Earth vs Neutral
Earthling and neutral wire are safety mechanisms for the protection of a building and its occupants should there be a fault in electrical appliances, power chords or plugs that are inserted into electric circuits. There are many similarities in an earth wire and a neutral wire; so much so that many times people use these words interchangeably. However, this is a wrong practice and needs to be avoided. This article attempts to find out the differences between earth wire and neutral wire.
Whenever there is an excess current in case of a fault, the ground or earth works to cut off electric supply saving humans from getting electrocuted or any overloaded wiring catching fire. This earth or ground wire makes the fuse to blow off or the circuit breaker to trip if it is being used in the circuit.
A neutral, or a neutral wire as it is called, is simply a return wire that comes along with the live wire from the electricity company. This neutral completes the circuit and carries the current back from the appliances to the power supply.
Normally both neutral and earth wires are used for total protection of a building or people in the case of a mishap. These wires are linked together near the supply point and work to blow off the fuse or trip the circuit breaker stopping all incoming current.
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What is the difference between Earth and Neutral • Neutral is the return path in an electrical circuit while earth is the common reference point • If there is no neutral, earth can save us from any mishap, while the same cannot be said if there is neutral but no earth • Earth is for protection of human beings from electrocution while neutral is more for protection of appliances • While earth is a surging point, neutral is return path of the circuit
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My house is wired single phase but the reading between the earth and neutral reads up to 30 volts. It shocks when i connect my computer. what do i do to remedy this?
Let’s start at the beginning. At the service entrance where the power company wiring enters your house – the neutral of the power company should be connected to the neutral buss in your power panel. Next, the neutral buss should be connect to the ground buss in your power panel. This buss-to-buss wiring establishes that the ground (that you call earth) buss and the neutral buss are at the same potential (no difference in voltage). From the power panel to every terminal point (wall outlet, permanent light, switch, etc.) in your house three wires must exist. The three wires are a black wire (commonly called the hot wire), a white wire (referred to as the neutral), and a bare copper (may have a green insulator) wire (the ground). Consider the black and white wires the roadway to provide power where needed. The bare copper wire or green wire is a necessary safety item. At any terminal point, if you measure the voltage between the white wire and the ground (green) the voltage MUST be the same. If the voltage is not the same – call an electrician.