Do-it-yourself ground loop in a private house: diagram, calculation, installation. How to make grounding in a private house, in the country Make grounding in the house yourself

Or a country cottage is always associated with a large amount of electrical work. In this range of tasks, along with the power supply to the house, the installation of distribution and protective equipment, the laying of internal lines, a well-planned and executed grounding system is no less important. Unfortunately, when carrying out " samostroy"Inexperienced owners quite often forget about this moment or even deliberately ignore it, trying to achieve some kind of false savings in money and labor costs.

Meanwhile, the grounding system is extremely important - it can prevent many troubles that can lead to very sad or even tragic consequences. According to existing rules, electricians will not connect the house to the power line if this system is not in the house or it does not meet the necessary requirements. And the owner, one way or another, will have to decide how to make grounding in the country.

In modern urban buildings, a ground loop is necessarily provided for at the design stage of the building and its internal communications. The owner of private housing will have to decide this issue himself - to invite specialists or try to do everything with his own hands. There is no need to be afraid - all this is quite a feasible task.

Why is a ground loop needed?

In order to understand the importance of grounding, basic concepts from a school physics course are enough.

The vast majority of private houses are powered by a single-phase AC 220 volts. The electrical circuit necessary for the operation of all devices or installations is provided by the presence of two conductors - in fact, a phase and a neutral wire.


The design of all electrical appliances, tools, household and other appliances provides for insulation elements and protective devices that should prevent voltage from entering conductive housings or casings. Nevertheless, the probability of such a phenomenon is never excluded - the insulation can be a discharge, burn out from unreliable, sparking contacts in wire connections, circuit elements, etc. can fail. In this case phase voltage can get on the body of the device, touching which becomes extremely dangerous for humans.

Of particular danger are situations if next to such a faulty device there are metal objects that have the so-called natural grounding - heating risers, water or gas pipes, open elements of reinforcement of building structures and etc.. At the slightest touch to them, the chain can close, and a deadly current will pass through the human body towards a lower potential. Such situations are no less dangerous if a person stands barefoot or in wet shoes on a wet floor or ground - there are also all the prerequisites for shorting the AC circuit from the device case.

One of the pronounced properties of the electric current is that it will necessarily choose a conductor with minimal resistance. This means that it is necessary to create in advance a line with a minimum resistance and zero potential, along which, in the event of a breakdown, the voltage will be safely discharged to the case.

The resistance of the human body is a variable value, depending on individual characteristics, and even on the temporary state of a person. In electrical practice, this value is usually taken as 1000 ohms (1 kOhm). Therefore, the resistance of the ground loop should be many times lower. There is a complex calculation system, but usually they operate with values ​​of 30 ohms for a household electrical network of a private house and 10 ohms if grounding is also used as lightning protection.

It may be objected that all problems can be completely solved by installing special protective devices(RCD). But for correct operation, grounding is also a necessity. If even the slightest current leakage occurs, the circuit will close almost instantly and the device will work, turning off the dangerous section of the home electrical network.

Some owners are under the prejudice that it is enough to use plumbing or heating pipes for grounding. This is extremely dangerous and absolutely unreliable. Firstly, it is impossible to guarantee effective voltage dissipation - pipes can be heavily oxidized and not have good enough contact with the ground, and besides, they often have plastic sections. It does not exclude electric shock when touching them in the event of a power failure to the case, and neighbors may also be exposed to such a danger.


Most modern electrical appliances are immediately equipped with a power cable with a three-prong plug. Appropriate sockets must also be installed when carrying out wiring work in the house. (Some older appliances have a ground terminal on the case instead.)


There is a strictly defined color "pinout" of wires: the blue wire is definitely "zero", the phase can have different colors, from white to black, and the ground wire is always yellow-green.

And now, knowing this, some “wise” owners, wanting to save money on updating the wiring and organizing a full-fledged grounding, simply make jumpers in the sockets between the zero contact and the ground. However, this does not solve the problem, but rather exacerbates it. Under certain conditions, for example, in case of burnout or poor contact of the working zero in some section of the circuit, or in case of accidental phase reversal, a phase potential will appear on the instrument case, and this can happen in the most unexpected place in the house. The danger of electric shock increases many times in such a situation.


Grounding is a reliable protection against many troubles.

The conclusion from all of the above - grounding is mandatory constructive element home electrical network. It immediately performs the following functions:

  • Efficient discharge of voltage leakage from conductive parts, touching which can cause electric shock.
  • Equalization of potentials in all objects in the house, for example, grounded appliances and pipes for heating, water supply, gas supply.
  • Ensuring the correct operation of all installed systems and safety devices - fuses, .
  • Grounding is also important in preventing the accumulation of static charge on the housings of household appliances.
  • It is of particular importance for modern electronics, especially computer technology. For example, the operation of switching power supplies for computers is very often accompanied by voltage induction on the cases of system units. Any discharge can lead to failure of electronic elements, malfunctions, loss of information.

Now that the importance of the grounding system has been clarified, we can move on to the question of how to make it in a private house on your own.

Prices for protective automation

Protective automation

What are the grounding systems in private homes

So, a well-executed grounding system should provide reliable contact with zero ground potential and with the lowest possible resistance of the created circuit. However, gruent -gruntat discord - its different types seriously differ from each other in resistivity:

Soil typesoil resistivity (ohm × m)
Sand (at level ground water below 5 m)1000
Sand (when the groundwater level is above 5 m)500
Fertile soil (chernozem)200
Wet sandy loam150
Semi-hard or forest-like loam100
Chalk or semi-hard clay60
Graphite schist, clayey marl50
Plastic loam30
Plastic clay or peat20
underground aquifersfrom 5 to 50

Obviously, those layers that have the lowest resistivity are, as a rule, located at a considerable depth. But even when the electrode is deepened, the results obtained may not be enough. This problem is solved in several ways - from increasing the depth of installation of pin electrodes, to increasing their number, the distance between them or the total area of ​​contact with the ground. In practice, several basic schemes are most often used:


  • Scheme "a" - installation of a buried metal closed loop around the perimeter of the house. As an option - shallowly hammered pins connected by a bus around the ring.

