What is the meaning of Earthing in Electrical?

Earthing meaning is the connection between electrical equipment and the earth or ground. When the metallic body of electrical equipment is connected to the earth or ground by a conductive wire then it is called electrical earthing. Not only the electrical equipment is needed to be connected to the earth even all the electrical machines, panels, and devices, are must be connected to the earth for electrical safety. It can be called a process to discharge the electrical energy directly to the earth by providing a very low resistance path.

Why earthing is important?

Earthing is very important in the field of electrical engineering. It provides electrical safety to operate or handle any electrical equipment, device, or machine. For example, we can take an electrical motor that is not connected to the earth. So by chance if the current-carrying conductor is accidentally touched to the metallic body of the motor, it will give an electrical shock when any person touches the motor body. But if the metallic body of the motor is connected to the earth, the current will directly flow to the earth as the earthing provides a very low resistance path. In this case, if any person touches the metallic body of the motor, he/she will not get any electrical shock because the resistance of the human body is more than the earthing wire. And we know that current always tries to flow through low resistance path only.

What is the difference between grounding and earthing?

Earthing and grounding are the same but in some countries, it is called different. There is a little difference between them that can be noticed. For, example the neutral of the three-phase four-wire system is connected to the ground to keep the potential of the neutral point is zero. This is called neutral grounding, not neutral earthing. So, here you can find a tiny difference between grounding and earthing. On the other hand when the metallic body or non-current carrying part of electrical equipment is connected to the earth then it is mostly called earthing. Again I will say earthing and grounding are the same. In fact, most of the authors say like that. Again when you go to the electronic circuit, you will notice there are two types of grounding - 1. Real Ground and 2. Virtual Ground.

Types of Earthing

The most common and widely used earthing types are,

1. Rod Earthing
2. Plate Earthing
3. Pipe Earthing
4. Strip or Wire Earthing

Rod earthing is the most simple type of earthing. It is used for low-voltage circuit equipment, domestic electrical installation, etc. The installation cost, procedure, and maintenance of the rod earthing are very easy. However, it gives a small number of connections and is suitable for low-voltage protection. Rod earthing cannot provide good earthing conductivity. On the other hand, pipe earthing and plate earthing are used for industrial installations and high-voltage protections. Plate earthing and pipe earthing require more installation cost but they provide more connections. Plate earthing and pipe earthing provide better earthing conductivity than rod earthing.

Read Also: 

• List of Undervoltage Protection Equipment, Device, and Their Function
• Difference between Earth Fault Relay and Earth Leakage Relay
• ELCB and RCCB Difference, Advantages, Limitations, Diagram
• Why AC needs more Insulation than DC for the same Voltage Level?
• Main Purpose of Using Neutral Grounding Resistor

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