How the earth conducts current and why grounding still works: unraveling the secret

Sections of the article:

Why does zero shock: the reasons why the voltage is at zero

You can get an electric shock by touching two bare conductors at once, a phase and a neutral. Also, electric shock occurs when there is contact with ground and phase.

Birds do not receive an electric shock when sitting high on a phase for the reason that there is no second conductor, neutral or ground. However, situations also occur when there are two phases in the outlet at once. This is quite easy to check if you pick up an indicator screwdriver.

Let's just say that the problem is quite common. Zero can give an electric shock even in cases where the indicator does not show anything. It is enough to stand with your bare feet on the floor or touch the wall and zero with your hand to receive an impressive electric shock.

Why is this happening? Why is the voltage at zero? What could be the problem? Let's figure it out.

Symptoms of malfunctions and solutions

Failure can be determined based on the location and conditions of exposure to electric current on the user:

shocks through the water (not only when supplying water to the washing machine, but also when opening the tap) - indicates problems with insulation and leakage of electricity through the water.
in contact with the body - indicates the interaction of the outer casing with a source of electricity;
when removing laundry from the drum, it “speaks” of a violation of the integrity of the insulation of the electric motor through which the drum rotates;
when walking (especially on a concrete surface) near a washing machine - indicates an electricity leak through the housing or other electrical element to the floor;

Important! Before repairing the breakdown, it is necessary to de-energize the equipment.

The fault table below shows typical faults and tells you what to do to fix them.

Signs	Typical faults	How to fix
The washing machine produces electric shocks when not in use	The socket is faulty	Remove the wires from the socket, replace or repair the faulty element
The integrity of the power cord or wiring insulation is broken	“Ring” the wire and insulation, replace or repair “broken” wiring
The “Power” key or control system shorts, voltage appears on the case	Unscrew and remove the front panel, repair the button or the system as a whole. Repairing an element that has become unusable is impractical; it will be cheaper to install a new control system
Line filter failure	Dismantle and repair or replace the failed part
Current flows from the power supply circuit to the body of the washing machine (due to constant presence in a room with changes in humidity levels)	Change location or buy equipment with a higher level of moisture resistance
Poor water heating or its complete absence, the washing machine body is pierced with electric current during washing	Broken water heating element (heating element)	Dismantle the damaged heating element and install a new one
The washing machine emits an electric discharge during operation, the washing machine may not turn on	Breakdown of the electric motor or insulation of the washing machine	Often, a burnt-out engine cannot be repaired, so it must be replaced.
The floor surface produces an electric shock near the washing machine	The washing machine cord is damaged and there may be a water leak.	Identify the location of damage to the outer casing or wire and repair the damage.

Security measures

Electrical wiring in wet rooms should include the installation of camouflage covers for sockets, switches, lighting fixtures and other elements of electrical appliances.

If water gets into the outlet, there is a possibility of an electrical leak. Then, when you touch the wall and the bathtub, an unpleasant tingling sensation occurs. Unfortunately, if these problems are not corrected, an injury from an electric shock is quite possible, with unpleasant incidents resulting in medical intervention.

To prevent current leakage, it is recommended to use only plug-in devices. Plug-in electrical appliances provide reliable protection against moisture. To ensure a 100% guarantee against moisture ingress, it is necessary to purchase high-quality electrical appliances, because often the stated characteristics do not coincide with the actual indicators.

When purchasing, carefully inspect the products and make sure they are tight and properly insulated. Despite the presence of housing protection, the devices must be installed in such a way as to minimize the ingress of splashing water.

When carrying out electrical wiring, they try to install the equipment so that the switches are located outside the bathroom. If possible, the distribution box should also be installed outside the room, where there is constant high humidity.

Sources of current leakage can be:

the presence of a “warm floor” system;
dysfunction of the vein structure of the heating cable;
violation of the insulating elements of the heating device. In such cases, to eliminate the leak, it will be necessary to replace the entire “warm floor” system in the premises, since their structure is completely hidden under the floor screed.

