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The neutral busbar is the common return path for all of the hot legs. As such, there is current flowing through neutral. If the various hot loads were balanced, effective current in neutral could be zero but, in practice, true balance is hard to maintain.

The grounding busbar is the earth protective ground, used to ensure that any fault within a device is shunted to ground, causing the protective device to trip. This prevents the case of the device from becoming hot and causing an electrocution hazard.

While neutral and ground are connected together at various points starting at the distribution panel and proceeding towards utility power, it is essential that no operational current flow on ground - it must flow on neutral. Any other condition represents a ground fault which must be corrected.

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14y ago
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12y ago

In house wiring any circuit requires two wires, the hot wire and the neutral wire. At one point the neutral wire is connected to earth ground (literally a copper rod driven into the ground).

The neutral wire was grounded as a safety measure. The thinking was, if someone touched an electrical appliance and at the same time touched some metal in the house, a kitchen faucet for example, they would not get a shock. In the past, those two wires were all that was used.

Unfortunately it turned out that in real life, relying on the grounded neutral wasn't really preventing dangerous shocks. As more and more things were turned on in the house (Lights, Radios, TVs, etc.), the neutral wire was really carrying current and so the voltage at the neutral wire was often above the earth ground. People were getting shocks if they touched something that was really grounded (Plumbing is always grounded because the incoming water pipe is buried in the ground) while handling electrical appliances (filling an electric kettle for example).

To alleviate this problem, the code was modified to add a third wire. This wire was also connected to earth ground. But because this wire does not carry current it will remain at true ground potential. This required a third connection at all outlets. This wire is called the "safety ground."

The electrical code specifies the safety ground is colored green for easy identification. The neutral wire must be white. That way anyone working with the wiring will be able to easily identify it. The hot wire is usually black or sometimes red.

So, to answer your question, the neutral busbar is where the neutral (white) wires are terminated and the earth busbar is where the (bare) safety ground wires are terminated. Both busbars are connected to earth ground at this point.

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Q: What is the difference between a neutral busbar and an earth busbar?
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What is voltage between earth and line?

In a typical residential situation there is 220 to 240 volts between the two hot wires that are typically red and black and 110 to 120 volts between neutral and either black or red. The voltage between neutral and earth should be zero.


What is ecc in electrical cabling?

This is the earth continuity conductor, which links the earth busbar in the consumer unit to the earth terminal provided by the supply company.


What to do when there is voltage at neutral?

Quality of the earth pit needs to be checked and enhanced. Check the continuity of the earth bus/ conductor, check for improper joints in the earth bus / conductor and correct it. Earth resistance will reduce and the voltage difference between neutral and earth will also reduce. Check also for the loose or floating neutral and correct it.


Voltage across Neutral and earth for a 3 phase auto transformer?

A grounded neutral will be at earth potential. A floating neutral will be at a voltage dependent upon the voltage imbalance between phases, and the design of the transformer.


Why voltage are not produce in netural wire?

First of all, by definition, 'voltage' is another word for 'potential difference', and a potential differenceexists between two different points. So a single conductor cannot experience a 'voltage' or 'potential difference'. Your question, therefore, should ask why a neutral conductor has no 'potential'. By general agreement, potentials are measured with respect to earth (ground), which is arbitrarily assumed to be at 0 volts.The answer is that a neutral conductor is earthed, or grounded, so theoretically its potential must be the same as earth -i.e. 0 volts. But, in practise, due to the resistance of the conductor that connects the neutral conductor to earth, the neutral conductor can often have a potential of several volts with respect to earth.

Related questions

What is bus bar and how it is connected to the genarator?

The term, 'bus', is derived from the word, 'omnibus', meaning to 'serve all', and that's exactly what a busbar does.A busbar is a length of conductor which offers a common point of connection for several circuits. For three-phase systems, one busbar is required for each of the three lines and (where necessary) for any neutral. A separate busbar is used to interconnect the various earth (ground) connections.In the case of a power station, one or more generators can be connected to the same busbar system, as are the various transformers supplying the circuits leaving the power station. Normally, each input/output circuit is connected to the busbar system, not directly, but through circuit breakers and isolators.


Why neutral have zero voltage?

Your question should read, 'Why does a neutral have zero potential?' 'Voltage' means 'potential difference', and you cannot have a potential difference at a single point. A neutral doesn't necessarily have zero potential although it is connected to earth (ground). This is because the potential of earth isn't literally zero; it's just considered to be zero, in the same way that sea level is considered to be zero in terms of height. Furthermore, there is often a voltage drop between the neutral and earth -in which case, the potential of the neutral can be several volts higher than the potential of earth.


Difference between Mars and earth?

what is the difference between earth amd mars besides that earth has life


What is voltage between earth and line?

In a typical residential situation there is 220 to 240 volts between the two hot wires that are typically red and black and 110 to 120 volts between neutral and either black or red. The voltage between neutral and earth should be zero.


What is ecc in electrical cabling?

This is the earth continuity conductor, which links the earth busbar in the consumer unit to the earth terminal provided by the supply company.


What is meant by neutral grounding reactor?

Neutral-earthing reactors or Neutral grounding reactors are connected between the neutral of a power system and earth to limit the line-to-earth current to a desired value under system earth fault conditions.


What to do when there is voltage at neutral?

Quality of the earth pit needs to be checked and enhanced. Check the continuity of the earth bus/ conductor, check for improper joints in the earth bus / conductor and correct it. Earth resistance will reduce and the voltage difference between neutral and earth will also reduce. Check also for the loose or floating neutral and correct it.


Can there be 230 volt potential drop in both neutral and live socket practically?

This question is not quite clear but I will try it somehow. The voltage drop between the live and neutral, and live and earth will both be 230v, but the voltage drop between the neutral and earth is almost zero due to the fact that the neutral and earth is basically one conductor split.


Why voltage at neutral in ckt is zero?

You really should be asking why the potential of neutral is zero. 'Voltage' means 'potential difference' which, by definition, cannot exist at at point. The reason is that the neutral conductor is earthed (grounded), and earth is, by general consent, considered to have a potential of zero volts. In practise, however, there is usually a small voltage drop between the neutral and earth, so it would be more accurate to say that the neutral's potential is close to zero.


Voltage across Neutral and earth for a 3 phase auto transformer?

A grounded neutral will be at earth potential. A floating neutral will be at a voltage dependent upon the voltage imbalance between phases, and the design of the transformer.


Why would you get half voltage between live and neutral?

You can measure a small voltage between earth and neutral, even if the neutral is grounded to earth, because the neutral conductor acts as an antenna picking up electromagnetic radiation in the atmosphere. -------------------------- If the above answer were true, the earth conductor would also act as an antenna. But the real answer is, if you read ANY voltage between the neutral and earth, the neutral is broken somewhere between where you are measuring and the panel or not properly bonded in the panel. Call a competent electrician to repair the problem.


What is potential between neutral and earth in a single phase generator?

It should be zero.