AT cottage construction it is rarely used due to the large volume earthworks or in connection with the peculiarities of the location of buildings on the site.

  • Scheme "b" is perhaps the most popular among owners of suburban housing. Three or more moderately buried pin electrodes connected by one bus - this design is easy to do on your own, even in a limited space.
  • The diagram "c" shows grounding with one electrode installed at a great depth. Sometimes such a system is arranged even in the basement of a building. The scheme is convenient, but not always feasible - it is almost impossible to implement it on rocky soils. In addition, for such a grounding system, you need to use special electrodes - we will talk about it a little lower.
  • Scheme "g" is quite convenient, but only if it was thought out at the design stage of the house, and executed during the pouring of the foundation. Bringing it to life on a finished building will be extremely unprofitable.

So, the easiest way to implement with minimal cost schemes "b" or, if possible, "c".

Grounding using homemade metal parts

To make a grounding system of this type, you will need metal profiles, welding machine, earthwork tools, sledgehammer. In some cases, with complex dense soils, a hand drill may be required.

Schematically, this system looks like this:


Location buried electrodes is selected so that it is most convenient to bring the ground bus to switchboard. The optimal distance from the house is 3-6 meters. Permissible limits are no closer than one meter and no further than ten.

The dimensions indicated on the diagram are by no means some kind of dogma. So, the side of the triangle can be up to three meters in length, and the depth of driving the pin can be somewhat smaller - 2.0 ÷ 2.5 m. The number of electrodes can also change - if the soil is dense and it is not possible to drive the pins to a great depth, you can increase their number.

Sound advice is to contact your local power supply in advance for recommendations on the implementation of a ground loop. These specialists probably have well-thought-out and tested schemes in this region. In addition, they will be able to help calculate the dimensions based on the planned load of the home electrical network - this also matters.


What can serve as electrodes? For these purposes, the most commonly used steel corner with a shelf 50 × 50 mm and a thickness of at least 4 ÷ 5 mm. Pipes can be used, preferably galvanized with a wall thickness of at least 3.5 mm. It is possible to take a steel strip with a cross-sectional area of ​​the order of 48 mm² (12 × 4), but it is more difficult to drive it vertically into the ground. If it is decided to use a steel bar, now and then it is better to take galvanized, with a diameter of at least 10 mm.

To tie the pins into one loop, use a 40 × 4 mm strip or 12 - 14 mm wire rod. The same material is suitable for laying the ground bus to the point of its entry into the house.

  • So, initially marking is done at the chosen place.

  • Then it is advisable to dig a small pit of the intended shape to a depth of 1 meter. The minimum depth is 0.5 m. At the same time, a trench is dug to the same depth - a ground bus will go along it from the contour to the basement of the house.

  • The task can be somewhat simplified by digging not a continuous pit, but only trenches along the perimeter of the contour being created. The main thing is that their width allows for free plugging of electrodes and welding.

  • Prepare electrodes of the desired length. The edge with which they will be driven into the ground must be sharpened with a grinder, cutting it at an angle. The metal must be clean, unpainted.

  • In the designated places, the electrodes are driven into the ground using a sledgehammer or an electric hammer. They are deepened so that in the pit (trench) they protrude above the surface level by about 200 mm.

  • After all the electrodes are clogged, they are connected with a common bus (horizontal ground electrode) from a metal strip 40 × 4 mm. Only welding is applicable here, although you can find recommendations to get by with a bolted connection. No, in order to ensure reliable and durable grounding, this harness must be welded - the threaded contact located underground will quickly oxidize, the loop resistance will increase sharply.

  • Now you can lay a tire from the same lane to the foundation of the house. The busbar is welded into one of the clogged electrodes and placed in a trench, then it enters the basement of the building.
  • The tire is attached to the plinth. Not shown in the figure, but it is advisable to provide a slight bend in front of the attachment point, so-called"compensation hump" to compensate for the linear expansion of the metal during temperature changes. At the end of the strip, a bolt with an M10 thread is welded. A copper terminal with a ground wire will be attached to it, which will go to the switchboard.

  • To pass the wire through the wall or through the base, a hole is drilled and a plastic sleeve is inserted into it. The wire is copper, with a cross section of 16 or 25 mm² (it is better to check this parameter with specialists in advance). It is also better to use copper nuts and washers for connection.
  • Sometimes they do it differently - a long steel pin is welded to the tire, so that it passes through the wall of the house, also through the sleeve. In this case, the terminal part will be in the room and will be less susceptible to oxidation under the action of high humidity air.

Bronze distribution plate for earth wires
  • The ground wire is connected to the electrical switchboard. For further “distribution”, it is best to use a special plate made of electrical bronze - all ground wires going to consumption points will be attached to it.

Do not rush to immediately fill the mounted circuit with soil.

- It is recommended, firstly, to capture it in a photograph with reference to the surrounding stationary ground objects - this may be required to make changes to the project documentation, as well as to carry out control and verification activities in the future.

- Secondly, it is necessary to check the resistance of the resulting circuit. For these purposes, it is better to invite specialists from the energy supply organization, especially since their call, one way or another, will be necessary to obtain permits.

If the test results show that the resistance is high, it will be necessary to add one more or even more vertical electrodes. Sometimes, before checking, they also go for tricks, abundantly watering the places near the corners nailed into the ground with a saturated solution of ordinary table salt. This will certainly improve performance, however, do not forget that salt activates metal corrosion.


By the way, if you can’t hammer in the corners, then they resort to drilling wells to the desired depth. After installing the electrodes, they are filled with clay soil with the highest possible density, into which they are also mixed with salt.

After the operability of the ground loop has been verified, it is necessary to treat the welds with an anti-corrosion compound. The same can be done with the bus going to the building. Then, after the mastic has dried, the pit and trenches are covered with soil. It should be homogeneous, not littered and without crushed stone inclusions. Then the place of backfilling is carefully compacted.

Video: installation of a ground loop using a metal corner

Use of ready-made factory kits

Prefabricated ready-made kits are very convenient for organizing grounding in the country. They are a set of pins with couplings that allow you to increase the depth of immersion into the ground as you drive.