If the passage of electric current was noticed in the premises, this does not mean that when troubleshooting the problem, the situation will not happen again

Therefore, you need to take care of precautions for the long term. The following safety measures are known today to ensure the safe use of electrical appliances:

Installation of a residual current device (RCD) or a combined electrical device - a differential circuit breaker - into the apartment distribution panel. It is recommended to install such RCDs on devices that are most dangerous in case of electric shock.
Installation of an incoming protective device in the distribution panel, which ensures safety in case of problems with the RCD. Such a device is considered a safety backup option.
Presence of protective grounding in electrical wiring.

Sometimes it happens that when washing your hands, the water from the tap produces an electric shock due to neighbor's negligence. Recently, pipelines have often been used as a grounding conductor, although this is prohibited by law. If you suspect something like this, contact the supervisory organization immediately. Electricians must identify the cause and eliminate the consequences.

The car is electrocuted, what to do: other correction methods

There are several other methods that can save you from electric shocks from the washing machine.

For example:

Try moving your equipment to another, drier room. As mentioned above, the most common cause of electric shock is high humidity. You can try moving the washing machine to the kitchen, perhaps this is not an ideal option, but still.
Don't forget to turn off your equipment from the network. There are situations when an electric shock can strike the drum when loading or removing things. Make it a rule to turn on the equipment only after closing the drum and remove laundry from it only after completely disconnecting from the electricity. We assure you that in this situation you will forget about electric shocks.

These recommendations will allow you to get rid of those unpleasant sensations that you received during the washing process. But we should once again remind you that the best option would be to take care of the presence of grounding.

Causes

Before you begin to fix the problem, you should understand the reasons for its occurrence.

It is not uncommon in our conditions for neighbors to use a metal pipe as a neutral wire. Moreover, the current can break through periodically, so noticing such a problem can be quite difficult.
Another common reason is that the insulation integrity of the outlet or wiring in the bathroom is broken. This problem is very common in rooms with old wiring.
Current often flows if the washing machine is connected without grounding. She has access to water. This means that the current can “walk” not only in the bathroom, but also in the kitchen, for example.
There is also a situation where an ungrounded electric water heater is connected. Then the current can strike through the water. For example, it is enough to open the mixer to let water flow and get a discharge. By the way, such a unit does not have to be in your bathtub; your neighbors can have it too. And you also have problems with current.

What to do if the car is electrocuted

Static discharge can form on various parts of the car, not just on the driver's seat and clothing. Depending on where the static electricity occurs, the solution to the problem will vary.

Electrocutes the body of the car

While the car is moving, electricity can be generated on its body due to the friction of the metal with the air. The problem can also manifest itself when the machine is at rest, for example, if a strong dry wind blows. A charge can form on the car body, the power of which will reach more than a thousand watts.

The fact that it is the body that is electrified is indicated by an impact during contact with it from the outside. For example, if a driver gets into a car, he may receive an electric shock when he comes into contact with the door. Or, if a person gets out of a car, he may feel an electric shock when he closes the door and grabs a metal part of the body. In most cases, the electric shock can be felt before any part of the body comes into contact with the metal.

To prevent static electricity from occurring on the car body, it must be grounded. To do this, you can purchase a special antistatic strip at a car store, which you need to hang on the body of the car. This strip is a piece of rubber or similar material containing wire, graphite or aluminum powder inside. You can make such a strip yourself if you have the necessary materials.

Please note: Some drivers make regular rubber strips and hang them on the body of the car. Such protection will not help cope with the problem

It is worth noting that if it is not possible to attach protection against static electricity to the body of the machine, but you do not want to experience the sensation of a current discharge on the skin, you can remove the charge before coming into contact with the machine. To do this, when exiting the car, you need to touch the door with a metal key. Due to this, it will be possible to neutralize the charge.

