Hello All,
I am curious as to the preferred practice amongst TFP experts regarding bonding the pool’s equipotential grid to the homes earth ground electrode, CEE, Ufer, etc.
NEC 680 does not require or prohibit this connection, it simply states:
“The bonding requirements contained in this section are not intended to require an 8 AWG copper conductor to be bonded to a panelboard, service equipment or electrode.”
The way I interpret NEC 680, it leaves it up to the engineer/electrician to decide whether or not to bond the pool’s equipotential grid to the home’s primary electrode.
I am neither an electrical engineer nor a licensed electrician; a professional builder built my pool, and to the best of my knowledge it is code complaint. The equipotential grid in my case is NOT bonded directly to the earth ground at the service entrance.
The reason for my curiosity is, I have always been lead to believe that multiple paths to earth on an equipment grounding circuit are undesirable and possibly dangerous, as such multiple earth grounds, if present, should be bonded together.
The pool itself is a basically a massive CEE (concrete encased electrode) and for all intensive purposes an Ufer ground, since all the pool equipment is bonded to the pool, and simultaneously connected to the homes equipment ground, wouldn’t this crate an alternate path to ground requiring that the pool’s equipotential bonding grid be bonded directly to the service entrance electrode via a direct connection utilizing a # 6 solid copper conductor? The NEC doesn’t require it, and I have been unable to get a definitive answer from my local BP, electrician, or inspector, I keep hearing “you can, but the NEC does not require it.” I have read articles by Mike Holt, a recognized expert on the National Electrical Code, and other industry sources, that while very detailed and informative, also do not address this question beyond “it's allowed but not required”, I am more interested in “is it a best practice” than if it’s required. The NEC is very detailed when it comes to the relationship between the pool and electrically served equipment, metal structures, etc., I am surprised this is not explained in greater detail within the code, or perhaps I'm just missing something.
Curiously enough Mike Holt drills down on the importance of not creating multiple paths to ground and goes into great detail in his videos and articles as to why that is unadvisable and possibly hazardous. He also has numerous articles relating to pool bonding and pool safety, but I have been unable to locate a specific answer to the question of bonding the pool grid to the primary grounding electrode beyond the text contained in the NEC which is not conclusive.
I am inclined to treat the pool as an additional ground and bond it to the primary electrode, but if anyone could offer greater insight or possibly provide additional references as to the rules and best practices, I would really appreciate it.
Thank you!
I am curious as to the preferred practice amongst TFP experts regarding bonding the pool’s equipotential grid to the homes earth ground electrode, CEE, Ufer, etc.
NEC 680 does not require or prohibit this connection, it simply states:
“The bonding requirements contained in this section are not intended to require an 8 AWG copper conductor to be bonded to a panelboard, service equipment or electrode.”
The way I interpret NEC 680, it leaves it up to the engineer/electrician to decide whether or not to bond the pool’s equipotential grid to the home’s primary electrode.
I am neither an electrical engineer nor a licensed electrician; a professional builder built my pool, and to the best of my knowledge it is code complaint. The equipotential grid in my case is NOT bonded directly to the earth ground at the service entrance.
The reason for my curiosity is, I have always been lead to believe that multiple paths to earth on an equipment grounding circuit are undesirable and possibly dangerous, as such multiple earth grounds, if present, should be bonded together.
The pool itself is a basically a massive CEE (concrete encased electrode) and for all intensive purposes an Ufer ground, since all the pool equipment is bonded to the pool, and simultaneously connected to the homes equipment ground, wouldn’t this crate an alternate path to ground requiring that the pool’s equipotential bonding grid be bonded directly to the service entrance electrode via a direct connection utilizing a # 6 solid copper conductor? The NEC doesn’t require it, and I have been unable to get a definitive answer from my local BP, electrician, or inspector, I keep hearing “you can, but the NEC does not require it.” I have read articles by Mike Holt, a recognized expert on the National Electrical Code, and other industry sources, that while very detailed and informative, also do not address this question beyond “it's allowed but not required”, I am more interested in “is it a best practice” than if it’s required. The NEC is very detailed when it comes to the relationship between the pool and electrically served equipment, metal structures, etc., I am surprised this is not explained in greater detail within the code, or perhaps I'm just missing something.
Curiously enough Mike Holt drills down on the importance of not creating multiple paths to ground and goes into great detail in his videos and articles as to why that is unadvisable and possibly hazardous. He also has numerous articles relating to pool bonding and pool safety, but I have been unable to locate a specific answer to the question of bonding the pool grid to the primary grounding electrode beyond the text contained in the NEC which is not conclusive.
I am inclined to treat the pool as an additional ground and bond it to the primary electrode, but if anyone could offer greater insight or possibly provide additional references as to the rules and best practices, I would really appreciate it.
Thank you!