TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION
Checking earth
electrode impedance
Information from Fluke
Most facilities have earthed electrical systems, so that in the event of a lightning strike or utility overvoltage, current will find a safe path to earth.
To ensure a reliable connection to earth, electrical codes, engineering standards, and local standards often specify a minimum impedance
for the ground electrode. This application note describes the principle methods for testing earth electrodes and connections.
The primary goal of an earthing system is
to ensure personnel safety and protection
of installations against damage. Two
important phenomena are lightning and
power system faults. These can cause
circulation of large currents, which might
create hazardous voltages in installation
structures.
The grounding and bonding systems
connect the earth near the building with
the electrical system and building steel.
In a lightning strike, the facility will be
at approximately the same potential.
By keeping the potential gradient low,
d a m a g e i s m i n i m i s e d. Fi g. 1 s h o w s
an earthing system for a commercial
building.
Earth electrode impedance
The impedance from the electrode to the
earth varies depending on two factors: the
resistivity of the surrounding earth and the
structure of the electrode.
The resistivity of earth is complicated,
because it:
l Depends on composition of the soil
(e.g. clay, gravel and sand)
l Can vary even over small distances
due to the mix of different materials
l D e p e n d s o n m i n e r a l ( e. g . s a l t )
content
l Varies with compression and can vary
with time due to settling
l Changes with temperature,
freezing (and thus time of year).
Fig. 1: An earthing system combining reinforcing
steel and a rod electrode.
Resistivity increases with decreasing
temperature
l Can be affected by buried metal
tanks, pipes, re-bar, etc.
l Varies with depth
Since resistivity may decrease with depth,
one way to reduce earth impedance
is to drive an electrode deeper. Using
an array of rods, a conductive ring or a
grid are common ways of increasing the
effective area of an electrode. Multiple
rods should be outside of each other ’s
areas of influence to be most effective
(see Fig. 2).
The acceptable limits for earth electrode
impedance for different types of installation
are given in the relevant national standards
– in this case South African National
Standards (SANS.
How do earth impedance testers work?
There are two types of earth impedadance
testers: Three and four point testers and
clamp-on testers (Fig.3). Both types apply
a voltage on the electrode and measure
the resulting current. A three or four-pole
tester combines a current source and
voltage measurement in a multimeter-
style package. They use multiple stakes
and/or clamps.
Earth testers have the following
characteristics:
l AC test current
l Test frequency that is close to, but
distinguishable from the power
Fig. 2: Earth electrodes have “areas of influence”
that surround them.
energize - August 2009 - Page 25
f r e q u e n c y a n d i t s h a r m o n i c s.
This prevents stray currents from
interfering with ground impedance
measurements
l Separate source and measure leads to
compensate for the long leads used
in this measurement
l Input filtering designed to pick up the
test signal and screen out all others
l Clamp-on ground testers are ver y
different because they have both a
source transformer and a measurement
transformer. The clamp-on ground
tester uses advanced filtering to
recognise the test signal and screen
out all others.
The fall-of-potential method
The fall-of-potential method is the traditional
method for testing electrode resistance
and is specified in numerous standards.
In it’s basic form, it works well for small
electrode systems like one or two earth
rods. We will also describe the Tagg slope
technique which can help draw accurate
conclusions about larger systems.
How it works
The fall-of-potential method connects to
the earth at three places. The connections
are made to:
l E/C1 – the earth electrode being
tested.
l S/P2 – A voltage (potential)
measurement stake driven into the
earth some distance away from the
electrode.
Fig. 3: Clamp-on earth tester.
 ADsa7/05 03.08.2005 18:53 Uhr Seite 1
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TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION Insulati

ADsa7/05 03.08.2005 18:53 Uhr Seite 1
ADsa7/05 03.08.2005 Enhanceme
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ADsa7/05 03.08.2005 18:53 Uhr
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TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION
corresponding P2/C2 percentage is
59,6%. So the approximate earth
impedance would be measured at
(59,6% X 100 m), or at 59,6 m. This is very
close to our 60% point at 60 m, where we
read 6,8 Ω. So it would be safe to say the
earth resistance for the electrode under
test is roughly 6,8 Ω.
The selective method
The selective method is a variation of the
fall-of-potential method, available on
high-end earth testers like the Fluke 1625.
The supply neutral, building steel and earth
electrode are all bonded and earthed. In
a traditional fall-of-potential test you have
no way of knowing how much current is
flowing between any particular electrode
and the C2 current stake. Selective testing
uses an integrated, high sensitivity clamp-
on current transformer to measure the
test current in the electrode under test.
(Fig. 8). The selective earth tester digitally
filters the current measurement to minimise
the effects of stray currents.
Stakeless or clamp-on method
The stakeless or clamp-on method allows
you to measure the impedance of a
series loop of ground electrodes. The test
is simple and it may be performed on an
electrode that is connected to a working
electric service. To make the measurement
the tester uses a special transformer
to generate a voltage on the earth
conductor at a unique test frequency. It
uses a second transformer to distinguish
the test frequency and measure the
resulting current through the circuit, which
is determined by the loop resistance.
Fig. 10 shows the connection of the
source and measure clamps of the Saturn
GEO X. Fig. 9 shows the equivalent test
circuit for the stakeless method. When you
test a building earth electrode using this
Summary of earth electrode test methods advantages and drawbacks
Fall-of-potential
Selective method
Stakeless method
Two-pole method
Fig. 7: Earth impedance can be found from this
Fig. 6: Stake positions for the 62% rule. curve by using the Tagg slope technique.
method, you are actually testing a loop
including:
l Electrode under test
l Earth electrode conductor
l The main bonding jumper
l The service neutral
l Utility neutral-to-earth bond
l Utility earth conductors (between
poles)
l Utility pole earth
In this method the clamp checks the Fig. 8: Connections for selective ground
continuity of the interconnections of all of electrode measurement.
the components above. An abnormally
high reading or an open circuit indication
on the instrument points to a poor
connection between two or more of the
aforementioned critical components.
The earth electrode of most facilities is in
parallel with numerous distribution earth
electrodes.
Two-pole method
The two-pole method uses an auxiliar y Fig. 9: Connections for selective electrode
e l e c t r o d e s u c h a s a w a t e r p i p e. impedance measurement.
Advantages Drawbacks
Widely accepted You have to disconnect the earth
When you see the characteristic curve you know The stakes may not be easy to drive
you’ve got a good measurement. There may not be space around the earth electrode
to drive the stakes
Don’t have to disconnect the electrode The stakes may not be easy to drive
Widely accepted There may not be space around the earth electrode
When you see the characteristic curve you know to drive the stakes
you’ve got a good measurement.
Convenient Assumes a low-impedance parallel path
Saves time Possible to get very low readings by mistakenly
No disconnections measuring on a hard-wired loop
No stakes
Convenient Impossible to judge the integrity of the auxiliary
Saves time electrode.
No disconnections Can’t be sure you are outside the area of influence
No stakes
Table 3:
energize - August 2009 - Page 28
 TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION

