- Location
- Placerville, CA, USA
- Occupation
- Retired PV System Designer
One quick thought experiment that may help clarify the issue for you:
Assume the service neutral resistance is 1 ohm. Assume a 120V fault that supplies 120A with no problem.
If the resistance of the hot conductor is also 1 ohm, then the voltage on the "ground" and connected metal will be roughly 60V.
Now add a 10 ohm resistor to a clean ground (likely resistance of a better than average GES.)
Does that 10 ohms drop the voltage on the exposed metal enough to make any difference in safety?
Assume the service neutral resistance is 1 ohm. Assume a 120V fault that supplies 120A with no problem.
If the resistance of the hot conductor is also 1 ohm, then the voltage on the "ground" and connected metal will be roughly 60V.
Now add a 10 ohm resistor to a clean ground (likely resistance of a better than average GES.)
Does that 10 ohms drop the voltage on the exposed metal enough to make any difference in safety?
