How to ground the washing machine if there is no ground. Protective grounding Grounding in panel houses

The housing stock of our country has recently begun a global renovation. The majority of the population still lives in old houses - large-sized "Stalinka" and small-sized "Khrushchev". The plan did not provide for grounding in the apartment, since in those years when this housing was rented out, people used a small number of low-power household electrical appliances, the electrical wiring was two-wire, and three-phase connectors with a grounding element did not yet exist. Many people still face the problem of lack of home grounding to this day. Is there a solution to it, is it possible to do it yourself and how to make grounding in an apartment? All this is discussed in this article.

In the process of using household electrical appliances, there is a possibility that dangerous voltage will appear on the unit's case, which can provoke an electric shock. If there is no electrical protection in the house, the risk of injury increases significantly. It can be reduced by connecting the body of the electrical receiver to a grounding element.

If you use the zero phase of a two-core apartment wiring (zeroing) as a grounding conductor, it is necessary to have a circuit breaker in the electrical circuit. In old houses, such machines were widespread. In the common people they were called traffic jams. Do you remember the expression: “The plugs are knocked out”? When short circuit in the electrical circuit, the machine worked, and the person avoided the traumatic effects of the current. The absence of a protective circuit may well cause a fire due to exceeding permissible load on the home electrical network, poor contacts or circuit breakers, throughput which significantly exceeds the rated power of the circuit.

Thus, we found out that grounding in the electrical system of our homes is simply vital. And many landlords solve this issue by themselves. different ways, not suspecting at the same time that their actions are not only, to put it mildly, not smart, but also far from safe.

This can't be done

Today, almost all comfortable dwellings are already owned, and some owners of the old "Khrushchev" and "Stalin" houses believe that they are free to do whatever they want on their territory. At the same time, they somehow forget that their apartment is a component general concept“residential house”, and everything that is outside their private property, is a common house economy.

Gas and water supply systems are a common element of the living quarters of the entire house. It is strictly forbidden to use pipes for heating, water supply or gas supply as a ground conductor. The biggest danger of this method of electrical protection is electric shock, and most often fatal. Moreover, the tragedy may not even happen to the residents of the grounded premises. The usual shower can turn into death for the neighbors, as the leakage of electricity from the home of the "unfortunate innovator" along the shortest path (the plumbing system) finds an outlet in their bathroom.

Constant exposure to electricity metal pipes leads to corrosion, which causes cracks and leaks. An explosion may occur if the gas pipe is damaged.

You can’t independently connect to a common entrance, where some craftsmen lead combined zero protective and working conductors (PEN-conductor). The danger lies in the fact that the neutral conductor can simply burn out, and high voltage will instantly go to the cases of all electrical household appliances connected at that moment to the electrical system of the "grounded" room.

It is strictly forbidden to connect several conductors to one connector of the main protective bus. If it is necessary to disconnect one of the conductors, the state of contact of the others will be disturbed, which can cause a tragedy. Each conductor is connected to the protective bus individually.

An independent grounding device for a dwelling, where its presence was not originally provided for by the power supply project, entails not only administrative proceedings and the imposition of fines, but also criminal punishment if the illegal actions of the “craftsman” lead to harm to the health or death of another person. This must always be remembered!

Ground types

In relation to residential premises, three types of electrical protection are usually used. They differ from each other in the presence or absence of a separately running current-carrying conductor.

• An electrical protective circuit made of a two-wire wire, the core of which is usually made of aluminum. In it, the protective function is performed by the zero-phase wire. Such protection was widespread in the Soviet Union during the electrification of residential and production fund. Now found in old houses. Technical marking– TN-C;
• Electric protective circuit of a three-wire wire. Each conductor performs a different function - working phase, zero phase and protective. The last two conductors all the way electrical line do not intersect anywhere. Technical marking - TN-S;
• An electrical protective circuit made of a three-wire wire, in which, at the output from the power substation, the conductors "zero" and "ground" are combined into one, and when entering the building they are divided into separate cores. This type of electrical protection is used everywhere at the present time. Technical marking -TN-С-S.

