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Do not, under any circumstances, use earth ground instead of neutral in a circuit. Besides being a violation of the US National Electrical Code, and probably the applicable electrical code for any country that has an existing neutral system in place, it constitutes a hazard because the earth ground conductor is not rated to carry operational current. It is only there to carry momentary fault current so as to trip the protective device (fuse or circuit breaker) in the distribution panel. Also, placing operational current on protective earth ground can raise the voltage on that conductor, creating the potential for an electrocution hazard.
What else can I help you with?
Why is a parallel circuit better than series?
Neither is superior. Both a series and a parallel circuit have their place.
Where is the best place to put an ammeter in the circuit to measure the current going through the light bulb?
Since (by Kirchoff's current law) the current in a series circuit is the same at every point in the series circuit, it does not matter where you place the ammeter.
Does it matter where you place an ammeter in a circuit?
Ammeters must always be placed in series in a circuit, otherwise they will not work babes :)
What is the difference between neutral and ground in a three phase system?
No matter whether we're describing a three-phase service or a a single phase service, the bare copper "earth" or "ground" wire normally carries no current. Its purpose is to provide an emergency path for current if ever there is any accidental contact between a hot wire and the external (or internal) metal parts of any electrical device which a user may be able to touch. The electrical device can be a motor, a water heater, an air conditioner unit or any other kind of appliance.By carrying away the excess current in a fault condition - which should cause the protecting fuse to blow or the circuit breaker to trip - the "ground" or "earth" wire protects the building and its occupants because the power should be cut off before anyone gets electrocuted or any overloaded circuit wiring or appliances catch on fire.The neutral is the normal "return" wire. In systems where the load is supplied from only one hot (or "live") wire, the neutral completes the circuit and carries current back from the load to the power station. In "Y-" or "star-connected" three-phase circuits the neutral doesn't normally carry any current if all three phases are properly balanced.If the three phases actually have unbalanced loads - which can easily happen if each phase is being used to provide power to different single-phase circuits, each with their different loads - then some current will flow in the neutral wire and will result in unbalanced 3-phase currents flowing back to the power station.All the neutral and ground (or "earth") wires in a building are tied or linked together at the incoming service main breaker panel. This is the only place they should ever be tied together because it is "upstream" of all the fuses and/or circuit breakers protecting the hot (or "live") wires for the various circuits installed in the building.Warning: we must never assume that a neutral is safe to touch: it has to be checked with a voltmeter or a voltage indicator to be sure it is not "live". This is because a neutral wire is designed to carry current under normal circumstances.So, if a neutral wire going back to the incoming main breaker panel has not been properly connected - or suffers a deliberate disconnection or some accidental damage which causes it to break - then it and any neutral wires connected to it further downstream will go live up to the break because of being connected to the downstream loads which still have hot feeds coming into them!That is why we should never use a neutral as a substitute for a proper, separate, ground or "earth" wire.If some external accidental damage or electrical breakdown of the wiring's insulation occurred anywhere to the house wiring, to a socket outlet or to an appliance, these things could be very dangerous if there was no such protective wire.For example, if there was no protective ground or earth wire, a fault could happen that is of a kind which did NOT draw enough extra current to blow a fuse or make the main circuit breakers on the incoming supply panel "trip" to cut the current off - but the wiring could still catch on fire and/or someone could be electrocuted!Neutral wires are the return paths to the power generation station for current it supplies to the house or building via single live or "hot" wires in the branch circuits.For more information please click on the Related Questions below.As always, if you are in doubt about what to do, the best advice anyone should give you is to call a licensed electrician to advise what work is needed.Before you do any work yourself,on electrical circuits, equipment or appliances,always use a test meter to ensure the circuit is, in fact, de-energized.IF YOU ARE NOT ALREADY SURE YOU CAN DO THIS JOBSAFELY AND COMPETENTLYREFER THIS WORK TO QUALIFIED PROFESSIONALS.
Voltage between L1 and Neutral?
This depends on your service voltage and whether you have any step down transformers in the building. The only way to know is to check yourself. Use a voltmeter or multimeter, with one lead on L1 terminal and one lead on Neutral terminal. Set the meter to read AC volts, with a range of at least 300 volts (your reading should either be 277 or 120.) The safest way to do this is to deenergize the circuit, place your leads, and then re-energize the circuit without touching anything. You should be able to get a reading without touching anything at all.