This grounding system provides for the installation of one pin electrode, but to a greater depth, from 6 and even up to 15 meters.

The kit usually includes:

  • Steel pins 1500 mm long with a galvanized or copper-plated surface, or made of stainless steel. The diameter of the pieces may vary in different sets - from 14 to 18 mm.

  • For their connection, they are equipped with threaded couplings, and for the convenience of penetration through the ground, a steel tip is included in the kit.

In some kits, the couplings are not threaded, but pressing. In this case, one end of the grounding pin is tapered by forging and has a ribbed surface. During impact, a strong connection occurs and a reliable electrical contact between the rods is achieved.

  • To transfer the impact, a special nozzle (dowel) made of high-strength steel is provided, which will not be deformed by the impact of the hammer.

Nagel - a nozzle that will transmit the impact force from the hammer
  • Some kits provide for a special adapter that allows you to use a powerful hammer drill as a driving tool.

To install such a grounding system, it is also advisable to dig a small pit up to a meter deep and the same in diameter, although some even prefer outdoor placement.


The pins are sequentially driven in with an extension to the desired depth.

Then left on the surface section (about 200 mm) a brass contact clamp is put on.


Either a conductive bus made of a metal strip is inserted into it, or a ground cable with a cross section of 25 square meters is immediately inserted. mm. For connection with a steel strip, a special gasket is provided, which does not allow for electrochemical contact between the ground of the rod and steel (zinc). In the future, the bus or cable is brought into the house and connected to the switchboard in the same way as described above.

Video: driving stick electrodes manually

Prices for components for lightning protection and grounding

Accessories for lightning protection and grounding

What type of rod coating to choose - galvanized or copper-plated?

  • From the point of view of economy, galvanizing with a thin layer (from 5 to 30 microns) is more profitable. These pins are not afraid of mechanical damage during installation, even deep scratches left do not affect the degree of protection of iron. However, zinc is a fairly reactive metal, and while protecting the iron, it oxidizes itself. Over time, when the entire zinc layer has reacted, the iron remains unprotected and is quickly “eaten away” by corrosion. The service life of such elements usually does not exceed 15 years. And making the zinc coating thicker costs a lot of money.

  • Copper, on the contrary, without entering into reactions, protects the iron it closes, which is more active from the point of view of chemistry. Such electrodes can serve for a very long time without sacrificing efficiency, for example, the manufacturer guarantees their safety in loamy soil up to 100 years. But during installation, care should be taken - in places where the copper plating layer is damaged, a corrosion area will most likely occur. To reduce the likelihood of this, the copper plating layer is made thick enough, up to 200 microns, so such pins are much more expensive than conventional galvanized ones.

What are the general advantages of such a grounding system kit with one deep-seated electrode:

  • Installation is not particularly difficult. No bulky earthworks are required, no welding machine is needed - everything is done with a common tool that is in every home.
  • The system is very compact, it can be placed on a tiny "patch" or even in the basement of the house.
  • If copper-plated electrodes are used, then the service life of such grounding will be calculated in several tens of years.
  • Due to good contact with the ground, a minimum electrical resistance is achieved. In addition, the efficiency of the system is practically not affected by seasonal conditions. The level of soil freezing accounts for no more than 10% of the electrode length, and winter temperatures cannot adversely affect conductivity in any way.

Of course, there are also disadvantages:

  • This type of grounding cannot be implemented on rocky soils - most likely, it will not be possible to drive the electrodes to the required depth.
  • Perhaps someone will be scared away by the price of the kit. However, this is a question with with porn, since high-quality rolled metal for a conventional grounding scheme is also expensive. If we add the duration of operation, the simplicity and speed of installation, the absence of the need for a specialized tool, then, quite possibly, such an approach to solving the problem of grounding may seem even more promising from the point of view of efficiency.

Video: how to make grounding in a country house using a modular pin system

Content:

Many people live and spend time in dachas and private country houses. They try to create for themselves maximum coziness and comfort, to surround them with all modern conveniences. The vast majority of such objects are fully electrified, so the question often arises of how to make grounding in a private house with your own hands.

Do-it-yourself grounding scheme in a private house 220 and 380v

In each private house, grounding is arranged depending on what voltage is connected to it - 220 or 380 volts. Both grounding schemes practically do not differ from each other. In both cases, the ground loop device will be exactly the same. The existing differences relate to the connection method, depending on the type of electrical network.

When connected to a single-phase network, with a voltage of 220 volts, three wires are used - phase, zero and ground. The sockets also have three corresponding pins. If connected three-phase voltage at 380 volts, five wires are already used, of which three are phase, and the other two perform the functions of zero and ground. The sockets also have five pins.

It is strictly forbidden to use a neutral wire instead of a grounding conductor, regardless of the voltage in the electrical network. In this case, the failure of expensive household appliances and equipment is quite possible. In addition, a real threat to the health and life of people in the house is created.

When installing grounding in a private house, the difference in resistance should be taken into account. If the installation is carried out in accordance with all the rules, then the grounding resistance with a voltage of 220 volts will be about 30 ohms. At a voltage of 380 volts, this figure will be equal to 10 ohms. An important role is played by the resistivity of the soil in which the ground loop is laid. For example, rocky soil has very low rates.

Grounding schemes

First of all, you need to decide on the most suitable option grounding schemes for a private house. Depending on this, the entire system will be mounted in the future.

The most popular grounding schemes are:

  • A closed circuit in the form of a triangle. Its main advantage is more reliable operation. In case of damage to the jumper between the pins, the operation of the system will continue from any whole side.
  • The linear circuit consists of several pins dug in on the same line, connected in series with each other. The disadvantage of such a system is its complete failure if the jumper installed at the very beginning is damaged.

For private houses, a triangle is best suited. In terms of the amount of work, this scheme is no different from other systems, but its efficiency is much higher. Based on specific conditions, you can use your own option and perform a grounding configuration in the form of a rectangle or other shapes.

Necessary tools and materials

For the manufacture of artificial ground electrodes, rolled steel is used. Round bars, pipes of different sections and corners are best suited for these purposes.