Electric shock inside the car

If electric shocks do not occur due to electrification of the body, most likely the problem is related to the creation of static electricity when tissues come into contact. This problem occurs especially often if synthetics or animal hair come into contact.

In such situations, the charge accumulates inside the car, and it can manifest itself both when leaving the car during contact with the door, and directly inside the car. For example, a driver can receive an electric shock when his hand touches the gear lever or handbrake - any metal part in the car's interior.

To get rid of the formation of static current charges inside the car, it is necessary to treat the seats and other upholstery with special chemicals, which can be purchased at specialized car stores. It is worth noting that such products are produced in the format of a colorless aerosol, which will not leave stains on the upholstery after application, but can relieve the driver and passengers from the formation of static electricity when clothing comes into contact with the upholstery for several months or even years.

How to ensure electrical safety in the bathroom

In order to protect yourself and your family members from electric shock when visiting the bathroom, you need to do everything correctly from the beginning. First of all, all electrical appliances and metal accessories located within the bathroom must be grounded - the grounding wire of each item must be connected to a common busbar, from which the common cable will go to the grounding busbar located in the distribution panel on the landing.

In addition, all household electrical appliances in the house that have a high degree of energy consumption, such as: boiler, air conditioner, jacuzzi, electric boiler, washing machine, heated electric floors, must be connected directly to the distribution panel, but only through a protective connection device (RCD), which automatically turns off the electrical supply when its leakage exceeds the permissible norm - 30 mA, but it is better to focus on an even lower value by programming the device to operate at a threshold of 10 mA.

It is also advisable to additionally insure yourself by purchasing an indispensable device in our difficult times, designed to equalize potentials, in common parlance SUP. His idea of work is simple, like everything ingenious: if the electrical circuit of the entire house or entrance has a direct connection, without breaks, the electrical potential of the circuit is the same. In the event that one of the neighbors decides to illegally save money by throwing a zero on the water pipes, a break appears in the circuit, and the potential difference can cause voltage to appear in the running water and the surface of the tap.

Requirements for material and wiring cross-section

According to electrical safety requirements for bathrooms, for wiring, it is necessary to use two-core copper wires with a cross-section of at least 2.5 mm

It is worth drawing your attention to the fact that in the case of connecting all metal and electrical appliances to a single EMS bus, it is necessary to avoid connecting two different metals, for example aluminum and copper, between which oxidation and corrosion processes can occur

In conclusion, I would like to say only one thing: if you are not a professional electrician, entrust the connection process to professionals. On the one hand, this will slightly increase the budget, but on the other hand, electrical wiring laid and connected correctly will serve you for decades and certainly will not cause such troubles as electric shock.

The car is electrocuted - what to do?

Visit a service station

Your vehicle will undergo diagnostics to determine if it has electrical problems. If a problem is discovered in the workshop, it will be fixed immediately.

If everything is in order with the electrical wiring, pay attention to the casing

In a leather interior, the situation with static electricity is much more favorable. If the upholstery is made of a different material, you can purchase covers with antistatic properties.

Explore your wardrobe

If possible, do not travel by car wearing clothing containing wool or synthetic fibers.

Static electricity accumulates in the car body, so it needs to be grounded

To do this, purchase a special antistatic tape from the auto store. This is a piece of rubber containing wire, graphite or aluminum powder inside.

Please note that graphite or aluminum will last longer. Whereas the wire will begin to rust over time and will pass electric current worse

If you attach a strip to a plastic bumper, there will be no benefit. So it will simply serve as decoration. You need to attach the tape to the metal part of the body that is not covered with paint. Then she will effectively cope with her task.

To humidify the air inside the car, treat the interior with a special aerosol

It doesn't stain your upholstery and can keep you free from static electricity for months. In addition, humidified air has a beneficial effect on the well-being of people inside the car.

