TYPES OF ELECTRICAL GROUNDING SYSTEM

Today I'm going to give you a brief overview of different types of grounding systems that are important.

Ungrounded Systems

Electrical system is connected to ground through the capacitance between the lines and the earth, so you can say that it's a capacitance
grounded system. We just call it ungrounded because of convention, and because there isn't a direct physical connection between any of your
power lines and the ground.

Advantages

There are a few advantages to having an ungrounded system. The first is that since your system is never physically connected to the ground,
you have negligible ground fault current. For example, in a 3-phase system, because all of the ground fault current is capacitive, when you have
a single line-to-ground fault in an ungrounded system, the current and voltage you would lose is negligible, and is instead carried by the other
two lines. This allows you to continue operation unimpeded during a single line-to-ground fault.

The other big advantage is that because of the negligible ground fault current, special ungrounded systems can be used to minimize shock risk
to people.

Disadvantages

Of course, the disadvantages of an ungrounded system are obvious. If there is a fault, you are now using two wires to carry an amount of
current that was allotted for three wires: the increase in current and voltage will jack up the heat, and the extra heat will wear out your
insulation much faster. Worn out insulation could lead to unnecessary damage to your electrical system, particularly at motors.

The other big disadvantage of an ungrounded system is that it is incredibly difficult and time consuming to locate any faults. Each line must be
tested individually, which is a very slow process that completely interrupts service. The opportunity cost of a fault in an ungrounded system is
very high.

Ungrounded systems were the norm back in the 40's and 50's, but because their disadvantages outweigh their advantages in most scenarios,
you won't see too many new ungrounded systems today.

Resistance Grounding

Resistance grounding is when you have a connection between your neutral line and the ground through a resistor. This resistor is used to limit
the fault current through your neutral line: if your voltage doesn't change, then your current is dependent on the size of the resistor according to
Ohm's law (V=IR).

Advantages Over Ungrounded Systems

Because the current in the neutral is controlled instead of negligible, system overvoltage’s are also controlled. This reduced current and reduced
overvoltage means reduced heat, which keeps the wear and tear of your electrical system to a minimum. This is especially important for
keeping your motors safe, since the reduced current will not damage the magnetic iron of the motor (which is costly to repair). The reduced
currents also reduce the risk of shock and arc flash/blast hazards.

There are two types of resistance grounding: high resistance grounding and low resistance grounding.

High Resistance Grounding

High resistance grounding is typically used to limit ground fault current to < 10 amps. The low ground-fault current also means that, just like an
ungrounded system, you can continue to operate the system on a single line-to-ground fault. The low current will typically not trip your
protective devices during a single line-to-ground fault.

Overall, you want to use high resistance grounding when you need low fault current and still want to operate with a single fault. High resistance
grounding is typically seen in retrofits of previously ungrounded systems in addition to new systems.

Low Resistance Grounding

Low resistance grounding typically limits ground fault current to between 100 and 1000 amps. This offers a similar advantage to high resistance
grounding in that you can control the ground fault current, which means you can design your system to withstand the currents without damage.
Low resistance grounding systems have the benefit of tripping your protective devices when there is a fault. Their purpose is to immediately cut
the power to the circuit, and so unlike the high resistance grounding systems, a low resistance grounding system will not maintain operation
during a single line-to-ground fault.

Low resistance grounding also reduces overvoltage and is used in medium voltage systems of 15kV or less, typically where big
generators/motors are used.

Solid Grounding

Solid grounding is what you get when you connect your system directly to the ground, without any sort of resistance in the way. The ground is
typically connected to the system at a neutral point, like the neutral terminal of a generator or transformer.

Pros and Cons

Solid grounding, like resistance grounding, can greatly reduce overvoltage’s in your electrical system. However, solidly grounded systems have
the potential to have huge amounts of ground-fault current. As a result, solidly grounded systems cannot operate with a ground fault (since all
of the current in the system is going from fault to ground). Solid grounding has two main uses:

 In systems with voltages of 600V or less, solid grounding can be used if it is not necessary to maintain operation of a faulted circuit.
 In systems with voltages of 15kV or greater, solid grounding can be used if high ground fault currents are desirable of any reason, such as
quick ground fault detection (since the high current will most definitely trip protective devices).

Recap

 You can use ungrounded systems when you want to have negligible ground-fault current.
 Resistance grounding o ers the advantages of ungrounded systems without the risk of large overvoltage’s.
 Solid grounding reduces overvoltage’s but has high ground-fault currents.

At the end of the day, the type of grounding you use for your system will depend on which type of grounding best suits your needs and budget.

Grounding System Comparisons

Low Resistance Grounding:

1. Limits phase-to-ground currents to 200-400A.

2. Reduces arcing current and, to some extent, limits arc-flash hazards associated with phase-to-ground arcing current conditions only.

3. May limit the mechanical damage and thermal damage to shorted transformer and rotating machinery windings.

4. Does not prevent operation of overcurrent devices.

5. Does not require a ground fault detection system.

6. May be utilized on medium or high voltage systems. GE o ers low resistance grounding systems up to 72kV line-to-line.

7. Conductor insulation and surge arrestors must be rated based on the line to line voltage. Phase-to-neutral loads must be served through an
isolation transformer.

High Resistance Grounding:

1. Limits phase-to-ground currents to 5-10A.

2. Reduces arcing current and essentially eliminates arc-flash hazards associated with phase-to-ground arcing current conditions only.

3. Will eliminate the mechanical damage and may limit thermal damage to shorted transformer and rotating machinery windings.

4. Prevents operation of overcurrent devices until the fault can be located (when only one phase faults to ground).

5. Requires a ground fault detection system to notify the facility engineer that a ground fault condition has occurred.

6. May be utilized on low voltage systems or medium voltage systems up to 5kV. IEEE Standard 141-1993 states that “high resistance
grounding should be restricted to 5kV class or lower systems with charging currents of about 5.5A or less and should not be attempted on 15kV
systems, unless proper grounding relaying is employed”.

7. Conductor insulation and surge arrestors must be rated based on the line to line voltage. Phase-to-neutral loads must be served through an
isolation transformer.
Conclusion:

Resistance Grounding Systems have many advantages over solidly grounded systems including arc-flash hazard reduction, limiting mechanical
and thermal damage associated with faults, and controlling transient over voltages. High resistance grounding systems may also be employed
to maintain service continuity and assist with locating the source of a fault.

When designing a system with resistors, the design/consulting engineer must consider the specific requirements for conductor insulation ratings,
surge arrestor ratings, breaker single-pole duty ratings, and method of serving phase-to-neutral loads.

Additional Reference Material:

IEEE Standard 141-1993, “Recommended Practice for Electrical Power Distribution for Industrial Plants” (Red Book)

IEEE Standard 142-1991, “Recommended Practice for Grounding of Industrial and Commercial Power Systems” (Green Book)

GE Publication GEI-72116, “High Resistance Pulsing Ground Detection System”