That term is not defined in the NEC.What is the definition of a ground wire in the NEC ?
What is the definition of a ground wire in the NEC ?
It is a term most of have used at one time or another, but should not.
add: and that assumes you mean "ground".
It would be so much simpler if we re-named the conductor that goes from the outlet to the panel that is meant to carry only fault current the 'safety' conductor. It can do its job just fine without being connected to the earth.
Ground would mean earth. Dirt. The planet.
That still leaves us with grounded conductor and grounding electrode conductor.
Without some major changes we will always have to be careful using the word 'ground'.
That would be fine if the earth were involved.
Using the NEC definition, the grounded conductor must be connected to the earth, as the NEC definition of ground is 'the earth'.
That means a floating neutral, like in some generators and inverters, is not a grounded conductor.
To be a grounding electrode, it must connect to the earth. Not a substitute for the earth, like a vehicle chassis.
And by definition your 'safety conductor' would be just as connected to earth as the grounded conductor.
There have been proposals to change equipment grounding conductor to equipment bonding conductor. I think that would be a good change yet the keep getting rejected.
But if the neutral is not connected to earth you can't have a "grounded" system and you can't use the power for any system that is required to be a grounded system by the rules in 250.20.Not always. As I mentioned earlier, there are times when the neutral is not connected to earth, nor is the 'grounding' conductor and said 'grounding' conductor still acts as a safety measure just as if it were connected to the earth.
Agree.How about this, just for a start:
Using 120/240
Neutral = Neutral Conductor or Grounded Neutral Conductor, depending on what it really is. Dispense with Grounded Conductor.
I'd prefer keeping Equipment Grounding Conductor and using it wherever appropriate. EGC has already worked its way into the lingo and is understood. I would dare say that all of us that care and know the difference between all the "grounds" use EGC already.EGC > Change to Equipment Bonding Conductor
Agree.GEC and grounding electrode are fine just as they are, with 'ground' being defined as 'the earth'.
How about this, just for a start:
Using 120/240
Neutral = Neutral Conductor or Grounded Neutral Conductor, depending on what it really is. Dispense with Grounded Conductor.
I am one of those who prefer a change to the term Equipment Bonding Conductor". The instructors in Canada say this became much easier for the students to understand after they started using the term Equipment Bonding Conductor....
I'd prefer keeping Equipment Grounding Conductor and using it wherever appropriate. EGC has already worked its way into the lingo and is understood. I would dare say that all of us that care and know the difference between all the "grounds" use EGC already. ...
Sounds like there are similar discussions amongst the CMP members as we have been having here on the forum from time to time.I am one of those who prefer a change to the term Equipment Bonding Conductor". The instructors in Canada say this became much easier for the students to understand after they started using the term Equipment Bonding Conductor.
There are "public inputs" to make this change for the 2017 code so we will see if CMP 5 accepts them with a 2/3's majority this time. In the 2005 code cycle, my proposals to make this change were accepted by a majority of the members of CMP5, but since they were one vote short of the required 2/3's majority the proposals were reported as "rejected".
Gotta sort it out for yourself mate. The gurus in the towers aren't really dedicated to making things easier, that would mean no more big party every three years and no more guaranteed book sales.The definition for "grounding conductor" was removed from the code in 2011 and "equipment grounding conductor" was left in. This was to help with the understanding of the terms, but I am still confused with all the different terms for grounding and bonding.