Learn how to get out of the car correctly in accordance with the laws of physics

After opening the door, first touch the metal part of the car and only then place your feet on the ground. Or, when leaving the car, touch the door with a metal key, thereby neutralizing the charge. Then leave the car.

After following these simple recommendations, your car will finally stop shocking you and your passengers. And you can enjoy any trip without being afraid to get out of the car later.

What to do if the washing machine starts to shock

First of all, the question should arise - why does the protective input circuit breaker not work, because the washing machine body must be grounded? Therefore, first of all, we will deal with the issue of the lack of protective grounding on the body of your household device, and only then we will consider the problem of repairing the product.

The operation of a household appliance must be safe, since the user comes into contact with it almost every day. So, why does an ordinary washing machine shock unpleasantly and the circuit breaker does not turn off:

Carrying out the actions specified in these 3 points, of course, will not eliminate the cause of the voltage on the housing and, if carried out, will lead to the shutdown of the circuit breaker in the input panel of your apartment or house. That is, one problem will replace another.

Troubleshooting Methods

The reasons why a broiler gets an electric shock can be very diverse:

1. Destruction of the heating element insulation. The source of this reason is the destruction of the shell of the heating element or periclase. When this shell is destroyed, the heating coil is exposed, which is constantly under high voltage. When the shell is destroyed, the spiral begins to actively interact with the best current conductor - water. As a result, slight electrical discharges are released, reminiscent of a slight tingling sensation. You can fix the breakdown yourself by replacing the worn heating element.

2. Incorrect connection of the boiler can also cause electrical discharges. Many people often confuse zero and ground, connecting the heating element incorrectly. To fix this problem, you need to reconnect the wires. Typically the ground cable is yellow-green.

After installation, it is important to check the wires not only outside, but also in the outlet. If in doubt, you should contact a specialist

Boiler connection

3. Touching a bare wire to the housing can also cause electrical discharges. This problem occurs if the insulation on any of the wires deteriorates or wears off. Electrical leakage occurs when a bare wire touches the computer case. To fix the problem, you need to disassemble the device and find the exposed wire that needs to be repaired or replaced with a new one.

Bare wire on TENE

4. The neighbor's water heater is faulty. This may also cause the problem. In this case, electricity will be transmitted through metal pipes. If such a situation occurs, turn off the boiler immediately. After turning it off, you need to touch the water: if it no longer stings, then the reason is in the neighbor’s boiler. Residents must be notified immediately of the breakdown.

The faucet is electrocuted - how to find the problem

You can verify that the faucet is emitting current not only by touching it with your own hand, but also by touching the electrocuted faucet with an indicator screwdriver.

The reasons why the faucet is electrocuted may be:

1. A faulty water heater in which the power cord is in contact with the housing. Also in this case, very often the cause may be a failed water heater heating element.

You can read more about this in the previous article about what to do if your water heater is electrocuted.

2. The faucet can produce electric current and water from it even when someone nearby in the apartment has grounded electrical appliances in the apartment to batteries or water pipes.

In this case, it is better not to rush to sort things out, since in any case you will not achieve the truth. It is better to call the housing and communal services department and call an electrician in this case.

Also, your own grounding of the water heater and other electrical appliances in the apartment can help.

3. If the apartment already has a grounding bus, then maybe somehow electricity gets to it. This can happen when an electrical wire comes into contact with a ground loop.

And even if this is most unlikely, it is still not worth excluding grounding contact with a 220 Volt network. It is much easier to verify this and then cross out this problem as not valid than to suffer from an electrocuted faucet or water in the bathtub.

Causes of current leakage in multi-storey buildings

There are also cases when the entire metal frame, fittings, beams and channels of an apartment building are under tension. In this case, the water from the tap will be electric, the bathtub and heating radiators will be electric, that is, everything that conducts electricity will be electric.

The problem in this case lies in the contact of a damaged cable with electricity (for example, in the basement of a house) with the metal parts that support it. Therefore, it is necessary, first of all, to carry out an inspection and subsequent replacement of damaged electrical wires, after which the problem will be solved.