Grounding the bath and household electrical appliances

To protect against electric shock when using a bath, it is necessary to attach a stranded wire with a cross section of 6 mm 2 to it, the other end of it is connected to the ground bus of a home electric meter. For these purposes, the latest generation of bathrooms has a contact connector in the form of a bent petal.

To protect against stress cast iron bath old type, it is necessary to drill a hole on the leg, fasten a small metal plate (grounding jumper) with a bolt connection, where to connect the protective wire.

Acrylic bathtub installed in metal carcass, and for the purpose of electrical protection, the grounding conductor is attached to this frame. To protect yourself during water procedures in a bath with a massage effect, it must be connected to a separate socket located at a distance of 0.7 meters from the bath and at a height of 0.5 meters from the floor.

The socket must be equipped with a protective cable, which is connected to the electrical panel through a protective bus. It would be useful to install an additional protective device.

In parallel with the bathroom, household appliances also need to be protected from dangerous conduction. electrical devices(washing machine, water heater, electric dryer, hob, oven). For each of these units, it is necessary to place individual connectors with connection to the protective bus of the electric meter.

When operating household appliances, you should always monitor the condition of their electrical wire. Protection against a probable electric shock is also provided by the ZO devices located in the housing of the electric meter of the dwelling.

How to make grounding in the apartment correctly and avoid tragedy, we will tell further.

How to make grounding in a comfortable residential area

There are several ways. The principle of installation is almost the same everywhere - this is the connection of the ground conductor to the common switchboard of the house. Depending on what type of building the residential building belongs to, the features of the installation of electrical protection are somewhat different:

• If the house is from the category of new buildings, then problems with the grounding device usually do not arise. The premises of the new housing stock are equipped with a three-core electrical wiring, in which each core is responsible for the working phase, zero and grounding. It is only necessary to connect the electrical grounding conductor to a special busbar on the storey switchboard.

It happens that in an apartment with a repair from the developer is missing. Then you can easily eliminate this deficiency yourself. To do this, all the wires of the dwelling must be connected to an individual electric meter, which is located near front door, and already deduce from it power cable and connect to the access electrical panel.

Each conductor of it is connected to a similar bus of the electric meter - the ground wire - to the protective bus (located at the bottom right), the neutral wire - to the zero connectors (located at the top left), the phase is connected in order to several RCDs. The main groups of electrical consumers of the apartment (for example, all lamps, private rooms, all household appliances together or each unit separately) are powered by an individual RCD.

Compound electric cable between the apartment and the common riser can only be carried out by employees of the power grid. For such repair work official permission, qualifications and access are required.

• If the house is old and belongs to the buildings of the Soviet era, then all the electrical wiring in it is two-phase. In such wiring, two neutral conductors - working and protective - are combined into one common (PEN). To protect against electrical shock, the housing of household electrical appliances, which must be grounded, is connected to the PEN conductor. Another name for such protection is zeroing.

It saves only from a short circuit, since the protection system provides for the presence of circuit breakers in the electrical circuit. Zeroing will not save you from electric shock. There is only one way out. It is necessary to completely replace the electrical wiring of the room with a three-wire one. When carrying out repair work, it is necessary to draw up a plan-scheme on which to accurately indicate the location of all consumers of electricity, the places where the wires are connected, and the way the wires are laid.

The wiring should be copper: it has greater electrical conductivity and strength. The electrical wiring is carried out in the future in the same way as in new houses. At the end of the repair work, it is necessary to call specialists from the city electric network so that they can competently connect to the general electrical distribution panel.

• In the event that for some reason it is impossible to create high-quality grounding in the apartment, you can insure yourself against a sudden electric shock by connecting a protective shutdown device to the home electrical circuit. At the very least, the RCD will instantly turn off the electricity supply in the event of an emergency current leakage.

Another way to protect your home is to install a personal ground loop. The essence of the method is to install grounding elements outside the residential building by driving several metal rods into the ground at some distance from it and connecting them with a jumper.

The rods are placed in the form of a triangle. A neutral wire descends from the apartment to the basement, which is brought out and connected to the jumper. The other end of the neutral wire is connected to the switchboard housing. The grounding of the dwelling is also connected to the shield. This creates an individual protective circuit.

