What Is a Ground Wire? Why Is a Ground wire Important?

Most people who are familiar with the term “ground wire” know you're supposed to have them installed in outlets around your home. Do you know what ground wires do? This is extremely important regarding your household's electrical safety.

What Does a Ground Wire Do?

Ground wires are electrical wires that extend into the ground below your home. Electrical code requirements making ground wiring standards were introduced during the 1960s, so most modern homes have grounded outlets and electrical panels throughout. 

Ground wires give the excess electrical charges a safe place to go. The ground below our feet has a negative electrical charge, which means positive electrical charges are naturally attracted to it. A ground wire helps positive charges get to the ground in a safe, direct and controlled way, where they're discharged avoiding any risk of electric shock or fire.

Ground Wire can act as a Shock Absorber

Excess electrical charges are in everyone's as they’re the reason we safeguard our electronics with surge protectors. This means they include surges from things like lightning strikes and transformer malfunctions. But they also tend to occur several times per day, whenever large appliances startup; if you’ve ever noticed your lights briefly flickering when your air conditioner kicks on, that’s due to a minor surge of excess electricity.

With a properly grounded electrical system, excess electricity goes directly into the ground. However, when electrical outlets aren’t grounded, the surge could go in a number of dangerous ways. The most dangerous way is if the electricity finds a path to the ground through a human body. This can happen if you touch an ungrounded plug or outlet at the wrong moment -- the electricity can travel between the part of your body touching the outlet and your feet on the floor, causing burns, nerve damage and even death, if the surge is powerful enough.

When a surge of electricity finds a path through your home, it can cause a fire. And there’s always the chance that the electricity will flow directly into appliances and electronics that are plugged into ungrounded outlets, which can damage them.

Look at your outlets in your home

There’s an easy way to check your outlets to see if they’re grounded or not. Grounded outlets have three slots, while ungrounded outlets only have two. The rounded, D-shaped slot is the one connected to the ground wire.

Newer more modern homes typically have a properly grounded system. In homes built in the early 1960s or earlier, there could be a combination of grounded and ungrounded outlets, depending on the electrical upgrades made over the years. Any DIY or substandard electrical work performed over the years could also mean there are weaknesses in your ground wire network.

The best way to know for sure is to schedule an electrical safety inspection with your local electrician, Premier Electric & Design.

In the event you have any outlets that aren't grounded, our electricians can help you upgrade them as well.