| Beachcomber 2006-04-15, 3:21 pm |
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>Still wouldn't matter. The NEC could include any requirement they wanted
>and it wouldn't matter. Electric Utilities are held to the NESC, not the
>NEC. Two completely different codes.
>
>Charles Perry P.E.
>
>
One of the reasons I posted these two articles is that, in my
research, I found it fascinating that there could be so much strong
emotions amongst professional engineers in the arguements for and
against ungrounded vs. grounded distribution systems.
Apparently, in the US at least, the split also goes along with the two
regulatory bodies NEC and NESC, that you describe and more roughly,
splits the interests of utilities vs. the safety and well-being of
homeowners and farmers.
My concern is with the reinforcement and codification of bad policy.
For example, as one of the papers pointed out, NEC standards for RV
vehicles were apparently just plain wrong in the 1950's when the
neutral was allowed to served as ground and people were electrocuted
just by touching the metal frame of their RV and standing on damp
ground.
Apparently there were similar problems extended to marinas, which have
their own unique problems with grounding issues. It took years of
study before the regulations "made it right" with a safer insulation
and a fully grounded system. In the meantime, how many unnecessary
electrocution deaths occured to swimmers in all those early years when
inferior and lax regulations were in place?
Beachcomber
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