It is possible to mount such protection only with the permission of the managing organization and the power grid. Otherwise, in the event of an emergency, all the blame for the harm will fall on the one who created this protective circuit.

If you decide to completely change all the wiring at home, then the question of where to get grounding in the apartment will definitely arise. The reconstruction of the wiring includes the replacement of old two-wire wires with new three-wire ones, with a separate ground wire.

This core must be connected somewhere in the common electrical panel of the entrance. The main thing you should remember is that this conductor can not always be connected safely. First of all, find out what kind of grounding system your electrical panel has.

Grounding systems in apartment buildings

Old-built houses have a grounding system - TN-C. Floor electrical panels in them are not grounded, but zeroed. 3 phases and a neutral wire enter the shield, which sits on the shield body. There are four conductors in total.

AT modern houses the system is used - TN-C-S. Here, not four, but five power wires enter the shield. Three phase, neutral and separately protective conductor. It is the protective conductor that is connected to the body of the shield. Zero has a separate busbar, not connected to the body.
There is even more modern system TN-S. Here, five conductors, separately from each other, are already laid directly from transformer substation to a residential building.

TN-C-S system in your home

As described above, this is easy to determine - count the number of power wires in the shield, there should be 5 of them. Just make sure that the zero bus is disconnected from the case!

Grounding in the apartment in this case is done as follows:

If your home has a modern TN-S system, the connection mechanism is the same.

TN-C system in your home

In this system, 4 cores come to the shield. Three phases and zero. The neutral core combines a working zero and a protective conductor. Separate ground loop in panel house no.

And if on your power cable the third wire (protective) is connected together with zero to the case, this can lead to sad consequences in the future.
In the event of a break or burnout of a common supply zero, a voltage of 220V will appear on all your grounded devices. You cannot influence this. Zero can burn out in a riser, in the basement of a house, or even in a transformer box.

And you and your equipment will suffer. Therefore, such a connection is not recommended.

It is better not to connect the third-protective conductor in this case at all. Wait until the reconstruction of the electrical networks in the house is carried out and only after that go to a similar protection scheme.

How can you protect yourself if you have a TN-C system? The easiest and cheapest way is to use an RCD or differential automata. Do not try to turn on the "thinker" and go the easy way. Some look for rebar in the wall and try to ground to it. In the end, you will launch the broken phase not into the ground, but into the sink or cast-iron bath of your neighbor!

If you live on the first floor of a high-rise building, you can isolate yourself from everyone, and under the windows or in the basement, make your own ground loop. After that, the grounding in the apartment is connected to it. What if you live above the ground floor? There is also an option here:

• ⚡ in the basement, according to all the rules, mount an independent ground loop
• ⚡ in the riser, you stretch a single conductor to your shield with a single-core wire. He must be copper section 10mm2
• ⚡ connect this conductor to the circuit and cable in the shield that feeds your apartment, namely to the third protective core.

Safe operation of electrical appliances is not possible without grounding. This ensures the protection of a person from electric shock and guarantees the long-term operation of household appliances. In old houses, there is no protective grounding, but outdated power supply systems are being replaced by new ones.

To make grounding in an apartment or a private house on your own, you should figure out what kind of electrical system is present there and what is needed to connect it to the ground loop.

Why do you need grounding in the apartment

Grounding refers to the connection of a network point to a grounding device. With its help, they achieve a decrease in voltage to a level that is safe for humans. In other words, grounding is a protection that will work in the event of a hole, power surge or potential accumulation, and divert dangerous current to the ground.

Grounding is working and protective. If the first serves for the functioning of some specific electrical appliances and devices, then the second is designed to protect a person from electric shocks in an apartment or a private house. Modern safety standards recommend laying internal wiring of three conductors and connecting all devices to the ground loop.

Reference! The color of the ground wire is yellow-green in most cases. Zero is blue or cyan, and phase can be black or red.

Grounding is needed:

• sockets;
• Appliances with a metal body. In the apartment there is a bath, a computer system unit case, a boiler, a refrigerator, a washing machine and other large Appliances.

