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Earth Testing

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Earth Testing | A guide to avoid the common mistakes

Testing an Earth/ground electrode is usually the final piece of the puzzle. Measuring the earth electrode’s resistance can verify and validate the design. The Earth measurement verifies that all the safety-critical calculations, assumptions and solutions made during the design phase match its predicted performance in the physical world.

Earth testing can easily introduce errors that very often go unnoticed.

Earth testing is usually called for towards the latter stages of a project build. Either to confirm a safe state for a system energisation or in order to get a project completed and handed over to the client/owner. In both scenarios, there’s usually a lot riding on the successful outcome of an Earth test. Mistakes made towards the final stages of any build can have a massive impact on reputations, nerves and relationships.

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Why Ground Testing is Important to Maintain Adequate Grounding And Bonding

Ground testing is typically performed in two stages. The first is conducted during the construction of a building to ensure proper installation of the electrical system. And the second involves routine ground testing to ensure the ‘actual’ arrangements perform as ‘predicted’ at the design stage. Thus, to avoid costly and fatal errors.

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How do I know my 1950’s earthing arrangements are still keeping my workforce safe?

I thought I’d continue from my last blog piece talking about heavy current injection earth testing. By talking about a key application where it can potentially deliver much better results than the modern CDEGS approach. Therefore, on your earthing arrangements.

Many industrial sites built in the 1950s and 60s as industrialisation grew. This, in line with the expansion of the electrical grid. Led to a huge program of electrical substation construction around the world. What this means is that some of us own the responsibility of managing sites with ageing transformers, assets and equipment. Thus the design to obsolete standards? Therefore to know what hazard this presents today, is simply unknown.

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Test large electrode systems using heavy current – for more accurate earth electrode resistance measurements

I recently attended a training session with Omicron in Germany. So, looking at their primary injection test set for earth electrode and line impedance systems testing. I looked at how to set up a current injection. Potentially up to 100 A. Also, down an Overhead line or Feeder cable. To achieve good separation between the electrode under test and the auxiliary electrode.

Previously, test methods have relied on dedicated cables for the measurement. Which, has limited the available area to deploy the auxiliary electrode. Owing to land usage constraints and roads. So, being able to use something in a built-up environment on electrically large High Voltage systems. Thus, avoiding road closures. etc. Therefore, comes as a breath of fresh air to a lot of engineers facing this problem.

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Electrical Earthing Testing in Urban Environments

Electrical earthing testing.  We are asked frequently – How do you test an Earth arrangement in London?

Here’s the scenario.  You are faced with Electrical earthing testing a substation. And that is located right in the middle of a densely built-up area. Also, with hard surfaces everywhere together with congested buried infrastructure in every direction.

So, any lead deployment invariably obstructed by something, e.g. roads, cars, walls, buildings, etc.  And, assuming the leads can be accommodated. An electrical earth test is likely to suffer in-ground noise and interference from the city’s / town’s infrastructure.  Also, not to mention the curious passers-by. Whom would like nothing more than to see you struggle for a laugh by stealing your test leads. When you turn your back.

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