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In electrical engineering, ground and neutral (earth and neutral) are circuit conductors used in alternating current (AC) electrical systems. The neutral conductor receives and returns alternating current to the supply during normal operation of the circuit; to limit the effects of leakage current from higher-voltage systems, the neutral ...
The difference in voltage between ground and neutral, between the neutral wire and the ground in domestic AC power plugs and sockets, can be fatal. A properly installed electrical system connects them together at only one location, leading many people to the fatally incorrect conclusion that they are at "the same" voltage, or that the safety ...
Hot is any line or neutral conductor (wire or otherwise) connected with an electrical system that has electric potential relative to electrical ground or line to neutral. Ground is a safety conductor with a low impedance path to earth. It is often called the "ground wire," or safety ground. It is either bare or has green insulation. [1]
NEMA L14 are three-pole and ground connectors rated for 125/250 V. Intended for three-pole, four-wire hot-hot-neutral-ground circuits with a nominal supply voltages of 240 or 208 V hot-to-hot and 120 V hot-to-neutral. These connectors are common on household backup generators, and on racks of power amplifiers in large audio systems.
In North America, overhead distribution systems may be three phase, four wire, with a neutral conductor. Rural distribution system may have long runs of one phase conductor and a neutral. [17] In other countries or in extreme rural areas the neutral wire is connected to the ground to use that as a return (single-wire earth return).
Neutral to earth voltage (NEV) specifically refers to a difference in potential between a locally grounded object and the grounded return conductor, or neutral, of an electrical system. The neutral is theoretically at 0 V potential, as any grounded object, but current flows on the neutral back to the source, somewhat elevating the neutral voltage.
Long-distance electromagnetic telegraph systems from 1820 onwards [a] used two or more wires to carry the signal and return currents. It was discovered by German scientist C.A. von Steinheil in 1836–1837, that the ground could be used as the return path to complete the circuit, making the return wire unnecessary. [2]
The diagram shows leakage current from an appliance such as an electric motor A flowing through the building's ground system G to the neutral wire at the utility ground bonding point at the service panel. The ground loop between components C1 and C2 creates a second parallel path for the current. [8]