Equipotential Grid - Pool

W@ttson

W@ttson

Senior Member
Location
NJ-USA
Occupation
PE
Hello all,

I wanted to see if anyone had insight on what people are doing for equipotential bonding at in ground pools specifically in NJ but out of curiosity elsewhere in the country.

NJ in particular is on the 2020 NEC and a TIA came out during the 2023 code cycle:

Equipotential Grid

Are people really just running 1 - #8AWG around the pool? If a TIA was put out saying that it was not enough and a copper grid was necessary I may see some jurisdictions begin asking for it.

Thank you
 
W@ttson said:
So no equipotential grids by you yet
Click to expand...
That is the grid. If there is metal in the concrete like mesh or rebar, we bond that. But it's getting rare to see rebar in a pool deck.

Edit: No one has specified such a product here. It's generally just code minimum.
 
So I guess wherever the 2023 code is not adopted everyone is going with the 2020 or earlier requirements. What d you all think that in the future everyone will do? If there is no rebar, I think the only solution in the future will be the grid product. I am not sure if anyone has a preview of the 2026 code but I am assuming that the section for equipotential bonding at pools will be only listing the rebar and the grid.
 
It will likely say what is in the second draft:
Conductive Paved Portions of Perimeter Surfaces. Conductive paved portions of perimeter surfaces shall be bonded to one or more of the following:
  1. Unencapsulated structural reinforcing steel in accordance with 680.26(B)(1)(a)
  2. Conductor grid made of copper or 40 percent copper-clad steel
  3. Unencapsulated steel structural welded wire reinforcement bonded together by steel tie wires or the equivalent, fully embedded within the pavement unless pavement will not allow for embedding
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
W@ttson said:
Hello all,

I wanted to see if anyone had insight on what people are doing for equipotential bonding at in ground pools specifically in NJ but out of curiosity elsewhere in the country.
Click to expand...
Here in Oregon the adopted code is based on the NEC as it was published on a particular date (for the 2023 its 9/1/ 2022) with our state amendments, and if I am not mistaken the state would need to adopt each TIA, so wile we're on the 2023 any TIA is not automatically adopted.

The informational note in the TIA is interesting, referencing MGN primary systems:
Informational Note No. 1: Some causes of voltage gradients originate outside the premises wiring system and are not within the scope of the NEC. Measures identified in Rule 097D2 of ANSI C2, National Electrical Safety
Code can also serve to address voltage gradients originating on the utility side of the service point.
Click to expand...
'Electrical Trespass' seems to be budding new area for lawyers to go after the deep pockets of the POCO's insurance I wonder if utilities insurers will force them to address their neutral current showing up in pools and swimming areas such as lakes etc.
If say a public sewer line other pipeline line was leaking across someones property it would not take much to prove liability but since electricity is invisible and not easily traced property damage or personal injury from electrical trespass is harder to prove.
 
tortuga said:
Here in Oregon the adopted code is based on the NEC as it was published on a particular date (for the 2023 its 9/1/ 2022) with our state amendments, and if I am not mistaken the state would need to adopt each TIA, so wile we're on the 2023 any TIA is not automatically adopted.

The informational note in the TIA is interesting, referencing MGN primary systems:

'Electrical Trespass' seems to be budding new area for lawyers to go after the deep pockets of the POCO's insurance I wonder if utilities insurers will force them to address their neutral current showing up in pools and swimming areas such as lakes etc.
If say a public sewer line other pipeline line was leaking across someones property it would not take much to prove liability but since electricity is invisible and not easily traced property damage or personal injury from electrical trespass is harder to prove.
Click to expand...
Correct, TIAs issued after the publication date of the legally adoptive code have to be specifically and individually adopted using the same process that was used to adopt the code itself.
 
Maybe pools should be built with a conductive mesh embedded in the shell or behind the liner. Something like copper window screen completely encompassing the pool on the bottom and sides and then extending out 3 feet in every direction under the deck.
 
infinity said:
Was there a problem with the previous requirements?
Click to expand...
My understanding, and I may have mixed this up, is in the 2005 and prior NEC you had a pool bonding grid including part of the deck 18 to 24 in or something, the 2008 code adopted an alternative method allowing the perimeter deck surface to be bonded via a single 8 AWG solid copper wire that is installed 18 to 24 inches from the swimming pool walls and secured within or under the perimeter surface.
The effectiveness of the “Single Conductor” option in reducing voltage gradients in swimming pool areas to safe levels has been in question since its inception in '08, a few studies were done and longtime code expert Fred Hartwell wrote a proposal to finally eliminate it. It did not pass, but it kept going thru the levels of motions and did pass as this TIA, so it reverts back to the 2005.
So the safer way to bond around a pool deck is to have a wire mesh in the concrete and bond to that rather than just run one wire.
The mesh need not be copper.
Not a big surprise.
 
Last edited:
infinity said:
Sound like more code written by the manufacturers or by copper.org. :unsure:
Click to expand...
I am not sure what part of NJ you are from but if you are ever in West Orange, the Edison museum is there. A part of it is through Edison's study where he prominently had displayed a very large copper cube. Some company from the Copper industry gifted it to Edison due to his discoveries and the subsequent growth that they brought to the copper industry.

If you have not been I would highly recommend taking a tour.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top