Are Grounding and Bonding The Same Thing?
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Many homeowners use the terms “grounding” and “bonding” interchangeably. And while both systems keep your home safe, they serve different purposes.
Understanding these differences is important to ensure you’re taking the right steps to keep your electrical system working well. Here’s a closer look at what each does and the differences between the two.
What Is Grounding?
Grounding is a process of connecting the electrical system in your home to the ground. What this ensures is that any extra electricity – from a power surge or lightning strike – goes directly into the ground rather than into other appliances or people.
Types of Grounding Systems
There are two main types of grounding.
- Earth Grounding: This is the most common type of grounding, where your electrical system is grounded to a metal rod or plate that electricians bury underneath the ground.
- Equipment Grounding: This type of grounding involves connecting any conductive metal parts to the ground, separately, rather than having them rely on one metal rod.
What Is Bonding?
Bonding involves connecting all the metal parts in your home so electricity doesn’t take an alternative path. Besides ensuring electricity stays on a “set” path, bonding helps eliminate potential differences between metal parts or appliances. Potential differences can be destructive, resulting in electric shocks or equipment damage.
Types of Bonding
There are two main types of bonding.
Metallic Bonding: This system connects metal parts with clamps, wires, or screws to ensure all the metallic parts have the same electric potential.
Electrode Bonding: This system connects all your grounding rods with metal wires so that they act as one unit instead of acting as separate parts.
What Is the Difference Between the Two?
While grounding and bonding seem to serve similar functions, there are fundamental differences.
Purpose
The purpose of grounding is to ensure excess electricity, like from a lightning strike, goes into the ground, so it doesn’t cause injury to people or damage to appliances. On the other hand, bonding equalizes all metal parts and appliances in your home so they’re at the same voltage level, thus preventing damage from large electric potential differences.
Materials Used
Grounding typically uses a metal rod or a grounding electrode that electricians bury beneath the ground. Bonding uses wires, clamps, and screws to connect metal parts and appliances together.
Functionality
The goal of grounding is to protect people from excess electricity by directing that electricity into the ground. The goal of bonding is to protect equipment from excess electricity by equalizing potential differences.
The Importance of Proper Grounding and Bonding
Both grounding and bonding can be complicated to perform, and they must be done correctly. Some details electricians consider are where to connect wires, what kind of metal to use, and how thick the wires must be. If electricians do a poor job of grounding and bonding your home, parts of your home may be unprotected. That’s why hiring a licensed electrician to do the job is crucial.
Misconceptions About Grounding and Bonding
One common misconception is that older homes don’t need to be grounded or bonded. In fact, older homes need these services most because their electrical systems are often outdated and can’t meet the electrical demands of modern gadgets, like mobile phones, air fryers, and smart technology. Another misconception is that only grounding or bonding is required. However, because they serve different purposes, both are necessary.
Maintenance Steps for Grounding and Bonding Systems
Once your home is properly grounded and bonded, maintenance is important. Many homeowners believe that after the initial installation, their home is good to go. However, regular inspection will ensure that your electrical system works efficiently all the time.
When electricians provide maintenance services, they’ll inspect the grounding electrodes for damage or rust. They will also inspect the metal rod to see if it’s still connected to your electrical system.
Another detail electricians will watch for are electrical codes. Electrical codes change, which means your system may be outdated. Electricians will not only check your system for code compliance, but they’ll also make the required updates to ensure your system is current.
Additional maintenance tasks include:
- Tighten loose connections
- Check for rust
- Replace any worn-out parts
- Test the wiring to make sure the electrical path isn’t broken
- Replace any damaged or missing wires
Why Bonding and Grounding Work Better Together
When you have both Bonding and grounding, you’re getting double the protection. If you choose to go with just grounding, some of your metal appliances may have huge differences in potential, increasing the risk of an electric shock. And if you choose to have just bonding, all your metal appliances may be connected at the same voltage, but there won’t be a safe place for excess electricity to go.
The Electricians at Mister Sparky
If you’re having grounding issues or you have a home that’s older than 20 years, you may want to schedule an appointment with our Tampa team. We’ll come out, perform an inspection, and ensure your home is properly grounded. For example, we can install ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs) in areas like your bathroom, kitchen, garage, and yard.
Here are some signs you have poor grounding:
- Your circuit breaker frequently trips
- Lights flicker and dim
- Some of our outlets or switches buzz or faintly hum
- You can smell burnt wires
- You have scorched outlets
- You get shocked when you touch metal appliances
When you contact the electricians at Mister Sparky, you’ll get professional electricians who offer customized solutions. We factor in the size of your property and the amount of electricity you use to ensure everything runs efficiently. You can also turn to us for high-quality service at affordable rates. Don’t put up with any malarky. Call Mister Sparky and schedule an appointment today.
