EARTHING FOR TELEPHONE EXCHANGE

• Earth electrode systems are installed at telephone

exchanges
a) To provide an earth connection to the battery circuit
to stabilize the battery potential of the lines and
equipment with respect to earth
b) To provide a direct connection with earth for
lightning protective apparatus
c) To provide protection to persons and plant against
leakage from station power wiring to metallic
apparatus, frames etc.
d) To provide a means of earthing electrostatic
screens on apparatus and of earthing lead
sheaths of cables.
e) To complete the circuit of telephone systems,
employing a common earth path for signaling
purposes.
 Standards for resistance of earth electrode
systems
• The resistance of the earth electrode system
should be as low as possible and in any case
should not normally exceed 2 ohms
• The earth resistance of Earth electrode system
for Electronic exchanges should be less than
0.5 Ohms.
 Classes of Earthing Systems

• Earthing systems are provided to serve many

different purposes. They may be divided into two
major categories, viz.
• Service Earthing Systems, e.g.
• switching equipment earth
• transmission equipment earth
• measuring equipment earth
• A.C. power supply earth
• Miscellaneous equipment earth (e.g. telegraphs).
• Protective Earthing System, e.g.
• Power system earth to provide protection
against excessive current;
• Lightning protective earth to provide
protection against excessive voltage.
• Requirements for Service Earthing Systems
• In general, service earthing systems should have a
low D.C. resistance to the general body of the earth,
in order to ensure that the potential drop across the
earth connection is low. If any current flows through
the service earthing system, a potential difference
will be developed across the earth connection. This
can introduce interference in the form of electrical
noise into any telecommunication circuit connected
to that earthing system
Requirements for Protective Earthing System

• Enable sufficient current to flow to ground to ensure that any over

current protective devices (e.g. fuses, circuit breakers, etc.) will
operate to disconnect the current after a very short time.
• prevent hazardous potential difference to develop across the earth
connection (excessive potential differences can cause breakdown
of insulation, and danger to life and limb).
• The foregoing requirements can be satisfied by heavy gauge
conductors of very low resistance connected to earthing systems of
very low resistance (typically less than one ohm).
• Able to withstand indefinitely the corrosive action of soil.
• The resistance of the earth connection must remain reasonably
constant throughout the various seasons of the year
• It now considered that it is better to install a
common earth than go for different earthing
systems for different purposes as this may
cause currents to flow through them because
of potential differences between them. The
common earth must be designed and installed
to suit the requirement of various earthing
systems which are required at the site
• The main advantage of a common earthing system are :
• By carefully bonding the various earthing systems together,
the potential difference between one earth connection and
another is negligible. Thus, no excessive currents or voltages
will be developed within the earthing system.
• If, due to excessive voltage or current, the potential of the
protective earth rises, then so will all other earths rise in
potential, thus once again preventing the development of
potential differences within the earthed environment of the
installation (This is the so-called “Faraday Cage” effect).
 Design Principles for Earthing Systems

• Earthing systems should be designed to

achieve the following :
• adequate current carrying capacity (DC or AC
as appropriate).
• adequate mechanical strength to withstand
the rigors of service without fracturing.
• In the case of lightning protective earths
adequate-surge-current carrying ability
 Lightning Protection Earths

• as close as practicable to the plant or equipment to be protected;

• connected to that plant via lightning protectors of adequate
current carrying capacity and an appropriate value of breakdown
voltage;
• connected to the protectors via conductors having minimum surge
impedance (i.e., no sharp bends or coils in the conductor);
• of such a configuration in the ground as will achieve minimum
surge impedance (in this regard it is to be noted that for trench
electrodes, a system with four electrodes radiating in four
directions at right angles from the connection point to the
earthing conductor has a much lower surge impedance than a
single trench earth of the same total length).
 Service Earths

• Service earths which carry current (e.g. teleprinter earths

which may carry 20-25 mA) must be capable of surviving
the discharge of such current to ground for their designed
working life. It is of interest to note that a direct current
of 1 ampere flowing through a steel earth electrode will
consume approximately 10 kg of steel per annum. Thus, if
an earth electrode is to carry 25mA for 20 years it must
contain in excess of 5 kg of steel. In order to ensure that
the electrode is still in working order after this period, a
factor of safety of two would mean that the earth
electrode must contain at least 10 kg of steel.
 Types of earth electrode systems
Spike earth electrode system

• The present standard for spike earth-electrode system consists

of twenty 25.0 mm or 38.00 mm diameter G.I pipes, each of
275 or 375 cm length. Each pipe is used as an earth spike
driven to its full length into the ground, the spacing between
any two being not less than 375 cms. This spacing between
adjacent electrodes has a significant influence on the potential
distribution over the earth around the electrode system; the
condition of minimum resistance to earth in a multiple earth
system, requires that this spacing be as a large as possible. In
practice a spacing of 375 cms is found adequate and in no case
should this spacing be permitted to be less than 250 cms. A
typical layout is as shown in fig
 Lead Strip Electrode System

• This consists of a lead strip 1 mm wide and 6

gms/square cm buried at a depth of from 60 to 90 cms.
The strip should be preferably laid in one continuous
length of 2450 cms. Otherwise two lengths of 1225 cm
should be laid at least 250 cm apart and overlapped by
at least 152 mm, the two electrode being parallel at the
M.D.F earth bar. The earth lead protected by a load pipe
as described in spike earth electrode system should be
connected to the lead strip for at least 152 mm by a
plumber is wiped joint as shown in the diagram below
All exposed surface of the tinned copper wire and the adjacent lead
surface should be liberally coated with black paint suitable for iron
work.

2450 cm length 51 cm width Lead Strip

Soldered
Joint

Lead Strip Electrode System

Stranded Soft Copper Wire in Lead Pipe

To MDF
 Earth plate electrode system.
These four plates are placed vertically and at diagonally opposite in an excavation 185 cm square and of a depth sufficient to reach damp
soil. The depth should never be less that about 250 cms and need not be greater than 500 cms. The lead pipe carrying the main earth
lead should be as close to the tails of the plates as possible.

76 cm.

185 cm

Earth Plate Electrode System