What’s The Difference Between Earthing & Grounding?
There’s a lot of unnecessary confusion surrounding the difference between the discipline of Earthing and Grounding, which is kind of crazy, because, for the most part, the two are the same.
Earthing is the term used primarily by previous British colonies, whereas, Grounding is used more by those countries where the British had less influence.
So you might see the term Ground Potential Rise (GPR) or Earth Potential Rise (EPR) – both refer to the same thing! It’s purely a localism that has developed over time.
Difference Between Earthing & Bonding – Summary
So, to summarise Earthing and Bonding difference can be categorised as follows:
Earthing is the stuff ‘in’ the ground, and;
Bonding is the stuff ‘above’ ground.
Thus, knowing that some earthing system “stuff” is going to sit above ground level. And some will be below ground is a useful way of thinking about E&B (earthing and bonding). It’s also imperative to understand as part of an E&B design strategy that each item has a subtly different purpose.
Thorne & Derrick Largest UK Stocks Of Copper Earthing Tapes
Going The Extra Mile On Rail Networks
One thing is for sure, E&B is a safety-critical aspect on all HV networks, including Rail Network electrification schemes. And as part of GreyMatters mission to help save lives while making life as easy as possible to deal with us, you’d expect us to jump through some crazy-hard hoops in the process, right?
Sentinel
As a result, one such ‘hoop’ Sentinel. I have to confess, and it’s quite a significant commitment to making initially (November 2017) to become the only Earthing Consultancy on the planet to my knowledge to offer full Sentinel sponsor status for Network Rail E&B projects. This status means PTS certified engineers get trackside in the UK easily without any faff or hassle and full RISQS compliance comes built-in to keep the regulators happy on the governance side.
Not only that but we also made some eye-watering (for us) investment in high-energy testing equipment. Furthermore, the readings we take do not suffer from the common, yet not fully recognised rail-related external influences.
Often these sources of error usually cause no-end of uncertainty in a rail environment, i.e. lots of lovely conductive structures that run in parallel for miles. Incidentally, these are quite a headache as a source of interference, when testing using the conventional equipment. Again, this attention to detail is something that makes GreyMatters entirely different. As a result, it’s also something that other sectors can benefit from – not just rail.
Anyway, hopefully, this piece clears up the confusion regarding E&B (Earthing and Bonding) you might have held previously and given a small insight into E&B testing headaches on rail projects too.
ABOUT GREYMATTERS
GreyMatters specialise in High Voltage Earthing System Design for earthing systems 1kV-765kV to meet EN 50522 and and international specifications, including 11kV, 33kV and 66kV power systems.
- Protecting critical assets and life from the harmful effects of high voltages and lightning strikes globally since 1995
- Focussing on high voltage electrical earthing system design, earthing measurement and surveys, lightning protection design, training and policy formulation
THORNE & DERRICK are national distributors of LV, MV & HV Cable Installation, Jointing, Duct Sealing, Substation & Electrical Equipment – we service UK and global businesses involved in cable installations, cable jointing, substation earthing, overhead line and electrical construction at LV, 11kV, 33kV and EHV.
Since 1985, T&D have established an international reputation based on SERVICE | INTEGRITY | TRUST.
Contact us for 3M Electrical, ABB, Alroc, AN Wallis, CATU Electrical, Cembre, Centriforce, CMP, CSD, Elastimold, Ellis Patents, Emtelle, Euromold, Filoform , Furse, Lucy Electric & Zodion, Nexans, Pfisterer, Polypipe, Prysmian, Roxtec, Sicame, WT Henley.
