If the hot wire comes into contact with both the neutral and the ground then it will flow through both wires back to the source but as the ground has less resistance more current will flow through it. When this occurs both the ground and the neutral become current carrying conductors which effectively means that you have two 2 neutral wires running in parallel.
Electric System Neutral Wire Loss Leads To Shocked Homeowner
Neutral and ground wires together. This divides the current and places electrical energy on to the chassis of all metallic objects within the system. Unless theyre tied together with other circuits and not a home run back to the panel there is no difference between the two where they both end up on the same bus bar in the box. A ground and a neutral are both wires. Neutral white wire and equipment grounding conductors bare wire terminate under the same lug. A ground wire is like an overflow hole in your bathtub. When the neutral is disconnected the objective is to still have the equipment ground connected.
All the neutral and ground or earth wires in a building are tied or linked together at the incoming service main breaker panel. A second panel or sub panel should have the neutral and ground terminals or bars isolated from each other this is why the main circuit feed to the sub panel must have 4 wires with a dedicated insulated wire for the neutral and a separate wire for the ground. An individual terminal should be provided for the connection of each branch circuit neutral conductor. All the ground wires bond back at the main panel together with the neutrals. For electrical installations with split phase three wire single phase service the neutral point of the system is at the center tap on the. The neutral wire or grounded conductor is a normally current carrying conductor similar in many ways to a phase wire in that it will carry the same amount of current in single phase system.
Just think of it this way. Neutral wires are usually connected at a neutral bus within panelboards or switchboards and are bonded to earth ground at either the electrical service entrance or at transformers within the system. This is the only place they should ever be tied together because. It is grounded connected to the earth at the center tap point of transformer for a number of very complex reasons.
Gallery of Neutral And Ground Wires Together
