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A ground fault occurs when a hot wire makes contact with a ground wire or grounded part, allowing large amounts of current to flow and trip a fuse or circuit breaker. Water leaking into an electrical box or a faulty GFCI outlet that does not shut off power can cause ground faults. The main dangers are electric shock, fires, and burns. Homeowners can identify the source of a ground fault by checking GFCI outlets or breakers and unplugging appliances one by one. Installing GFCI outlets is recommended for protection.
A ground fault occurs when a hot wire makes contact with a ground wire or grounded part, allowing large amounts of current to flow and trip a fuse or circuit breaker. Water leaking into an electrical box or a faulty GFCI outlet that does not shut off power can cause ground faults. The main dangers are electric shock, fires, and burns. Homeowners can identify the source of a ground fault by checking GFCI outlets or breakers and unplugging appliances one by one. Installing GFCI outlets is recommended for protection.
A ground fault occurs when a hot wire makes contact with a ground wire or grounded part, allowing large amounts of current to flow and trip a fuse or circuit breaker. Water leaking into an electrical box or a faulty GFCI outlet that does not shut off power can cause ground faults. The main dangers are electric shock, fires, and burns. Homeowners can identify the source of a ground fault by checking GFCI outlets or breakers and unplugging appliances one by one. Installing GFCI outlets is recommended for protection.
carrying a current comes into contact with a ground wire; with a grounded portion of a junction box; or with a grounded part of an appliance or device. Similar to a short circuit, large amounts of current are forced to flow through the fuse or circuit breaker, causing the fuse to blow or the circuit breaker to trip. Ground Fault Causes * Water leaking into an electrical box can cause a ground fault since water is a conductor of electricity.
* A ground-fault current interrupter (GFCI) is
a standard outlet required by electrical code and is designed to shut off the current when there is a ground fault. A faulty GFCI that does not shut off may allow current to keep flowing and thus cause a ground fault. * Worn hot wires or hot wires that are not completely seated into their terminals may come into contact with ground wires or grounding devices or boxes. Dangers of Ground Faults
The main threat of ground faults is electric
shock. Electric currents running through conductive materials can also cause fires and burns. Identifying Ground Faults
Ground faults can occur within appliances
or your home’s electrical system itself. The best way to identify the cause and location of your fault is through simple troubleshooting. Fortunately, investigating a ground fault doesn’t require working with live wires. Here’s a quick how-to: * Locate the problem. Many homes are equipped with ground fault circuit interrupters or GFCI outlets. These outlets detect ground faults and shut off power to the affected circuit. Some models alert homeowners with a light or by tripping a reset switch on the outlet. Look for these alerts to locate the ground fault. If your home doesn’t have GFCI-equipped outlets, look at your breaker box. Tripped breakers will be in the off position. It’s important to note that ground faults don’t always trip breakers. If your electrical issue is overloading breakers, you could be dealing with a short or too many appliances running on the same circuit. Call a pro If you suspect a ground fault and don’t have GFCI outlets. Older outlets don’t stop the grounded current and can cause shocks. * Disconnect your appliances. Unplug your appliances from the outlet and reset the breaker or GFCI. * Plug in your appliances.
Plug each item back into the outlet until it
trips. This will determine which appliance is causing the ground fault. If nothing trips your outlet, or if your outlet doesn’t reset, your ground fault is likely located in another part of your home. Call a professional to look. Faults can occur due to other outlets leaking current, problems with exterior circuits, and other faulty appliances. Preventing Ground Fault Shocks
Installing a GFCI outlet is a simple and
affordable way to eliminate the risk of ground fault-related shocks. Also, including GFCIs in your home will help you keep your property up to code. Many ordinances require GFCIs if you have an outlet within three feet of a water source or in your garage. WHAT IS GFCI OR GROUND FAULT CIRCUIT INTERRUPTER? A ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI), or Residual Current Device (RCD) is a type of circuit breaker which shuts off electric power when it senses an imbalance between the outgoing and incoming current. The main purpose is to protect people from an electric shock caused when some of the current travels through a person's body due to an electrical fault such as a short circuit, insulation failure, or equipment malfunction. Standard circuit breakers shut off power when the current is too high, like 10, 15, or 20 amps, but a mere 0.030 amps through a body can cause paralysis of skeletal muscles and stop the human heart. The GFCI / RCD breaks the circuit when it detects an imbalance of only 0.005 amps GFCI receptacle with red button for Test and black button for Reset. THANK YOU