A member of a woodworking forum I belong to wrote this: "the neutral is bonded to ground for the sole purpose of balancing out the voltage from the transformer on the pole." I'm an electronics guy so I'm the first to admit ignorance on this subject but I'm not sure this guy is any sharper. Please help me understand. Thanks!
Purpose of Neutral?
- Thread starter bilgerat
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Re: Purpose of Neutral?
The purpose of bonding the neutral to earth is to reference the electrical system to earth, and provide a planned path for lightning discharge and accidental contact with high voltage.
Balancing has nothing to do with it, that is done by equally placing the loads between each phase and neutral.
Since you are a electronics guy look at it this way. Imagine a bipolar DC supply, ground is not needed at all for operation, only a reference point between two batteries of equal voltage in series with each other. The currnet in each leg is solely dependant on the load (Resistance) between each of the battery polarities.
[ July 12, 2004, 10:08 AM: Message edited by: dereckbc ]
The purpose of bonding the neutral to earth is to reference the electrical system to earth, and provide a planned path for lightning discharge and accidental contact with high voltage.
Balancing has nothing to do with it, that is done by equally placing the loads between each phase and neutral.
Since you are a electronics guy look at it this way. Imagine a bipolar DC supply, ground is not needed at all for operation, only a reference point between two batteries of equal voltage in series with each other. The currnet in each leg is solely dependant on the load (Resistance) between each of the battery polarities.
[ July 12, 2004, 10:08 AM: Message edited by: dereckbc ]
ryan_618
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- Salt Lake City, Utah
Re: Purpose of Neutral?
The nuetral and ground are also bonded together at the swervice equipment so that the equipment grounding conductors ultimatley go back to the neutral (XO) of the transformer to establish an effective ground fault current path.
The nuetral and ground are also bonded together at the swervice equipment so that the equipment grounding conductors ultimatley go back to the neutral (XO) of the transformer to establish an effective ground fault current path.
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