It is strictly forbidden to use profile fittings as grounding conductors and grounding conductors. This is due to the hardened outer layer found in all products of this type. As a result, the current distribution over the cross section is disturbed, and the oxidation process occurs much faster.

In order to protect the metal from corrosion, the use of galvanized electrodes is practiced. In some cases, electrically conductive concrete can perform the functions of a grounding conductor.

There are prefabricated kits consisting of seamless copper-plated pins. Their length is 1.5 meters, and there is a thread at the end. To connect the pins to each other, special brass threaded couplings are provided. Immersion in the ground of the electrodes is carried out by high-power hand impact tools with the help of an adapter and a guide head. The electrodes are connected to the ground conductor with clamps made of stainless steel. Corrosion protection at the joints is carried out by coating with a special paste.

Ground electrodes must not be painted or coated with other coatings that reduce conductivity. However, under the action of corrosion, the thickness of steel parts gradually decreases. This factor must be taken into account, so the electrode cross section is selected with a certain margin. Thus, a sufficiently long operation of the circuit is ensured.

The regulatory documents define the minimum allowable cross-section of ground electrodes, which should be taken into account when choosing materials. So, for a galvanized rod, this parameter is 6 mm2, for a rod made of ordinary ferrous metal - 10 mm2, and for rectangular rolled products - 48 mm2. Pipe walls or rolled steel flanges are selected with a minimum thickness of 4 mm.

Of great importance is the correct choice of material used to connect the electrodes. In most cases, a strip is used, however, in certain conditions, the use of a pipe, angle or wire is allowed. With these materials, grounding can be brought directly to the electrical panel. The cross section of the grounding conductor located inside the building must match the cross section of the phase wire used in the wiring.

All ground conductors are connected to a single ground bus used for switching. The tire itself is made of special electrotechnical bronze. She is one of the elements switchboard and fixed directly to its wall. A sledgehammer and a ladder may be required to complete the work. The connection of parts from rolled ferrous metal is carried out by welding.

Installation of the grounding system

In private houses, use is practiced in the form of a triangle with equal sides. In order to make a ground loop in a private house with your own hands, the markings for the future design are performed in exactly the same configuration. The grounding distance from the foundation of the building should not exceed 1 meter.

After marking, a trench is cut off along the entire perimeter of the triangle to a depth of 0.8 to 1 meter. Its width is from 50 to 70 cm, which ensures the convenience of welding and other work. The trench itself is necessary for laying horizontal connecting ground electrodes.

At each vertex of the triangle, vertical ground electrodes are driven from a corner 2-3 meters long. They are buried almost completely with sledgehammer blows. To better enter the corners into the ground, their ends are pointed. The device of small wells opposite each vertex of the triangle, about 1.5 m deep, will help facilitate the work. In this case, the corners are hammered into the ground at a shorter distance.

After completing all preparatory work, you can start direct installation of the ground loop:

  • At the very beginning of work, the corners are driven into the ground so that their upper edge protrudes above the bottom of the trench by about 20-25 cm.
  • Upon completion of the installation of vertical grounding, horizontal piping is performed in order to create a closed loop. All connections are made by welding - a steel strip is welded to the ends of the corners. The use of bolted connections is not allowed, since after a while oxidation of these places occurs. As a result, the contact is lost and the ground loop starts to work inefficiently.
  • After complete assembly of the ground loop, it must be connected to the electrical panel. This is done using a grounding conductor, for which a steel wire with a cross section of 8-10 mm is used. It is welded to the contour and then laid in a trench to the junction with the shield. A bolt with a diameter of 6 or 8 mm is also welded in this place, to which the ground wire will be attached.
  • If there is no steel wire, then a steel strip, the same as in a horizontal ground electrode, may well become a grounding conductor. The strip will be even more efficient because it has a larger area of ​​contact with the ground. However, it is harder to work with, especially when laying on the bends of the trench.
  • Upon completion of all welding work welding points are treated with special anti-corrosion compounds. Paint cannot be used for these purposes, since it completely breaks the connection between the metal and the ground and the grounding system simply will not work.

After checking all connections, the excavated trench is covered with earth. Next, grounding must be connected to the equipment installed in the house. Many private houses use the TN-C grounding system, where it is grounded. After installing your own ground loop, such a circuit will no longer work and will require alteration to a TN-C-S or TT system.

Earth connection system TN-C-S

The TN-C circuit does not have a separate ground conductor, so it needs to be converted to a TN-C-S circuit. To do this, it is necessary to divide the combined PEN wire in the electrical panel, which is both a zero working and protective conductor. After separation, two separate wires should be obtained: N - working and PE - protective.

Since only two supply wires are connected to the house, in order to obtain a three-core internal wiring, it is necessary to use a special PE ground bus connected to the shield through a metal surface. The PEN wire connected from the outside network is connected to it.

Then the PE bus is connected by a jumper to the same bus connected to the zero working conductor N. The zero bus in without fail isolated from the shield. After that, the shield itself is connected to the ground loop. For this purpose, a multicore copper wire, one end of which is connected to the shield, and the other is attached to the ground conductor using a bolt welded on the end.

Grounding connection according to the TT scheme

This system does not require PEN conductor separations. The scheme provides for the connection of a phase conductor to a bus isolated from the electrical panel. Further, it will serve as a neutral wire. After that, the shield body is connected to the ground loop.

Thus, grounding in a private house with your own hands according to the TT scheme does not provide for any electrical connection circuit with PEN conductor. This connection has significant advantages over the TN-C-S scheme. When the PEN wire burns out, the zero potential on the instrument cases will remain. Therefore, the CT circuit is considered more reliable and safer. Its high cost is considered a serious drawback, since the presence of protective devices is mandatory in the circuit.

How to make the grounding of your home yourself

If in your old house the electrical network consists of 2 wires (there is only a working zero and a phase), it is imperative to organize a grounding system. Don't know what it's for? The main purpose of the system is to divert dangerous potential to the ground in case of insulation failure (read more in the article:). In other words, if the wiring is damaged, you will not be shocked by the body of a powerful electrical appliance (for example, a connected washing machine). How to make grounding in a private house with your own hands, read on!

