughout a space, independent of any special lighting
that may be needed in targeted areas of a room. In most home settings, when a person steps into
a room and flips on a switch, ambient lighting illuminates the space. Ambient lighting takes
many forms, including: ceiling-mounted or recessed fixtures that direct light downwards; wall
sconces or floor-lamp torchieres that wash the walls with light; cove, soffit and valance
lighting that bounces light off ceilings and walls.
Task: Targeted to a particular area of a room, task lighting is intended to illuminate a
specific function. Areas of a home that require task lighting include kitchen counters
where food will be prepared; living room seating areas where reading will take place;
and home office desk surfaces where paperwork will be done. In a kitchen, under-
cabinet lighting provides task lighting for a countertop; in a living room, a table lamp is
often used for task lighting to accommodate reading.

Accent: Also called highlighting, accent lighting draws attention to a particular object,
such as artwork, sculpture, plants or bookcases. Accent lighting is often used outdoors,
to highlight a beautiful tree, plant or water feature, or to draw the eye to a particular area
of the landscape. Recessed or track lighting is often used for accent lighting, with
adjustable fittings that allow light to be focused precisely even on a small object.

When planning the layers of light in a room, it usually makes sense to consider the
ambient lighting first, then consider task and accent lighting. "I like to move from general
to specific when planning the lighting for a room," says lighting designer Markus Earley
of Providence, R.I. With rooms that are heavily task-oriented, however, such as home
offices, some designers focus on task lighting first. And in a hallway that doubles as a
photo or art gallery, accent lighting might be the first consideration.

"It's so important to think about how you really use a space, and what you do in specific
rooms," says interior designer Bruce Fox, partner at Wells & Fox, which has offices in
Chicago and Boston. "Only then you can start to identify where you need task lighting
and accent lighting."