UK Earthing Systems And RF Earthing

In the UK there are Currently 3 Main form of domestic earthing employed

1 !! or !erra" !erra
!he Electrical Supply Company #$%&' doesn(t not pro)ided an earth
terminal #ME!'* Instead your earth is deri)ed from an earth sta+e* usually
copper or copper coated ,our supply must -e fed from a RC$
. !%"S or !erra* %eutral* Separate
!he Electrical Supply Company pro)ide a Earth terminal* your supply is
deri)ed from a ca-le containing /i)e #phase'*%eutral and Earth* !he earth
0ill either -e the &uter of the ca-le or a Split concentric ca-le* 0ith half of
the concentric -eing insulated#neutral' and half non"insulated #earth'
!his used to -e the Main means of supply in this country*
#1o0e)er due to net0or+ rene0als your connection may -e partially 2%3
more on this later
3 !%"C"S or !erra* %eutral* Com-ined* Separate
!he Electrical Supply Company pro)ide an Earth terminal* your supply is
deri)ed from a ca-le containing /i)e #phase' and a Com-ined %eutral4Earth
,our supply 0ith either come from a ne0 2ME ser)ice or an &ld Ser)ice
con)erted to 2%3* 1o0e)er for Safety these should -e treated as one and
the same
2ME" 2rotecti)e Multiple Earthing
,our ca-le come from your local Su-station at 5arious points along the 0ay
e6tra earth rods are connected to the com-ined earth4neutral ca-le* 1ence
the term Multiple earthing
2%3" 2rotecti)e %eutral 3onding
,our Ca-le come from an &ld !%"S Ca-le 0ith separate Earthing* at the
3ranch 7oint the e6isting neutral and earth are com-ined onto a Com-ined
%eutral earth Ca-le !his Ca-le is your supply
#A// %E!8&RK RE2AIRS ARE CARRIE$ &U! !& 2%3* 1ence if you
ha)e a !%"S Ser)ice to your house at some point the supply could -e 2%3'
In a !%"C"S supplied 2roperty any RF Earth must also -e -onded to the
ME!* As it(s classed as an e6traneous conducti)e part
8hat is 3onding* In a 1ouse all the ser)ices* ie 9as* 0ater* &il if you ha)e
it* must -e -onded -ac+ to the ME!* It used to -e the case that all e6posed
metal 0or+ in a house 0ith !%"C"S -e -onded* -ut 0ith the recent changes
if you ha)e a supply totally fed from RC$(s or RC3&(s this re:uirement no
longer e6ists
!%"C"S and !he Amateur
In a !%"C"S situation if the %et0or+ has a %eutral4Earth Failure on your
supply* ,our RF Earth could -ecome the /ocal %eutral4earth point* if this
happens your RF Earth could need to carry many amps If poorly designed
or inade:uately installed this could -ecome dangerous or cause a fire It(s
rare for a %eutral fault to happen* -ut it can And if it does 0e need to ta+e
steps to minimise the ris+
1o0 to minimise this
Firstly possi-ly not use the !%"C"S Earth* If your shac+ is in an out-uilding
or similar ha)e a !! Supply Installed* 0ith its &0n Earth
Con)ert your 0hole house to !!* 1o0e)er this is only possi-le if you ha)e a
detached house* If you ha)e a semi"detached or !erraced house* the $%&
may not let you con)ert your house due to shared ser)ices 0ith your
neigh-ors* As 0hat you do 0ith your house earth can affect your neigh-ors
earth
Con)ert a room to !!* 1o0e)er if you do this all forms of earthing in that
room* must -e separate from the house earth* this is includes* radiators*
pipes* structural steel %ot often possi-ly in a domestic situation
All the a-o)e re:uire Input from an appro)ed Electrician as they are
reporta-le 0or+s under 2art 2* they 0ould re:uire Inspection* testing and
Certification
!he other 0ay is to design an earth system that 0ould carry the neutral load
in a fault situation
!his 0ould 0or+ on either a !%"C"S Installation or a !%"S Installation
!his 0ould In)ol)e your Rf Earth -eing a suita-le Earth Rod to 3s;<;1*
3onded -ac+ to the ME! 0ith suita-le si=ed earth ca-le to 3s;<;1* IE!
regulations >??11 and !a-le >?@* gi)e the si=es* Usually 0hen the Supply
Conductor is 3>mm or less a 1Amm Earth ca-le 0ill suffice
!his rod should ha)e an appro)ed termination co)er and not left to the
elements
,our shac+ earth 3ar or terminal should then go to this earth rod also 0ith
1Amm ca-le Under 2me4pn- rules the indi)idual e:uipment earths should
also -e 1Amm* earth -raid of a suita-le csa 0ill more li+ely -e easier to use
than 1Amm earth ca-le
!he connections to the earth sta+e should -e made 0ith appro)ed
connections and crimped ring terminal used on the ends of the earth ca-le
!he earth sta+e should -e mar+ed BSafety Earth !erminal $o %ot Remo)eC
Again this re:uires the input of a registered Electrician* Additional earth
sta+es should -e recorded and there resistance measured under 2art 2
guidelines