Importance of the issue

If you are wondering if it is necessary to do grounding in your country house or a cottage, then we immediately say that it is impossible to do without a protective circuit. Even according to the standards of PUE, SNiP and GOST, it is required to make a special tap that will protect you from electric shock. The organization of the system (its correct name) in a 220 and 380 Volt network should be carried out even during construction, because. then it is more expensive to do it (it will be necessary to change the two-core cable to a three- or five-core cable throughout the house).

If you purchased a house in which there is no grounding, then you need to mount and connect it. Installation of the grounding system is quite simple. In addition to grounding, it is necessary to create lightning protection. We talked about that in a separate article.

Ground loop device

Requirements for grounding and grounding are defined in. We also recommend that you study before organizing a protective circuit.

The contour of the grounding device consists of electrodes dug into the ground and interconnected by an electrode - a metal rod or a metal strip. Usually the ground loop is made in the shape of a triangle or square. The photo shows how to install earthing switches in a trench.

When grounding, vertical ground electrodes should be laid to a depth of 0.5-0.6 m from the level of the planning mark of the earth and protrude from the bottom of the trench by 0.1-0.2 m. The distance between the electrodes is 2.5-3 m. Horizontal ground electrodes and connecting strips between vertical grounding conductors are laid in trenches with a depth of 0.6-0.7 m from the level of the planning ground mark.

The ground loop is connected in two places with the help of grounding conductors to the internal grounding network of the house. It can be done as shown in this photo:

The photo shows that the ground strip is rigidly attached to the wall. Ground strips can be attached with dowels or a nail gun directly to the wall or using intermediate pieces. The gun shoots strips of sheet or strip steel up to 6 mm thick. The base must be concrete or brick.

We develop a scheme

First of all, you need to decide on the grounding scheme in a private house, according to which you will need to make the entire system.

To date, two schemes are popular:


We recommend that you make grounding in a private house according to the triangle scheme, because. in fact, the installation work will not change (you still have to dig three holes and drive in three pins), but at the same time, the efficiency will be several times higher than with the in-line scheme. We talked about it in more detail in a separate article!

In addition to the above provided grounding schemes in a private house, you can make your own version. For example, hammer the corners with a rectangle or an oval. For example, we recommend that you print the four most popular options:

Another important point is the distance between the electrodes. The figure above shows a distance of 1.2 meters between the electrodes, which are 2-3 meters long. This is not entirely correct. It is better to make the distance between the electrodes equal to their length, or at least 3 meters.

The thing is that with a small distance between the ground electrodes, the spreading zones of the electric current will overlap each other, which means that if the current leaks, the system will not be effective. That is why it is better to separate the ground electrodes a little from each other, and most importantly, to connect them securely by welding or special clamps.

We prepare tools and materials

As regards the earthing installation tools in country house(for example, in the country), you will need:

  • a welding machine (its presence is mandatory, because the connection of plates and fittings without welding will not create high-quality contact, especially under the soil);
  • grinder (cut metal into suitable pieces);
  • bayonet shovel;
  • perforator;
  • sledgehammer (the heavier, the better, because you have to drive the pins 2 meters deep);
  • kit wrenches(tighten bolt).

If you have at least some electrical skills, we recommend! There is nothing difficult in this!

Materials to be used:

  1. A metal corner made of stainless steel with dimensions of 50*50 mm, at least 2 meters long. Alternative option - water pipe from steel, with a diameter of 32 mm, a wall thickness of at least 3.5 mm, or reinforcement. You can also use a rectangular profile, the main thing is that its cross-sectional area does not exceed 150 mm 2.
  2. Three strips of metal 120 cm long, 4 cm wide and at least 4 mm thick.
  3. Stainless steel metal strip 40 * 4 mm, having a length from the location of the system to the porch of the house.
  4. Bolt M8 or M10.
  5. Copper wire, for example, with a thickness of at least 6 mm 2 (depending on which section is adopted for the phase conductor).

Important! Do not skimp on the thickness of the ground electrodes, because the durability and reliability of your grounding will depend on this!

Having prepared everything you need, you can proceed to the manufacture of grounding in a private house.

Installation work

Step 1 - Choose a location

First you need to decide where to make the ground loop. The importance of this stage is very high, because from the choice of grounding location to suburban area depends on the security of the system. If a breakdown of the electrical wiring occurs, as a result of which the protection will work, then there should be no one in the place where the pins are located. The presence of a person or animal at the site of the discharge of electricity into the soil can cause death. That is why the location of the electrodes is chosen taking into account the fact that no one will be here. It is best to place the outlet along the fence behind the house, at a distance of no more than 1 meter from the foundation of the building. Additionally, it is recommended to make a low fence or a border to enclose an unsafe area.

If you don't want to spoil landscape design site, we recommend organizing a grounding system for a residential building under boulders or some kind of voluminous garden sculpture. In this case, no one will be able to be in the danger zone and nothing will harm the beauty of the backyard territory!

Step 2 - Earthworks

For example, consider how to properly make grounding in a private house a triangle according to the scheme that we considered above. At this stage, it is necessary to dig a triangle with sides of 2-3 meters with a shovel (the most optimal distance between the corners). The depth of the trench should be from 50 to 70 cm. The same trench must be dug to the porch of the house.

Step 3 - Assembling the Structure

Now the main part of the process begins. According to the scheme, it is necessary to hammer the electrodes 2 meters into the ground (so that only the tops remain, to which it will be necessary to cling to by welding).

When all the pins are driven in, it is necessary to weld the plates to the tops to get a metal triangular frame (as shown in the photo).

Another plate is laid in a long trench leading to the house, and is stuck at one end to the nearest vertex of the triangle.

After that, you can proceed to connecting the cable to the plate using a bolt and, in the end, fill all the holes with soil back.

One important nuance- if the site is represented by a sand cushion, the conductivity of the soil will need to be increased with a salt solution. Liquid must be poured under the base of all electrodes. The disadvantage of such an event is that the metal will begin to corrode faster, which will make grounding in a private house not as powerful as it should be.

Step 4 - Control Check

The last thing left for you to do is to measure the resistance of the finished grounding in a private house. In a good way, for measurement it is necessary to use a special electrical device, the cost of which is quite high.