An example of the need for grounding

The boiler installed to heat water in the apartment failed and closed the electricity to the building. Under voltage were all the batteries and pipes in the apartment. The unsuspecting man decided to drink some water and tried to turn on the faucet. At the moment the hand touched the valve, the network closed, and the current passed through the human body to the floor.

If the boiler had a ground, the current would go to the ground, and the machine would turn off the power supply to the device, or the batteries and pipes connected to the ground would have almost zero potential. In both cases, electric shock to a person could have been avoided.

What systems exist

AT apartment buildings with a voltage of 220W, several grounding systems are possible, the basic norms and requirements for which are listed in clause 1.7 of the PUE. Systems are marked. The first letter indicates the neutral state of the power supply with respect to ground:

• I - isolated;
• T - grounded.

The second is the state of the exposed conductive parts relative to ground:

• T - conductive parts are grounded;
• N - connected to a grounded neutral.

The latter denotes the principle of combining the zero protective and working conductor:

• S - conductors are separated;
• C - functions are combined in one conductor.

According to GOST R 50571.2-94, zero conductors are designated:

• N - working;
• PE - protective;
• PEN - combination of protective and working.

1. TN-C. The system is common in old apartment buildings and is characterized by the absence of a separate ground conductor. Throughout the network, the zero protective conductor is combined with the working one (PEN). Such protection was used in Khrushchev and Brezhnevka. From the point of view of electrical safety, it is one of the most unreliable. You can determine that this connection system is in the apartment by looking into the access shield. Inside there will be four incoming cables (PEN and three phases) and two leaving the apartment (PEN and phase). There will be no protective contacts in the sockets.
2. TN-S. The system replaced the outdated and notoriously dangerous TN-C. The working and protective conductors are separated at the substation and do not intersect along their entire length. It is possible to determine such a connection only in the input distribution device, access to which is limited in apartment buildings. There are five cables at the entrance to it (3 phases, PE and zero), three go to the apartment (PE, phase, zero).
3. TN-C-S. This system is an intermediate option between the two previous ones, the modernization of an outdated TN-C systems in residential premises. Throughout the zero protective conductor and the worker are combined, and at the entrance to the building their separation begins.
4. TT. Such a system is optimal where all the others will not provide sufficient electrical safety, for example, in detached private houses, metal containers or trade pavilions. Voltage is supplied through four wires (three phases and zero). The principle of operation is based on the fact that the protective neutral conductor is grounded regardless of the working conductor. There is no connection between them, and the ground loops are not reported.
5. IT. Voltage is transmitted through three phases of wires. There is a protective circuit on the end user side, the source neutral is isolated. The system is used in installations that require uninterrupted power supply and need constant monitoring.

Grounding for a new building

In modern new buildings built after 1998, the TN-S and TN-C-S grounding systems are used. This means that they have dedicated grounding. Wiring is laid on a three-core system connected to the ground loop.

In the riser summed up:

• three phases;
• zero working conductor;
• protected conductor.

A ground wire is bred around the apartment, and sockets with contacts are installed in the rooms. After that, the phase and working wire N are connected to the corresponding tires, and PE to the shield.

How to make grounding in the apartment, if it is not

In old houses, a TN-C system is installed, which does not have grounding, and a two-wire wire (phase and zero) is laid. To ground the apartment, you will have to carry out new wiring, install an RCD machine or mount a circuit.

RCD connection

A residual current device, or, in other words, an RCD will save a person from electric shock if there is no grounding in the house. Phase and neutral wires pass through the device. At the moment of electricity leakage, it determines the difference between the current strength that has passed between them, and disconnects the contacts, thereby de-energizing the network section.

Reference! Electricians advise connecting an RCD, regardless of whether the house has grounding or not.

There are two options for connecting the RCD:

• For the whole house. In this case, all electrical appliances in the apartment can be protected from leakage, from large household appliances to lamps. This will require a more powerful and expensive device. When the protection is triggered, the electricity will be turned off everywhere, and each connected device will have to be checked for leakage separately.
• Per room or specific device. A less powerful RCD is installed only on "dangerous" lines, for example, in a bathroom, kitchen, basement, or on a specific device, such as a washing machine or electric stove. If the apartment has devices that consume more than 1.2 kW, then it is recommended to install a separate machine and RCD for each of them.

