Grounding vs. Bonding: What You Should Know

In this brief article brought to you by Mr. Electric, we will clarify what grounding and bonding mean, touch on their differences, and underscore their significance in the electrical system. If you have any questions or concerns, or if you need urgent electrical repair service, you can call Mr. Electric to hire a uniformed and certified electrician.

What is Grounding?

Grounding refers to connecting an electrical system to the earth. The primary purpose of grounding is to provide a reference point for voltage levels within the system and to ensure that excess electricity from a lightning strike or a power surge, for example, has a safe path to dissipate into the ground.

In more technical terms, grounding stabilizes the voltage levels throughout an electrical system. By providing a common return path for electric current, grounding helps prevent dangerous voltage build-up that could lead to electric shocks, fires, or damage to electrical equipment.

What is Bonding?

Bonding, on the other hand, involves connecting all the metal parts of an electrical system together and to the grounding system. The purpose of bonding is to make sure that all conductive materials within an electrical system have the same electrical potential. This prevents differences in voltage that could cause electric shock or arc flash.

Bonding is fundamental for electrical safety. It ensures that if a fault occurs, such as a live wire touching a metal part, then the current has a low-resistance path back to the source, which is usually tripping a circuit breaker or blowing a fuse, thereby preventing electric shock or fire.