It also happens that the washing machine receives an electric shock due to the fact that it is not grounded. This current is stray; it is transmitted to all metal products in the bathroom and even to the kitchen. Therefore, the reasons why the faucet is electrocuted are also possible.

Be that as it may, the main thing is to first find the problem, and then solve it on your own, or by calling classified specialists for this.

Why you shouldn’t do zeroing and DSUP in the TN-C system

So, we have come to the point that grounding is necessary. However, in houses built before the mid-90s, the TN-C system is implemented. This means that the conductor of the working solidly grounded zero also performs the protective function of PE (grounding). Therefore, it is called PEN (protective zero PE + working zero N) and is not divided along its entire length from the transformer substation to the floor switchboard. Therefore, there is no grounding in the floor panel, there is only a PEN bus. Connecting the protective (third) conductor of the apartment electrical wiring to the PEN in the floor panel is called “grounding”.

I don’t want to throw too much water on this matter, it’s worth taking a look at the pictures below. The principle demonstrates the consequences of damage to the PEN conductor. The pictures show grounding in the junction box (I strongly do not recommend doing this), but they demonstrate the essence - safety will not be particularly improved by grounding in the switchboard.

It is worth noting that the burning of the zero at the transformer substation, which electricians are afraid of, is not the only reason to be afraid of zeroing. Elementary contact between a floor electrical panel and a conductive PEN conductor is very unreliable, given decades of operation.

The photo below is an example of an unreliable connection, just think: if you zero electrical appliances in the bathroom to such a contact, as soon as it warms up or oxidizes a little more, the housings of all working, “zeroed” appliances will be under a voltage of 380 volts!

After all, this working zero provides a voltage of 220 volts between one of the three phases and the PEN bus, when the contact with it is destroyed on the floor panel, then two apartments (or three) are connected in series to two phases (or three).

I hope I have given enough arguments for the reader to refuse nullification. It’s sad, but you shouldn’t count on high-quality grounding until the home energy system is reconstructed. Until this moment, it is better to live without grounding at all.

Some inquisitive minds may think: What if you make a grounding and, in addition, build a DSUP in the bathroom? After all, even if a phase appears on the protective conductor, all metal objects in the bathroom will also have phase voltage and there will be no conditions for current to flow through the body!

Indeed, if all conductive objects, including the bathroom floor fittings, operate at the same potential, the person there will be safe... Until he crosses the potential equalization zone. Moreover, in such a situation the neighbors will certainly suffer. Therefore, it is strictly prohibited to perform potential equalization in an apartment using the TN-C system.

Naturally, water pipes, heating pipes, or fittings protruding from the wall also cannot be used for grounding.

This is not possible, it is prohibited - so what to do if there is no grounding in the apartment?

Video material

https://youtube.com/watch?v=J5gIcf6FKgk

In conclusion, it should be noted that it is impossible to find out the cause of this malfunction for a long time, and if you cannot do it yourself, you need to seek help from a specialist. The sooner you make a decision, the sooner you will protect yourself and your loved ones from electric shock.

There is no grounding and the washing machine is electrocuted: what to do?

It can be said that every washing machine manufacturer makes a bet during the design process that there is a grounding connection in your home.

Namely, your electrical wiring should have 3 wires:

Phase;
Zero;
Earth.

In fact, the situation is such that even according to USSR standards, grounding could not have been done. At the moment, grounding may be listed on paper, but in reality it is not. Of course, you can find a ground at your outlet, but no one can say for sure where it goes next, and whether it was organized correctly at all, whether all standards were met. If you go into the basement, you can see all these wires twisted into one and not connected to anything, that is, they will not perform their functions.

What to do in such a situation? The first thing is to find out for sure whether there is grounding in your house; the housing and communal services have this information. If there is one, then you will need to inspect the shield and find the necessary wire. Finally, you will need to run a new three-phase wire to all outlets.

