{"id":1137,"date":"2021-05-14T12:14:01","date_gmt":"2021-05-14T12:14:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/whatblueprint.com\/?p=1137"},"modified":"2023-04-14T09:37:38","modified_gmt":"2023-04-14T09:37:38","slug":"do-junction-boxes-need-to-be-grounded","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whatblueprint.com\/do-junction-boxes-need-to-be-grounded\/","title":{"rendered":"Do Junction Boxes Need to be Grounded?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Junction boxes are used as a container to connect the different wires in your home safely. Grounding is used to discharge any excess electricity into the soil in case anything goes wrong. The question now is if it\u2019s required to have your junction boxes grounded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chances are your junction box is already grounded, unless otherwise. It\u2019s required by the NEC(National Electrical Code) to have junction boxes grounded, especially for metal ones. Grounding will always be a staple in every home\u2019s electrical circuit because of the safety benefits. Note that non-metal junction boxes DO NOT need to be directly grounded.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Read on as we\u2019ll be going into how grounding works and how to ground your junction boxes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To put it simply, grounding is used to transfer stray electricity towards a point where it can dissipate. The earth is an excellent conductor of electricity and is by far the safest place that stray electricity can be transferred to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Grounding is only activated when something goes wrong in the circuit. These are usually disruptions or irregularities in a circuit caused by wire damage, outlets getting wet, overloading, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Note that grounding is very much different from a circuit breaker. Circuit breakers cut off the power for an electric circuit when something goes improper grounding is simply a part of the circuit that \u201cremoves\u201d the rest of the electricity from the circuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lastly, grounding doesn\u2019t always mean that electricity has to go to your grounding rod or the earth. It just needs to dissipate electricity by reducing the energy within the circuit to zero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Grounding rods are required to have, and it\u2019s essential to know where yours are located if you plan on attaching a grounding wire to your junction box. As the name implies, these are metal rods that receive electricity from grounding wires dispersed to the earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To give context, earth(soil) is a great conductor, which means that it can absorb electricity well, and having grounding rods buried ensures that nobody can accidentally get shocked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The grounding rod is usually installed near the main circuit breaker is often buried around 8 feet underground, which is around foundation level. Most homes will have around two grounding rods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Grounding rods themselves are not difficult to install. You just need to make sure that they are within an appropriate distance( 6 feet apart) from each other, so any discharges don\u2019t overlap and that your rod is the proper measurement(8 feet in length). <\/p>\n\n\n\n For this article, we\u2019ll be assuming that you already have a grounding wire that\u2019s connected in some way to your grounding rod. If you don\u2019t, you\u2019ll only need to join a new grounding wire to a splice of any current ones installed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can do this by turning off the main breaker. You can use a voltage tester to check if your circuit is still \u201chot\u201d before working with your wires. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Your junction box should have a green hole for screws. The screw is supposed to come into contact with your grounding wire. You can do this by stripping the wire and tying it to the screw along the direction that it turns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Note that you cannot use a regular screw for grounding. Grounding screws are designed to carry electricity and are shaped in a certain way for this purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Simply tie in together the different wires that you need to connect. Make sure that they\u2019re the same color and that they’re tied together properly. The most common type of connection is a pigtail for wires since it shortens the wires and secures multiples. You can use a wire nut to secure it. Make sure that there is a wire connected to the grounding screw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s not that complicated to ground and install a junction box because manufacturers know that it will be required to do so. It is advised that you hire an electrician if you are inexperienced with installing wiring. A poorly made junction box can cause fires since the wires are exposed to other elements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nGrounding: Brief Overview<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nGrounding Rods<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nHow to ground a junction box<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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