How to install earth

If there is no earth terminal provided by the electricity supplier (and they don't have to provide one) then it is the customer's responsibility to provide an earth. This would be an earth rod outside the property, in which case your earthing would be described as TT, and you will probably need a split consumer unit with a 100mA time-delayed main RCD and a 30mA RCD on the socket circuits.

The sparky should install the earth rod and test and certify it for you.

It may be worth asking the electricity supplier (the regional electricity distributor, not whoever sells you the kilowatts) if they can provide you with an earth.

Owain

Depending on the type of incoming supply, you might be able to get the electric co. to provide an earth - although it depends on a couple of things, such as availability of an earth on their network, type of premises (farms with livestock, and premises fed off the same network as a farm with livestock - I believe it can change the line characteristics), and it may be a chargeable job.

Ask him if he knows what an earth rod is.

In message , Colin Wilson writes

It's worth pointing out here that it was quite normal in older installations not to have earthing back to the supply. The water pipe was typically used as the earth and the consumer unit earthed to that. This was exactly the system we had in the old house we lived in previously. This isn't acceptable now.

As sort of the rewire I did I contacted the supplier and they provided an earth terminal - in our case it was earthed to the sheath of the supply cable.

There is a bit in the FAQ on earthing systems,

I'd read that and then ask the sparks what he recommends doing about it. If he can't give a sensible answer find another one.

1. Double click icon planet in universe desktop named earth.zip
2. Choose a destination location about 93 million miles from the sun. You do NOT need to uninstall the previous version of earth if it exists. If is in fact preferable that you don't.
3. Read the disclaimer "This was created in seven days and is still BETA, continue at your own risk", and click "OK".
4. Wait about 4.5 billion years to completely install hoping someone there doesn't push the self destruct button in the meantime.

:-)

-- Adrian C

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Adrian C saying something like:

1. No warranty implied or given. This does not affect your statutory rights, which are zero in any case.