Is there any alternative to the use of a ground wire?

Question

Is there anything that can be used as an alternative to a traditional grounding pole that is buried in the ground?

Is it possible to use a lightbulb, a series of lightbulbs, or maybe an inductor in place of the connection to earth and eliminate the voltage by converting into something harmless like light?

I saw in some Chinese plants worker used wireless antistatic bracelets, not grounded. — user263983, Dec 05 '20 at 03:26
If you could convince people to only ever touch faulty appliances with a light bulb instead of with their hand, maybe — The Photon, Dec 05 '20 at 03:26
how would you connect the lightbulb or inductor? ... to ground? — jsotola, Dec 05 '20 at 03:51
@user263983 I expect you probably know this, but those "wireless antistatic bracelets" do absolutely nothing. — Hearth, Dec 05 '20 at 04:47
Does this answer your question? Is ground connection in home electrical system really necessary? — Andy aka, Dec 05 '20 at 10:28
@Hears yes, I know. It is out of my understanding of law of physics. But OP can find a lot of info on web to get more knowledge. It is related to question. — user263983, Dec 05 '20 at 10:37

score 3 · Answer 1 · answered Dec 05 '20 at 04:15

No it’s not. The purpose of the ground connection is that in the event of a fault where a live wire contacts some exposed metal, the earth connection prevents a large voltage from presenting, and sufficient current flows to trip a breaker or fuse very quickly. If you put a light bulb in series then the bulb would illuminate to indicate a fault condition, but a user would still be exposed to mains voltage.

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Dec 05 '20 at 03:40

2

You could power the appliance through an isolating transformer.

that would prevent fault currents from seeking a path to ground.

answered Dec 05 '20 at 03:40

Jasen Слава Україні

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score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Dec 05 '20 at 08:49

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The pole in the ground is not actually the most important part of the grounding system. The bond to "neutral" and the fact that "ground" is connected to all exposed metal is the most important part. The goal is to have all exposed conducting surfaces at the same electrical potential. Sticking a pole in the ground and connecting a ground wire to it just makes sure that that potential is the same as earth itself. But if someone came to my house and cut the wire to the pole in the ground, I might never know.

This is really a big and complex topic. Why are you asking? Maybe if you explain more of your thinking someone can provide you a better answer.

answered Dec 05 '20 at 08:49

user57037

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Is neutral bonded to earth at my house connection? – Indraneel Dec 05 '20 at 10:26
that's kind of hard to answer without more information. – Jasen Слава Україні Dec 05 '20 at 10:36
@Indraneel I have not visited your house. But, in the United States (which is where I live) the electrical code requires that neutral be bonded to "ground" in one and only one place in the home. Also, most generators have neutral bonded to "ground" inside the generator (there are exceptions too complicated to get into). Even if the generator is not actually tied to ground via a metal rod. – user57037 Dec 05 '20 at 18:49

Is there any alternative to the use of a ground wire?

3 Answers3