Solving the wiring issue, let alone organizing it, is very difficult, so you should prepare for a large amount of work in advance.

Diagnostics

The first thing you need to do is turn off the electricity supply to the apartment at the switchboard. If your home is without power, but the problem has not disappeared, the neighbors are 100% to blame. Surely in every panel high-rise building there are craftsmen who unwind the electric meter. If there is no current in the tap, it means that the source of the problem is localized to you.

To find the cause, you need to turn off one by one all household electrical appliances that are somehow connected to water: washing machine/dishwasher, boiler, hob (if not grounded). Thus, by turning off these devices one by one, you can find the source of current supply to the tap. If everything is de-energized, but nothing has changed, the problem is either in the general grounding of the house or in your electrical wiring.

socket

Let's sum it up

If the wiring in your apartment has three wires (phase, neutral and ground), and the washing machine still produces current, you need to make sure that the ground wire is intact. You can simply check with the help of a “tester” whether there is voltage between the phase and the housing.
If your wiring is standard, that is, with two wires (phase and neutral), then it is highly advisable to make a separate grounding for the machine body. Water pipes cannot be used for this.
If the wiring is two-wire, but there is no way to ground it, then you can at least use a residual current device built into the outlet.

Yes, it’s worth clarifying separately that these options are well suited for a working washing machine. If the problem is that the insulation of the wires inside the machine is broken, then it is worth solving this problem first. If before the machine worked normally and did not shock. And recently I suddenly started, this is not normal. And most likely, the problem is a violation of the integrity of the insulation. In order to eliminate it, you need to find a place with faulty insulation and insulate it. You can use electrical tape for this.

Also, temporarily you can simply not touch the machine while working. And touch it only when it is de-energized. However, you should not use this method if your household appliances have obvious breakdowns and malfunctions. This will not help solve them and will be very dangerous!

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How to fix the situation

If you live in a private house, be sure to ground the wiring and, accordingly, if there is one, check the integrity of the circuit by measuring its resistance. Also make sure that the water heater or washing machine is working properly. First, disconnect them from the network and if the electric shocks stop, proceed to troubleshooting. Finding a breakdown in the wiring is quite difficult to determine without certain skills, however, if you wish, try to inspect all sockets, switches, and also check the wiring in the wall with a special tester. By the way, the sockets themselves in the bathroom must have a degree of protection of IP 44 and higher. It is better to place switches outside for reasons of electrical safety.

It is also necessary to protect electrical appliances with a residual current device, which will immediately turn off the electricity in the serviced area if it detects a current leak. For a bathroom, it is recommended to choose an RCD with a response characteristic of 10 mA.

Additionally, we recommend installing a water leakage protection system in the bathroom. It will save your home and your neighbors’ homes from flooding during an emergency, or if you forget to turn off the water. In addition, the protective system can prevent electric shock through a puddle under the washing machine, for example, because the water will be shut off in a timely manner, and you will be informed about the accident. A popular water leak protection system is Neptun. You can read more about it in our review of Neptun Prow + Wi-Fi.

Another important point is the presence of a house-wide and individual potential equalization system, which combines all the pipes in the room, the sink and the bathtub itself with a grounding bus. Make sure that you have such a system in your apartment, and, just as important, check its functionality

Well, if you are convinced that the washing machine and boiler are intact, and the wiring is working properly, but at the same time there is an electric shock in the bathroom, feel free to go to your neighbors and find out what problems they may have in their apartment. If you are sure that they rewind the meter in this way or simply made an unsafe grounding, as a result of which you get an electric shock, contact your service organization, which will come with a check and find out what’s wrong. We talked about what to do if your neighbors steal electricity in a separate article.

That's all I wanted to tell you about this issue. We hope that now you know why the water from the tap, the walls, or the faucet itself is leaking in the bathroom and what to do to solve the problem!