µ P2/C2 µ P2/C2 µ P2/C2 µ P2/C2 µ P2/C2

% % % % %

0,40 43,3 0,65 60,6 0,90 56,2 1,15 50,7 1,40 43,1

0,41 64,2 0,66 60,4 0,91 56,0 1,16 50,4 1,41 42,7

0,42 64,0 0,67 60,2 0,92 55,8 1,17 50,2 1,42 42,3

0,43 63,9 0,68 60,1 0,93 55,6 1,18 49,9 1,43 41,8

0,44 63,7 0,69 59,9 0,94 55,4 1,19 49,7 1,44 41,4

0,45 63,6 0,70 59,7 0,95 55,2 1,20 49,4 1,45 41,0

0,46 63,5 0,71 59,6 0,96 55,0 1,21 49,1 1,46 40,6

0,47 63,3 0,72 59,4 0,97 54,8 1,22 48,8 1,47 40,1

0,48 63,2 0,73 59,2 0,98 54,6 1,23 48,6 1,48 39,7

0,49 63,0 0,74 59,1 0,99 54,4 1,24 48,3 1,49 39,3

0,50 62,9 0,75 58,9 1,00 54,2 1,25 48,0 1,50 38,9

0,51 62,7 0,76 58,7 1,01 53,9 1,26 47,7 1,51 38,4

0,52 62,6 0,77 58,5 1,02 53,7 1,27 47,4 1,52 37,9

0,53 62,4 0,78 58,4 1,03 53,5 1,28 47,1 1,53 37,4

0,54 62,3 0,79 58,2 1,04 53,3 1,29 46,8 1,54 36,9

0,55 62,1 0,80 58,0 1,05 53,1 1,30 46,5 1,55 36,4

0,56 62,0 0,81 57,9 1,06 52,8 1,31 46,2 1,56 35,8

0,57 61,8 0,82 57,7 1,07 52,6 1,32 45,8 1,57 35,2

0,58 61,7 0,83 57,5 1,08 52,4 1,33 45,5 1,58 34,7

0,59 61,5 0,84 57,3 1,09 52,2 1,34 45,2 1,59 34,1

0,60 61,4 0,85 57,1 1,10 51,9 1,35 44,8

0,61 61,2 0,86 56,9 1,11 51,7 1,36 44,5

0,62 61,0 0,87 56,7 1,12 51,4 1,37 44,1

0,63 60,9 0,88 56,6 1,13 51,2 1,38 43,8

0,64 60,7 0,89 56,4 1,14 50,9 1,39 43,4

Table 5: Table for the Tagg slope techniue (for 2 decimal places).

Fig. 10: Connection for a stakeless measurement.
Fi g. 1 2 s h o w s t h e c o n n e c t i o n s. T h e
tester measures the combined earth
impedance of the electrode under test,
the earth impedance of the auxiliar y
electrode, and the impedance of the
measurement leads. The assumption is
that the earth impedance of the auxiliary
e l e c t r o d e i s v e r y l o w, w h i c h w o u l d
probably be true for metal pipe without
plastic segments or insulated joints. The
effect of the measurement leads may
be removed by measuring with the leads
shorted together and subtracting this
reading from the final measurement.

Because of the unknowns involved in this

technique, it is recommended only when
the earthing system and auxiliary electrode
are well known. Fig. 12: Equivalent circuit for
two-point measurement.

ͳ
ܴ௘௤  ൌ   ൌ  ͳൗʹ π Contact Val Verwer, Comtest,
Fig.11: Test current paths in the stakeless method. ͶͲܺ ͳൗʹͲπ Tel 01 254-2200, info@comtest.co.za v

energize - August 2009 - Page 29