At home, you can go a different way to solve the problem, more simply - check the performance with a lamp with a power of at least 100 watts. All that is needed is to connect the light source with one contact to the ground loop, and with the other to the phase. If the light bulb burns brightly - the grounding installation in your own house was done correctly, dimly - the contact between the structural elements is weak and the joints need to be redone. If the light did not appear at all, you made a mistake somewhere and you will need to completely revise the entire system, perhaps starting with the circuit itself! We talked about it in more detail in a separate article.

This completes the instruction. We hope that now you know how to make grounding in a private house with your own hands! We draw your attention to the fact that this technology and all sizes are suitable for giving too.

When living in apartment building there are no problems with grounding - each storey electrical panel is a ready-made ground loop. But if you live in a private house or in a country house, it is not necessary to invite paid specialists, because you can make a grounding device in a private house with your own hands. 220 V is a strong current supply, so ignoring grounding is life threatening.

Before taking on independent production ground loop, you need to figure it out, Why do electrical appliances need to be grounded?. This will help to take a responsible attitude both to the choice of the scheme and materials of the ground loop, and to the process of its manufacture.

Interference protection

The problem of interference concerns mainly owners of high-quality sound reproducing/recording equipment and PCs. Built into such devices network filters They “collect” impulse noise from the mains and send them to the chassis of the device, and in the case of a PC, to a metal casing.

A fragment of the PC power supply circuit (the filter is circled in red)

If the body of the device is not connected to the ground (PE terminal on the mains plug), then all interference remains on the casing and creates an electromagnetic field around it, which interferes with signal wires, microphones, headphones.

Anyone who has encountered such a problem knows that it is difficult to get rid of such interference. No shielding and super cables solve the problem - pickup from the case penetrates into external devices even through the shielding braid of the connecting wire. But it is worth connecting the case of the same PC to a central heating battery or water supply, as the background in headphones or speakers disappears in the most miraculous way.

If the interference in sound reproduction is, although serious, but only an inconvenience, then the voltage that has fallen on the casing of the device for one reason or another can be life threatening. The worst thing is that equipment malfunction during insulation breakdown on the case often does not manifest itself in any way- the device works and looks absolutely fine. But as soon as a person touches the casing of the same washing machine, how a current begins to flow through his body into the ground (damp floor, tile, concrete), the value of which, even at 50–80 mA, is deadly:

Electric shock to a person when touching faulty equipment

To eliminate this situation, it is enough to connect the device case to the ground, and even a faulty washing or Dishwasher will not pose any threat to humans. In case of an incomplete breakdown, the voltage from the casing will simply drain into the ground through a special bus, but a complete breakdown of the insulation will cause a short circuit and trigger the protective equipment - a fuse in the device, a machine on the landing or in the house shield.

It is absolutely safe to touch faulty but grounded equipment

For a quick and easy connection to earth, all devices that require earthing are supplied with a special mains plug with earthing contacts or a grounding terminal.

Contacts marked with arrows are grounding

How to make a ground loop

From the foregoing, it can be seen that not only convenience and tranquility, but also people's lives depend on the reliability of grounding. Therefore, the manufacture of the contour must be approached extremely seriously. Do you know how to hold a shovel and a hacksaw in your hands and are you confident in your abilities? Then get to work! But before finding out how to properly make grounding in a private house, it is necessary to decide what to make it from and what design to choose.

Design choice

The main task that needs to be solved in the manufacture of grounding is a good electrical contact of the circuit with the ground. It would seem that the simplest solution is to dig in a voluminous metal object.

If you have a couple of old but strong barrels at your disposal, a rear axle from KAMAZ or something similar, then the option is quite feasible. You weld a metal tire to an object, dig in the object itself, and bring the tire to the surface. But, simple in appearance, this method has a lot of disadvantages:

A much more reliable and durable grounding can be obtained using long pins driven into the ground to a certain depth and electrically connected to each other. The key factor here is the number of pins and their length. By design, these types of grounding are divided:

  • linear;
  • voluminous.

Linear grounding consists of a series of pins driven into the ground and connected in series. The volumetric type implies several pins driven in a circle and connected into a ring.

Linear (left) and volumetric types of ground loops

In principle, both types provide high-quality grounding of equipment, a small difference is only in reliability. If one of the jumpers in the linear grounding is broken, a certain number of grounding pins are excluded from operation, which leads to an increase in the resistance of the grounding loop.

The electrical characteristics of the three-dimensional structure are practically not affected. Nevertheless, with high-quality jumpers, the probability of such an accident is small, therefore, when choosing the type of grounding, it makes sense to be guided only by the expediency and convenience of manufacturing a particular design, depending on specific conditions.

Material Options

Do not save on materials - after all, from them right choice your safety depends. As pins, a corner from 40x40 and above is ideal. It is strong enough, which is important when driving, and has a large surface area for minimal contact resistance. If there is no corner at your disposal, then a thick-walled water pipe or a pin with a diameter of at least 15-20 mm will do.

There is an opinion that fittings cannot be used as grounding pins - they allegedly quickly rust. This statement is absolutely groundless - the corrosion resistance of the reinforcement is no worse than the resistance of the same corner or pipe, and it is much easier to drive in the reinforcement than, say, a soft rod. So if you have rebar with a diameter of 16 mm and above, you can safely use it. In this case, the length of the pins must be at least 2 m, and their number depends on the type of grounding you have chosen, but at least three pieces.

As jumpers, an iron strip (tire) with a width of 15 mm and a thickness of 5 mm is ideal. Such a section was chosen solely for reasons of durability, since even an eight-millimeter wire rod can withstand the emergency short circuit current. It just rots faster and is harder to cook. An ordinary corner or fittings of the corresponding section will also go for jumpers, but this, of course, will cost more. In any case, all materials should not have a dielectric coating - paints, mastics, etc.

