24/1/2019 Grounding Electrode Sphere of Influence - E&S Grounding

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Grounding Electrode Sphere of In uence

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Determining Grounding Electrode E ciency

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When determining how e ciently grounding electrodes discharge
electrons into the earth and important concept is the “sphere of
in uence”. The sphere of in uence is the volume of soil throughout
which the electrical potential rises to more than a small percentage of
the ground potential rise of the ground electrode, when that electrode
discharges current into the soil. The greater the volume, compared
Our engineering manager David
with the volume of the electrode, the more e cient the electrode.
Stockin is the author of McGraw
Long electrodes, such as grounding rods, are the most e cient. The
Hills NEC 2014 Grounding and
surface area of the electrode determines the ampacity of the device,
Earthing Handbook which fully
but does not a ect “the sphere of in uence”. The greater the surface
discusses above-grade wiring
area, the greater the contact with the soil and the more electrical
issues and below-grade earthing
energy that can be discharged per unit of time.
issues related to electrical
grounding.
Learn More >>

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24/1/2019 Grounding Electrode Sphere of Influence - E&S Grounding

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which covers the features and
bene ts of many di erent
grounding electrodes, the
importance of soil resistivity and
much more.
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Fig 1: Sphere-of-In uence of an Earth Electrode Download our free article which
covers 7 common electrical
grounding design mistakes.
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which covers Ground Potential
Rise Studies and Soil Resistivity
testing and much more.
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Figure 2: The formula for calculating the volume of soil

A simpler version is used when the above formula is modi ed by Have a question about electrical
rounding Π (pi) down to to 3 and cross canceling to get the formula: grounding? Visit our blog and
V=5L3 submit a question.
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In this example, a single 10-foot driven rod would utilize 5,000 cubic
feet of soil, where as a single 8 foot rod would utilize about half the soil
at 2,560 cubic feet.

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