RonMarquardt
Member
Hi. My apologies if this question has been dealt with before, but scanning through at least the last several months I don't see it mentioned.
Here's my situation: We bought a house recently with a nice (unfinished) accessory building that is essentially a one-car garage (14'x24'). It has no plumbing (not a problem) or electrical (was a problem), so I am working to get the latter installed there.
Thankfully, there is a pool pump just 3-4' away from the door of the building, so there was power very close. I hired a local electrical contractor to pull 30A-220V from a panel at the pool equipment into the building and onto a new sub-panel. He also included a grounded conductor (I am trying to be as precise on the terminology as possible, but I am not an electrical contractor) from the pool sub-panel to the accessory building sub-panel. I asked if I needed a local grounding rod installed, and he indicated no, since the building was NOT tied to the main home with plumbing, and the grounded conductor was pulled from the main panel, through to the pool sub-panel, and on to the acc. bldg. sub-panel. I did a cursory check around and found some confirmation (I think on this site 6+ months ago?) that this was true.
We just had the rough-in inspection of the electrical, and the inspector is going to require that a local ground rod be installed. My only concern is with safety, not with the cost or effort to do so. If its the safest approach, that's what we'll do. However, when I researched this previously I seem to recall that it was supposedly dangerous to install a second ground rod at this building since there was no plumbing tying back to the main house (if there were, I think the answer was different). Also, the inspector wanted it tied to the same buss bar that the grounded conductor from the pool sub-panel was attached (he did not want the latter eliminated). That especially rang some bells in my mind -- sounds like a great situation for ground loops.
Can someone please verify whether I need a ground rod or not. Specifically, if it is a safety hazard to ground this building separately from the main house (but tie it to that building's grounded connector), please reference the NEC section which forbids this. As I am not an electrical contractor, I do not have access to the NEC myself (aside from glances in the book store). If its just an inspector being ultra-cautious, and not an issue of safety, I don't plan to fight it at all, but if it is a safety issue, I'd like to be able to point to chapter and verse of the NEC when I challenge their position.
Many thanks in advance.
-Ron
PS- I have made myself fairly aware of the code requirements for secondary buildings, so I do know that all receptacle circuits must have GFCI, so no need to restate that unless you think there is some nuance that may be hard to decipher. Thanks.
Here's my situation: We bought a house recently with a nice (unfinished) accessory building that is essentially a one-car garage (14'x24'). It has no plumbing (not a problem) or electrical (was a problem), so I am working to get the latter installed there.
Thankfully, there is a pool pump just 3-4' away from the door of the building, so there was power very close. I hired a local electrical contractor to pull 30A-220V from a panel at the pool equipment into the building and onto a new sub-panel. He also included a grounded conductor (I am trying to be as precise on the terminology as possible, but I am not an electrical contractor) from the pool sub-panel to the accessory building sub-panel. I asked if I needed a local grounding rod installed, and he indicated no, since the building was NOT tied to the main home with plumbing, and the grounded conductor was pulled from the main panel, through to the pool sub-panel, and on to the acc. bldg. sub-panel. I did a cursory check around and found some confirmation (I think on this site 6+ months ago?) that this was true.
We just had the rough-in inspection of the electrical, and the inspector is going to require that a local ground rod be installed. My only concern is with safety, not with the cost or effort to do so. If its the safest approach, that's what we'll do. However, when I researched this previously I seem to recall that it was supposedly dangerous to install a second ground rod at this building since there was no plumbing tying back to the main house (if there were, I think the answer was different). Also, the inspector wanted it tied to the same buss bar that the grounded conductor from the pool sub-panel was attached (he did not want the latter eliminated). That especially rang some bells in my mind -- sounds like a great situation for ground loops.
Can someone please verify whether I need a ground rod or not. Specifically, if it is a safety hazard to ground this building separately from the main house (but tie it to that building's grounded connector), please reference the NEC section which forbids this. As I am not an electrical contractor, I do not have access to the NEC myself (aside from glances in the book store). If its just an inspector being ultra-cautious, and not an issue of safety, I don't plan to fight it at all, but if it is a safety issue, I'd like to be able to point to chapter and verse of the NEC when I challenge their position.
Many thanks in advance.
-Ron
PS- I have made myself fairly aware of the code requirements for secondary buildings, so I do know that all receptacle circuits must have GFCI, so no need to restate that unless you think there is some nuance that may be hard to decipher. Thanks.