How can I test the neutral wire in an electrical circuit?
To test the neutral wire in an electrical circuit, you can use a multimeter set to measure voltage. First, turn off the power to the circuit. Then, place one probe of the multimeter on the neutral wire and the other probe on the ground wire. If the multimeter reads a voltage close to zero, the neutral wire is functioning correctly. If there is a significant voltage reading, there may be an issue with the neutral wire.
How can I use a multimeter to test for an open neutral in an electrical circuit?
To test for an open neutral in an electrical circuit using a multimeter, set the multimeter to measure AC voltage. Then, place the black probe on the neutral wire and the red probe on the hot wire. If the reading shows a voltage close to zero, the neutral is likely open.
Where ammeter and voltmeter are put in circuit?
Place in parallel anywhere in the circuit. One lead goes to the hot, the other to the neutral.
How do you use bentonite powder for electrical equipment earthing?
I want to use bentonite powder in place of salt and char coal for earthing of distribution Transformers and electrical lines
What is the effect of good earthing on power supply?
Good earthing ensures that should a short takes place in an electrical appliance, any charge is sent safely to earth.
What is use of neutral link?
In a MEN (Multiple Earth Neutral) system, the neutral wire is connected to the earth wire at the switchboard. This is the neutral link. From an electrical point of view the neutral pin and the earth pin in a power socket are at the same potential but from a safety point of view they are different. A residual current device (RCD) (or earth leakage core-balance-relay(ELCBR)) sits in series with both the active and the neutral feed and a leakage from either wire to ground (via a human or water leak in a washing machine etc) will trip the circuit breaker that is in the RCD.Another AnswerFuses or circuit breakers must be inserted into the line conductor, never into the neutral conductor. However, if we need to isolate the circuit, we must place a break in both the line and the neutral conductors. We can achieve this for the line conductor by, for example, removing the fuse. To achieve the same with the neutral conductor, we can open the neutral link, which is simply a short length of conductor inserted between a pair of terminals in the neutral.
In a home circuit are the neutral and ground bare wires always connected?
They are always connected, but at one and only one place, the service entrance. For instance, if you are adding a subpanel to an existing house, the subpanel will probably come with the ground bus and the neutral bus tied together with a special bonding screw. To be legal, you must remove this screw, isolating the neutral from ground. The house's main panel still has the bonding screw or jumper in place, and remains the only place the connection is made.
Can a live and earth wire be joined together in a light switch?
Physically yes, but to no avail. The breaker will trip instantaneously as a short circuit will have been introduced into the circuit with this action. In all wiring the live must never be connected directly to earth. The only place where the neutral and earth are connected together is at the distribution panel where the utility's supply neutral joins the system earth on the distribution panel's neutral bus bar.
Is it OK illegal or dangerous to connect the neutral to ground to make the circuit work?
If you have to connect the neutral to ground to make the circuit work then you have an open neutral in your circuit. Be careful in handling the neutral as there can be voltage potential on the neutral if a load is connected. In a properly wired home that has been inspected by the local electrical inspector the neutral should be bonded to the ground at the main service distribution point. There will be a green screw that projects through the neutral bus and is threaded into the back of the electrical panel. This should be the one and only place in the whole electrical system where this neutral to ground connection takes place. Dangerous!!!!! The ground is the safety to prevent you from getting shocked due to a malfunctioning piece of equipment. By using the ground for a neutral you will be energizing the entire ground system of you house or business. Thus anything with metal on it and a ground wire going to it will be electrified if the ground fails at the breaker box or building ground rod. Do you want to take this risk? Not I..........
Why doesn't earth gets charged if earthing takes place?
Lightning is what prevents the Earth from building up a charge.
How do you wire an AFCI breaker?
To wire an AFCI breaker, first turn off the power to the circuit. Then, connect the hot wire to the breaker's terminal, the neutral wire to the neutral bar, and the ground wire to the ground bar. Finally, snap the breaker into place in the electrical panel.
How to install a 50 amp breaker in a circuit panel?
To install a 50 amp breaker in a circuit panel, first turn off the power to the panel. Remove the panel cover and locate an open slot for the breaker. Connect the hot wire to the breaker, the neutral wire to the neutral bar, and the ground wire to the ground bar. Secure the breaker in place and replace the panel cover. Turn the power back on and test the circuit to ensure it is working properly.
