Why Neutrals & Grounds are Connected in a Main Panel

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Grounding/Earthing is one of the most confused topic also among professionals and I being an electrical engineer have not found such an easy and clear explanation of it in last 10years of my research about this topic. Thanks for this good work Ben and please spread the rare knowledge which you possess. Thanks a lot.

Ben in addition to being technically excellent, you are also a very talented teacher. Your pacing, selection of instructional points, and language skills are in a different league! Also, the moment where you invite people to correct you was very humble and touching. Good job!

Some folks just don't understand how to teach a subject such as electricity flow. You are a very good teacher & explain the things that others leave out, because they don't have much intuition when it comes to the thought process of the student. Thank you for making your videos the way you do!

As an industrial designer who worked at two major lighting manufacturers (and Klein Tools) I have run into countless engineering coworkers who refused to provide a sketch in creative meetings or after some private time in their own space. If it ain’t done on a computer I guess it is not real. Kudos, Ben, for proving that one should not let perfection (in visual illustrations) get in the way of progress. Sure your drawings are a bit rough but they are more than adequate along with your exceptional dialog to explain what has been for too many an elusive topic. May the 2022 NEC deities smile down upon you and your work.

Have been struggling to understand this for about a year, reading books, watching videos, FINALLY! You are a great teacher. Thank you.

At last someone knows how to perfectly explain this very confusing topic. Bro you are awesome, you are an expert. I am extremelly surprised u way u easily explianed this bro.

Nice lesson Benjamin! About those "stray" or "leakage" currents. Those currents are caused by inductive or capacitive coupling. Those are both "non-galvanic" meaning there is no metallic connection. They can be confusing because they don't need frayed or broken wires to cause official ground faults. A capacitor is two plates separated by an insulator. Alternating current passes thru capacitors depending on the capacitor plate area, frequency of the alternating current, and distance between the plates. If you were to take a capacitor and connect it between a Hot and, say, an unbonded/ungrounded enclosure the enclosure would become live. It would not be at the same level as a metallic wire contacting the enclosure but could easily still be fatal or cause an accident due to uncontrolled body motion. Sources for leakage current are any products that have lots of conductive metal near other metal that is ultimately fastened to touchable metal or enclosures. The most common found around homes are motors. In a motor you have thousands of wire wraps close laid on metal in the stator. So many wires add up to many square inches or even square feet of pseudo capacitor plate between the windings and ultimately the metal structure. Hence current is conducted via that capacitance to the chassis. Having that chassis/framework/enclosure grounded gives that current a return path and sets that metal to "ground potential".

Ben has a good understanding of residential wiring. Not always the technical terms are used but close enough. Good job, Ben. Retired Utility Co. protection and control engineer.

Great explanation! As Einstein said, "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."

Ben is a true guru. I'm blown away by the detail and thoroughness of this video and all his electrical videos. Masterful.

I really appreciate this very clear explanation on bonding/grounding. Been working with electric for 40+years and didn’t have this clear of an understanding until your video. Thank you very much!

Until the white, black, red and green wires realize they are all copper on the inside, only then will they all truly connect.

I love this, you really bring things together! When I was young (70s) I often got shocked through my body when grabbing the door handle of the old fridge in my unfinished basement especially with no shoes. My family never believed me because I couldn't repeat it when I tried. Now I've become the electricity expert in the family (and the least sensitive to shock)

Used to be a Navy electrician and it was fun tracking down fault lights. Every panel we had had three fault lights that when we press the N/O button it would light the leg that had it. Then it was just turning off/on those connected breakers to see when the light wasn't illuminated. Great video. Thanks

WOW - I thought 20 minutes would be too long, but you did such a fantastic job of explaining this!

This is a brilliant explanation! I studied electricity/magnetism at the college level pursuing my BA in Math. I have done wiring for over fifty years, but never completely understood the role of the neutral and ground systems even though I've carefully done it correctly. I always thought the neutral/ground was a redundant ground. Now that I know the neutral is a center tap of the secondary of a transformer, it makes perfect sense. Thank you so much! Henrik Hansen, DDS

Doing a total remodel of a 40 year old house, total upgrade and increasing from 200A to 320A, splitting the service at the meter equally to the house and the garage with to external switches. After seeking understanding and advice from industrial electrician associates of mine at work, and still being quite confused, your videos have helped me tremendously in understanding the principals for why this system is wired, grounded and bonded the way that is correct. Thanks a million for your service to the greater DIY public who seek understanding in order to perform home projects properly and also safely and to code. Well done!!

Great job, Ben. I once asked a friend who is a master electrician the question of why grounds and neutrals are connected in the breaker box. He talked for 5 minutes, but said nothing. Now I get it (kind of)! Thanks! Cheers!

Ben, I am 58 years old and I have always regretted not sticking in the electrical field when I used to do grunt work down in Arizona. I have always wondered about this neutral and hot question and you have answered it for me and I did go ahead and subscribe to your channel and like the video. Thank you so very much!