The device has two input and two output terminals (phase and zero). Installation is carried out according to the scheme:

Installation rules:

• RCD is installed between the input switch and the machine;
• the power of the RCD should slightly exceed the power of the machine installed on it;
• the correct operation of the RCD is checked by connecting the household appliance under load to the network in which it was installed.

Installation of your own circuit

You can make your own grounding circuit with your own hands both in a private house and in an apartment building. In the second case, the work must be coordinated with management company and comply with the requirements of the PUE.

Work order:

1. A single-core PE wire is pulled along the riser to the basement. It is recommended to use a copper wire with a cross section of at least 4 square meters. mm.
2. A grounding conductor is installed near the house. Usually used trimmings from of stainless steel, which are welded in the form of a triangle.
3. One end of the wire is connected to finished construction, the other is fixed in the shield.
4. The grounding of the apartment is connected to the shield.

Important! It is forbidden to use fittings as a ground electrode. The reason is the outer hardened layer, which increases the distribution of current, and the rapid rusting process.

Dangerous defense option

It is unacceptable to solve the problem of grounding by connecting the PE wire to the water or gas supply system. In the event of a leak, the current will not go through the wires, but through the pipes and the battery, which can lead to electric shock not only for those living in an apartment grounded in this way, but also for neighbors.

• electricians recommend grounding all household appliances and sockets available in the apartment;
• do not ground electrical appliances in a chain through each other. This may cause electromagnetic incompatibility and failure of the ground loop;
• special terminals should be used; twisting at the joints is unacceptable;
• Only one wire can be connected to each PE bus terminal.

Grounding will make the process of using electrical appliances in the apartment safe. There are several connection systems, the most common is TN-C, which does not have a separate ground conductor and is outdated. To protect a person from electric shock, you can install an RCD and assemble your own protective circuit. If you follow the safety precautions and the rules of the PUE, this will not cause great difficulties.

All modern household appliances provide for its use together with sockets equipped with a separate grounding terminal. This connection provides reliable protection consumers, guarantees their reliable, durable and quality work. However, protective earthing is not available in all high-rise buildings, especially if these are old buildings. Therefore, many owners in such situations are trying to solve the question of how to make grounding in the apartment? Everything will depend on a particular electrical energy distribution system that exists in a particular residential building.

Electricity distribution schemes

The presence or absence of individual ground conductors is a major distinguishing feature of power distribution systems in new and old homes. In accordance with the GOSTs of the USSR, which were used until 1998, the presence of a ground wire in the circuit was not provided. Previously, there was no need for it, since the population at that time had a very poor assortment of household appliances.

Later, the situation changed, and in new houses in electrical systems separate grounding conductors began to appear. They are concentrated in switchboards installed at each entrance.

The modern power supply scheme is known as TN-C-S. It provides for the use of a five-core cable wound into a shield. Three wires are phase and are painted in red or Brown color. The fourth wire is zero, which has a blue or blue color. The fifth green or green-yellow wire is used as the ground conductor. It is connected to a separate bus, which is also connected to the switchboard housing.

Thus, in new houses, the issue of grounding is completely resolved and no additional actions are required at all. What about those apartment owners who have no grounding at all, and the apartment is filled with modern household appliances?

Grounding device in an old house

Old buildings are equipped with a power distribution system called TN-C, which does not have a separate ground conductor. Protective and working grounding is provided by one PEN wire. Thus, the entire network is laid with a four-core cable, in which there are three phases and one neutral conductor. Grounding of the neutral wire is usually carried out at a transformer substation.

The apartments themselves have two-wire wiring, and the sockets are not grounded. Sometimes incompetent advisers recommend connecting the neutral wire to the grounding contact of the outlet. Under no circumstances should this be done. The fact is that in the event of a break or burning of zero, as well as possible electric shock, fire, failure of household appliances.

