Why do electrical installations need to be earthed?

The correct specifcation of the earthing system for

a high voltage electrical installation is critical for its
safe functioning. Under specifcation of the earth
grid (buried earth electrode) can lead to dangerously
high touch and step voltages during system fault
conditions. Over specifcation of the earth grid can
lead to unnecessary expense. An optimum specifcation
can both demonstrate compliance with national/
international safety standards, and minimise the cost
of buried electrode.
Earth grid design - typical process
collect data: site layout, soil resistivity
measurements, earth fault current levels/fault
current scenarios and fault durations
size earth electrodes and conductors for adequate
thermal and mechanical strength
determine tolerable step and touch voltages based
on protection operating times
carry out a preliminary design of the earth grid. The
preliminary design usually encompasses the items to
be earthed and provides suffcient cross conductors
for all plant to be conveniently earthed
determine distribution of fault current, i.e. how much
fault current fows through the earth grid and how
much fows through cable sheaths/overhead line
earth wires back to the source
calculate touch voltages on exposed equipment
and step voltages in and around the vicinity of
the installation. If safety criteria are not met, the
earth grid must be extended by using horizontal
conductors and/or buried earth rods
verify that the earth grid impedance is suffcient for
lightning protection requirements
if the site is hot from an earth potential rise
perspective, consider extending the earth grid to
make the site cold, or employ mitigation
measures such as electrical isolation of incoming
telecommunication circuits, separation of HV and LV
earth systems etc
once the earth grid has been installed, its resistance
needs to be confrmed using on-site measurements
HV Earthing Design Services
Senergy Econnects consulting team provide specialist advice on all aspects of the connection of renewable
generation to the electrical network, from initial feasibility to design, project management and advice
on regulatory and fnancial challenges. Our team has facilitated the successful commissioning of projects
worldwide, including many that would not have happened without our input.
www.senergyworld.com
alternative energy
econnect
CDEGS from SES Technologies
CDEGS (Current Distribution, Electromagnetic Fields,
Grounding and Soil Structure Analysis) is the industry
leading software package for earthing system
analysis and design. The MultiGroundZ+ package
contains the following modules:
RESAP determines equivalent soil structure
models from on-site soil restivity measurements
MALT low frequency earthing analysis
MALZ frequency domain earthing analysis
TRALIN computes conductor and cable
parameters
FCDIST calculates fault current distribution in
distribution and transmission circuits
SPLITS detailed fault current distribution and
EMI analysis
Why use Senergy Econnect?
Senergy Econnect uses the CDEGS MultiGroundZ+
software package and has many years of experience
designing earthing systems for HV installations and
coupled with its use of the CDEGS Multiground+
software package can provide optimised earth grid
designs for HV installations.
Examples of earthing design projects Senergy
Econnect has completed are:
Cottonmount 11kV 2MW landfll gas generation site
Craig wind farm 11kV 10MW
Gunfeet Sands 132kV cable joints pits
Braich Ddu 11kV 3.9MW wind farm
Tangy wind farm 33kV reactive power
compensation compound
Brookhurst Wood 33/11kV substation for energy
from waste facility
New Holbeck Farm wind turbine and distribution
substation (11kV)
Little Raith wind farm 25MW (33kV)
Record Hill wind farm (Maine, US) 51MW (34.5kV)
Senergy Econnect designs earth grids to minimise
the amount of buried electrode required by:
considering alternative fault current paths
considering adjacent earth grids which can be
tied to the earth grid being designed
consider structural rebar in concrete foundations
as an integral part of the earth electrode
Standards
BS 7430:1998, Code of practice for Earthing
BS 7354:1990, Code of practice for Design of
high-voltage open-terminal stations
BS EN 62305:2006, Protection against lightning
Draft BS EN 50522:2008, Earthing of power
installations exceeding 1kV a.c.
IEC 61936-1 Edition 2.0 2010-08 Power
installations exceeding 1 kV a.c. Part 1:
Common rules
Electricity Association Technical Specifcation
41-24 Issue 1: 1992, Guidelines for the design,
installation, testing and maintenance of main
earthing systems in substations
The Electricity Council Engineering
Recommendation S.34 1986, A guide for
assessing the rise of earth potential at
substation sites
IEEE Std 80-2000, IEEE Guide for Safety in AC
Substation Grounding
United Kingdom Norway Middle East Malaysia Australia New Zealand Americas
Oil & Gas Survey & GeoEngineering Alternative Energy Software Training SEN-21-08-2011
www.senergyworld.com
T: +44 191 238 7300
F: +44 191 238 7399
E: econnect@senergyworld.com
choosing a combination of horizontal buried
conductors and/or driven vertical earth rods
depending on analysed soil models
Designs are clearly presented in AutoCAD DWG
format and a detailed report will contain touch
potential, step potential and hot zone contour plots.
Senergy Econnect Limited
Stockbridge House , Trinity Gardens
Quayside
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 2HJ United Kingdom