Parking Lot Lighting

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Lcdrwalker

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Location
Columbus, Ohio
I have some AHJ's give me conflicting answers to the following installation.
When we install parking lot lighting, we install a ground ron and #6 bare conductor bonded to the pole. Some AHJ'S require we bond our equipment grounds to the #6 and others will not permit it. Comments?

The way that it has been explained is that the #6 is concidered to be for lightning protection. What didn't make sense to me is that the #6 is bonded to the pole at the factory supplied lug in the pole base where the EG runs to the top of the pole at the ballast. I will agree that they are interconnected through the metal parts of the head(s) and the pole.
 
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How is it possible not to end up with the rod bonded to the pole.

The NEC requires that the supply systems EGC be bonded to the pole.

If you choose to install a rod and bond it to the pole it will also be bonded to the EGC.

The NEC allows additional grounding electrodes to be connected to the EGC at any point.
 
If your equipment grounds are properly terminated, they will necessarily be electrically bonded to the #6 that goes to the ground rod.
 
poles

poles

mdshunk said:
If your equipment grounds are properly terminated, they will necessarily be electrically bonded to the #6 that goes to the ground rod.
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How so, marc ?
It would seem to me that if the ground rod was connected to anything dealing with the pole/pole lights, etc.yhou would end up with path between the equ. ground and the rod.
 
augie47 said:
How so, marc ?
It would seem to me that if the ground rod was connected to anything dealing with the pole/pole lights, etc.yhou would end up with path between the equ. ground and the rod.
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Um... you just said the exact same thing I said, so I don't understand the question. Maybe you mis-read something?
 
ground

ground

opps...I think I read a "not" into your post...sorry....old age sucks!
 
memyselfandI said:
I had something similar to what you have, but the electrical contractor was using a ground rod as the means of grounding without pulling a ground wire. 250.4(A)(5)
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I have heard of this and seen it outlined in one of Mike Holt's books. I still can't believe that someone would do this.


Did the OP suddenly get an extra paragraph?
 
infinity said:
Did the OP suddenly get an extra paragraph?
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Seems so. The pole base seems like plenty good enough of a Ufer type ground, in my opinion, that I'm not so sure that the rod adds additional benefit when lightning protection is the concern. I normally also put a wire cage in my pole bases, but I don't bring a conductor to the wire cage. The 4 j-bolts seem like they'd be plenty good if a guy's concerned about lightning protection.

I can't say that I've ever seen an installation where some one's tried to use a rod at each pole in lieu of an EGC, but I understand that this is a popular thing to do on roadway lighting. I always pull an EGC, but only put in rods if they're on the print. They might not enhance the installation, but certainly won't hurt.
 
mdshunk said:
I can't say that I've ever seen an installation where some one's tried to use a rod at each pole in lieu of an EGC,
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We had engineered prints that showed just that with 480 volt site poles in a parking lot. When it first came up we where told that was to keep a lightning strike at the pole from traveling into the building. :rolleyes:

In the end the poles got EGCs.
 
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