2005 NEC Residential Grounding

Aug 24, 2006 2 Replies

I'm upgrading the electrical service in my Minneapolis home from 60 amp to 200 amp. The service entrance, from weatherhead to the main panel, is installed. The next step is grounding the system. The 2005 NEC is unavailable in my library and I can't find a Minnesota Code resource and I want to know what is required for this step. The inspector's office has been short, unprofessional, and unwilling to answer my questions. All of the books I'm referencing (including Wiring Simplified and Rex Cauldwell's Wiring a House) seem to have variations.



I think I'm supposed to ground from the neutral bus bar to a water pipe within 5 feet of where it enters the house, and supplement it with a grounding rod. This would entail running 6 AWG copper from the main panel approximately 30 feet to a point near the water meter, then bonding to a grounding rod that's already in place a few feet away in a



sump pit.



Does anyone know the code requirements for grounding according to the



2005 NEC, or, better yet, the State of Minnesota codes.

Thank you, Alan



Is the underground water pipe that supplies your home metallic for at least its first ten feet in the ground outside the house? If it is not then the rules about connecting within five feet of were the pipe enters do not apply. If that piping is metallic then you will have to run a number four copper to the water pipe and a number six conductor to the ground rod. The conductor to the ground rod can be run from were the Grounding Electrode Conductor attaches to the water pipe and that is considered best practice because it provides "single point" grounding.

I ran #4 AWG to a clamp on the copper water supply where it enters the house, then without a break to a supplemental grounding rod. The inspector approved it. Thank you, Tom.

Thomas D. Horne, FF EMT wrote:

Join the Discussion

Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.

Didn't find your answer?

Ask the community — no account required