3 ms·

Wait.. if you've got two conductors it's neutral and hot. Neutral, as far as I know isn't connected to a literal metal post in the ground. That would be the thi

Wait.. if you've got two conductors it's neutral and hot. Neutral, as far as I know isn't connected to a literal metal post in the ground. That would be the third wire which would be called ground and is connected to a metal post. Am I wrong?

morio 2y ago
In the US, the neutral and ground are generally bonded in your breaker panel.
K0balt 2y ago
Maybe depends on where you are? All the systems I have worked on in a few countries have the neutral connected to earth ground at the feed point for the building, at the servíce entrance.
wongarsu 2y ago
The literal ground doesn't have the same potential everywhere. This is obvious in case of lightning strikes, but also happens in normal circumstances. You as a human standing on the ground are mostly at ground potential. If neutral was connected to ground at the nearest substation or the next power plant but not at your home you would get an electric shock whenever you touch a neutral wire because of the difference in ground potentials. Neutral can also be connected to a neutral line on the grid. But you pretty much always want to connect it to the local ground through a literal metal post.
mtreis86 2y ago
In the US, usually neutral is connected to the center tap of the transformer on the street, literally hooked to the middle of the winding. It is brought to ground level by hooking it up to the ground at the house, but the signal/power goes back to the transformer because the resistance is far lower than going through ground. That's why you have two power rails in the breaker box, the two hot wires coming in are 220v apart, the neutral is in the middle making for a pair of 110v rails at 180degree phase angle apart. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_tap https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_tap
sidewndr46 2y ago
what you're describing would be an "IT system". Most of north america uses something like a "TN system" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthing_system#IT_network https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthing_system#IT_network
quickthrowman 2y ago
> Wait.. if you've got two conductors it's neutral and hot. Neutral, as far as I know isn't connected to a literal metal post in the ground. Neutral and ground are bonded together in the service entrance. The neutral is a center tap off the utility transformer and the ground is usually a ground rod. In older houses the service entrance is typically the main panelboard. In a house built after 2020, the service entrance will be a disconnect switch after the meter socket.

morio 2y ago

In the US, the neutral and ground are generally bonded in your breaker panel.

K0balt 2y ago

Maybe depends on where you are? All the systems I have worked on in a few countries have the neutral connected to earth ground at the feed point for the building, at the servíce entrance.

wongarsu 2y ago

The literal ground doesn't have the same potential everywhere. This is obvious in case of lightning strikes, but also happens in normal circumstances. You as a human standing on the ground are mostly at ground potential. If neutral was connected to ground at the nearest substation or the next power plant but not at your home you would get an electric shock whenever you touch a neutral wire because of the difference in ground potentials. Neutral can also be connected to a neutral line on the grid. But you pretty much always want to connect it to the local ground through a literal metal post.

mtreis86 2y ago

In the US, usually neutral is connected to the center tap of the transformer on the street, literally hooked to the middle of the winding. It is brought to ground level by hooking it up to the ground at the house, but the signal/power goes back to the transformer because the resistance is far lower than going through ground. That's why you have two power rails in the breaker box, the two hot wires coming in are 220v apart, the neutral is in the middle making for a pair of 110v rails at 180degree phase angle apart. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_tap https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_tap

sidewndr46 2y ago

what you're describing would be an "IT system". Most of north america uses something like a "TN system" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthing_system#IT_network https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthing_system#IT_network

quickthrowman 2y ago

> Wait.. if you've got two conductors it's neutral and hot. Neutral, as far as I know isn't connected to a literal metal post in the ground. Neutral and ground are bonded together in the service entrance. The neutral is a center tap off the utility transformer and the ground is usually a ground rod. In older houses the service entrance is typically the main panelboard. In a house built after 2020, the service entrance will be a disconnect switch after the meter socket.