In order to perform correctly, all two-wire wiring in the apartment must be replaced with a three-wire cable. All installed sockets are also to be replaced. In some cases, an additional hole is drilled in the wall near the shield for connecting a three-core power cable.

After making all the connections inside the apartment, connects the home network to the shield. The yellow-green ground wire is connected to the ground bus. Thus, when making grounding in the apartment, it is necessary at the very end of the whole operation to make a conclusion to the ground wire machine according to the principle of the standard TN-C-S circuit.

Where to get grounding in the floor board

Recently, there has been a huge increase in public interest in the term grounding. The word seems to be simple and seemingly understandable, but as a rule, in fact, no one really knows anything about its definition and meaning. Something connected with the earth and certainly necessary. Let's figure out what it is grounding and what it is for.

First of all s grounding protects a person from harm electric shock, when it appears on separate parts of electrical equipment, which in normal operation should not be energized. A little confusing, but then we will analyze this issue, for full understanding, using a specific example.

We have all heard about the fact that washing machines must be grounded in residential premises. Why do you need to do this, is there such a need and need in reality?

The point is that the body washing machine made, as a rule, of two components, plastic and metal. Such execution of its design is connected, basically, with safety of the consumer. The drum of the washing machine spins with a very high speed, from 400 to 1200 rpm, which in itself represents a very serious danger. The drum is driven by an electric motor, which poses an even greater danger to human life and health, both mechanical and electrical.

When the washing machine is running, the electric motor performs various operations specified by the washing program. It rotates, accelerates, brakes, waits, switches to reverse. At certain moments, during the normal course of the washing cycle, small current leaks occur in the engine, which, due to the design of the machine, one way or another fall on its body. Of course, this is not dangerous on plastic elements, but on metal ones, there will be a voltage of small values. This voltage is considered safe for human life, but sufficient for a slight shaking, the significance of which is determined by the individual characteristics of each person. One person can be lightly pinched, and another decently shy away. The resistance of the human body ranges from 0 to 1000 ohms and depends on many factors of human life and health. All these processes take place during each wash, in the normal mode of operation of the machine, but the electric motor may fail and then the voltage on the case will be equal to the voltage in the outlet, 220 volts. And this is a serious stress, which is considered fatal.

Grounding removes voltage from the body of the machine to the ground, preventing electric shock to a person. For this, a grounding contact is provided on the plug, which is connected to the grounding contact in the socket, unless, of course, grounding was provided in your house when designing its electrical part.

So, we have determined the main purpose of grounding.

Now, let's look at where the ground comes from in the outlet.

In itself, grounding is a few metal corners driven into the ground, interconnected metal strip. According to the PUE, power distribution cabinets and shields should be grounded both in industrial and residential buildings.

At the input of each house there is a power electrical cabinet, it usually has metal case. Not far from it, a grounding structure is being carried out. The cabinet is connected to the structure with a metal tape, by welding. Inside the cabinet there are special grounding contacts for connecting wires outgoing to consumers. They reach for the floor shields and from there they are distributed among the apartments. Thus, three wires phase, zero and earth enter the apartment.

AT Soviet times only introductory power cabinets were grounded, there were no groundings inside the apartments, this was due to saving construction funds. In addition, in those days there was not yet such a quantity of various household electrical equipment and such capacities consumed by them.

How to determine if your apartment has grounding?

First, you need to see if the outlets you have installed have an additional grounding contact.

This photo shows a socket with grounding contacts. They are two metal mustaches located above and below the socket, to which a suitable ground wire is connected using a screw connection.

Secondly, the socket should have three wires - phase, zero, and the third - ground.

You can only check the performance of the ground wire using a multimeter or voltmeter. With this device you need to make simple measurements. We find the phase wire and then measure the voltage relative to it. First phase zero, then phase earth. If the readings are different, then the ground is working, if the same, then most likely the ground wire is connected to zero somewhere. Instead of grounding, grounding is performed, which is very dangerous, especially in case of overvoltage.

So, in this article, we have analyzed in detail what grounding is, where it comes from and how to determine its presence in the outlet.