Manufacturing process

If you have picked the right materials, you have a shovel, a welding machine, a sledgehammer and a hacksaw at your disposal, then you can start working. The entire manufacturing process of the contour can be reduced to the following basic operations:

  1. Markup.
  2. Trench dig.
  3. Driving in ground pins.
  4. Connecting the pins to each other with jumpers and bringing the grounding bus to the surface.
  5. Trench backfill.
  6. Checking the quality of grounding.

Regardless of the circuit design you choose, you must use a minimum of 3 pins spaced at least 1.5-2 m apart. If your household plot- a solid lawn, it is most convenient to use a linear scheme, digging a contour along the wall of a building or garden path.

Having marked the place for the pins, you can proceed to digging a shallow (20–30 cm) trench connecting the marking points. There is no point in digging deeper - a bus laid in a trench will play the role of jumpers, not grounding. It rusts, contrary to the opinion of "specialists", in exactly the same way at any depth. The main purpose of the trench is to hide the tire so that people don't trip over it.

Since there is a lot of free space near the house, the “triangle” scheme was chosen

Now the most responsible and difficult operation is driving in the grounding pins. To do this, their ends must be cut at an angle of about 30 degrees. You can drive in with an ordinary sledgehammer, but some use an ordinary puncher for this purpose.

Ground pins can be driven in with a sledgehammer or puncher

The pins are hammered to the full length, only the ends 10–20 cm long remain on the surface. Jumpers will be welded to them. After all the pins are clogged, they need to be connected to each other with a bus. To do this, it is better to use welding - it is much more durable and reliable than a bolted connection.

A welded connection (left) is less aesthetically pleasing, but much more reliable than a bolted one.

Immediately weld a branch bus to the almost finished structure - the house circuit will be connected to it.

Outlet bus and the option of connecting a house circuit to it

It remains to paint over the welding spots with any paint or mastic, wait for it to dry and fill the trench. If possible, it is advisable to make it with sand for better drainage - and the tire will last longer, and the ground around the pins will be more wet. If sand is unacceptable for technical or aesthetic reasons, then you can use the earth - that's okay. Sleep, plant grass. Question. you decided how to make grounding in a private house, but the circuit must be checked.

Now you need to make sure that the circuit is securely connected to the ground electrically and can act as an emergency ground. For verification, you can call power engineers with special equipment for a fee, but it is quite possible to conduct high-quality tests on our own.

To do this, you will need any powerful electrical appliance with a power of about 1 kW. An electric stove, iron, heater, etc. will do. You also need a voltage indicator (indicator screwdriver), a piece of wire and an AC voltmeter.

Using the pointer, find the phase in the outlet and measure the voltage between it and your ground. Record the instrument readings. Now connect the device between phase and circuit. He should earn quite well. Repeat the measurement and compare with the readings obtained without load. If the voltage under load drops by no more than 10-15 V, then the ground loop can be considered working.

Grounding test circuit (a light bulb is conventionally shown as a load)

If the voltage drop is greater, repeat the measurement operation, but now use the regular zero in the outlet instead of the circuit. It also drops a lot - your electrical wiring cannot cope even with a relatively small load and it's not about grounding. If there is not a big drop, then you will have to add a few more ground pins to your circuit and repeat the tests.

Modern Appliances and equipment requires grounding. Only in this case, manufacturers will maintain their warranties. The inhabitants of the apartments have to wait for the overhaul of networks, and the owners of houses can do everything with their own hands. How to make grounding in a private house, what is the procedure and connection diagrams - read about all this here.

In general, ground loops can be in the form of a triangle, rectangle, oval, line or arc. The best option for a private house - a triangle, but others are quite suitable.

Grounding in a private house - types of ground loops

Triangle

Grounding in a private house or in the country is most often done with a contour in the form of an isosceles triangle. Why is that? Because with such a structure on a minimum area, we obtain the maximum area of ​​​​dissipation of currents. The costs for the installation of a ground loop are minimal, and the parameters correspond to the ratings.

The minimum distance between the pins in the ground loop triangle is their length, the maximum is twice the length. For example, if you drive the pins to a depth of 2.5 meters, then the distance between them should be 2.5-5.0 m. In this case, when measuring the resistance of the ground loop, you will get normal readings.

During work, it is not always possible to make the triangle strictly isosceles - stones come across in the right place or other impenetrable areas of soil. In this case, you can move the pins.

Linear ground loop

In some cases, it is easier to make a ground loop in the form of a semicircle or a chain of pins lined up (if there is no free area of ​​suitable sizes). In this case, the distance between the pins is also equal to or greater than the length of the electrodes themselves.

With a linear circuit, it is necessary more vertical electrodes - so that the scattering area is sufficient

The disadvantage of this method is that in order to obtain the desired parameters, it is necessary to large quantity vertical electrodes. Since scoring them is still a pleasure, in the presence of meta they try to make a triangular outline.

Materials for the ground loop

In order for the grounding of a private house to be effective, its resistance should not exceed 4 ohms. To do this, it is necessary to ensure good contact of the ground electrodes with the ground. The problem is that it is possible to measure the grounding resistance only with a special device. This procedure is carried out when the system is put into operation. If the parameters are worse, the act is not signed. Therefore, when making the grounding of a private house or cottage with your own hands, try to strictly adhere to the technology.

Parameters and materials of pins

Ground pins are usually made of ferrous metal. Most often, a bar with a cross section of 16 mm or more or a corner with parameters of 50 * 50 * 5 mm (shelf 5 cm, metal thickness - 5 mm) is used. Please note that fittings cannot be used - its surface is hardened, which changes the distribution of currents, besides, it quickly rusts and collapses in the ground. You need a bar, not reinforcement.

Another option for dry regions is thick-walled metal pipes. Their lower part is flattened in the form of a cone, holes are drilled in the lower third. Holes of the required length are drilled for their installation, since they cannot be hammered. When the soil dries up and the grounding parameters deteriorate, a saline solution is poured into the pipes to restore the scattering ability of the soils.

The length of the ground rods is 2.5-3 meters. This is sufficient for most regions. More specifically, there are two requirements:


Specific grounding parameters can be calculated, but the results of a geological study are required. If you have any, you can order a calculation in a specialized organization.

What to make a metal bond and how to connect with pins

All pins of the circuit are interconnected by a metal bond. It can be made from:

  • copper wire with a cross section of less than 10 mm 2;
  • aluminum wire with a cross section of at least 16 mm 2
  • steel conductor with a cross section of at least 100 mm 2 (usually a strip of 25 * 5 mm).

Most often, the pins are interconnected using a steel strip. It is welded to the corners or heads of the bar. It is very important that the quality weld was high - it depends on whether your grounding passes the test or not (whether it meets the requirements - the resistance is less than 4 ohms).

When using aluminum or copper wire, a large cross-section bolt is welded to the pins, wires are already attached to it. The wire can be screwed onto the bolt and pressed with a washer and nut, the wire can be terminated with a connector of a suitable size. The main task is the same - to ensure good contact. Therefore, do not forget to strip the bolt and wire to bare metal (can be sanded) and tighten it well - for good contact.

How to make grounding with your own hands

After all the materials have been purchased, you can proceed to the actual manufacture of the ground loop. First, cut the metal into pieces. Their length should be approximately 20-30 cm longer than the calculated one - when driving in the tops, the pins bend, so they have to be cut off.

Sharpen clogged edges of vertical electrodes - things will go faster

There is a way to reduce the resistance when clogging the electrodes - sharpen one end of the corner or pin at an angle of 30 °. This angle is optimal when driving into the ground. The second moment is to weld a metal platform to the upper edge of the electrode, from above. Firstly, it is easier to hit it, and secondly, the metal is less deformed.

Work order

Regardless of the shape of the contour, everything begins with earthworks. A ditch needs to be dug. It is better to make it with beveled edges - so it is less sprinkled. The order of work is as follows:


Actually, that's all. Do-it-yourself grounding in a private house. It remains to connect it. To do this, you need to understand the grounding organization schemes.

Entering the ground loop into the house

The ground loop must somehow be brought to the ground bus. This can be done using a steel strip 24 * 4 mm, copper wire with a cross section of 10 mm2, aluminum wire with a cross section of 16 mm2.

In the case of using wires, it is better to look for them in insulation. Then a bolt is welded to the circuit, a sleeve with a contact pad (round) is put on the end of the conductor. A nut is screwed onto the bolt, a washer is screwed onto it, then a wire, another washer on top, and all this is tightened with a nut (picture on the right).

How to bring "land" into the house

When using a steel strip, there are two ways out - to bring a bus or wire into the house. I really don’t want to pull a steel tire with a size of 24 * 4 mm - the view is unaesthetic. If there is, you can use the same bolted connection to conduct a copper bus. It needs a much smaller size, it looks better (photo on the left).

You can also make a transition from a metal bus to a copper wire (section 10 mm2). In this case, two bolts are welded to the tire at a distance of several centimeters from each other (5-10 cm). Copper wire is twisted around both bolts, pressing them with a washer and nut to the metal (tighten as best as possible). This is the most economical and convenient way. It does not require as much money as when using only copper / aluminum wire, it is easier to pass it through the wall than a bus (even copper).

Grounding schemes: which one is better to do

Currently, only two ground connection schemes are used in the private sector - TN-C-S and TT. For the most part, a two-core (220 V) or four-core (380 V) cable (TN-C system) is suitable for the house. With such wiring, in addition to the phase (phase) wires, a PEN protective conductor comes, in which zero and earth are combined. At the moment, this method does not provide adequate protection against electric shock, therefore it is recommended to replace the old two-wire wiring with three-wire (220 V) or five-wire (380 V).

In order to obtain a normal three- or five-wire wiring, it is necessary to separate this conductor to ground PE and neutral N (in this case, an individual ground loop is required). They do this in the introductory cabinet on the facade of the house or in the accounting and distribution cabinet inside the house, but always before the counter. Depending on the separation method, either the TN-C-S or TT system is obtained.

Device in a private house of the TN-C-S grounding system

When using this circuit, it is very important to make a good individual ground loop. Please note that with the TN-C-S system, the installation of RCDs and difavtomatov is necessary to protect against electric shock. Without them, there is no protection.

Also, to ensure protection, it is required to connect all systems that are made of conductive materials to the earth bus with separate wires (inseparable) - heating, water supply, reinforcement cage of the foundation, sewerage, gas pipeline (if they are made of metal pipes). Therefore, the ground bus must be taken "with a margin."

To separate the PEN conductor and create a ground in a TN-C-S private house, three tires are needed: on a metal base - this will be a PE (ground) bus, and on a dielectric base - it will be an N (neutral) bus, and a small splitter bus into four " seating" places.

The metal "earth" bus must be attached to the metal case of the cabinet so that there is a good electrical contact. To do this, at the attachment points, under the bolts, the paint is peeled off the body to bare metal. Zero bus - on a dielectric base - it is better to mount it on a DIN rail. This installation method fulfills the main requirement - after the bus separation, PE and N should not intersect anywhere (they should not have contact).

Grounding in a private house - transition from the TN-C system to TN-C-S

  • The PEN conductor that came from the line is wound up on the splitter bus.
  • We connect the wire from the ground loop to the same bus.
  • From one socket with a copper wire with a cross section of 10 mm 2 we put a jumper on the earth bus;
  • From the last free slot, we put a jumper on the neutral bus or neutral bus (also a copper wire 10 mm 2).

Now everything is done - grounding in a private house is done according to the TN-C-S scheme. Next, to connect consumers, we take the phase from input cable, zero - from the N bus, ground - from the PE bus. Be sure to make sure that the ground and zero do not intersect anywhere.

TT grounding

Converting a TN-C circuit to TT is generally simple. Two wires come from the pole. The phase conductor is still used as a phase, and the protective PEN conductor is attached to the “zero” bus and is then considered zero. The conductor from the made circuit is directly fed to the ground bus.

Do-it-yourself grounding in a private house - TT scheme

The disadvantage of this system is that it provides protection only for equipment that provides for the use of a "ground" wire. If there is still household appliances made according to a two-wire circuit, it may be energized. Even if their cases are grounded with separate conductors, in case of problems, the voltage may remain at “zero” (the phase will be broken by the machine). Therefore, of these two schemes, TN-C-S is preferred as more reliable.