Color Books

Mark Halpin

The IEEE Green Book

T his column is devoted to a discussion of

the IEEE Green Book. Officially, the
IEEE Green Book is IEEE Standard 142, Rec-
fundamental principles to specific work situ-
ations and applications.
The IEEE Green Book addresses many dif-
ommended Practice for Grounding of Industrial and ferent aspects of grounding.
Commercial Power Systems, and it was last re- The system grounding
vised in 1991. At this time, the IEEE Green section includes informa-
Book is completing a revision under the lead- tion on grounded versus
ungrounded systems (how
ership of Lynn Saunders (lynn.saunders
to ground the system), the
@ieee.org). If you would like to participate in different methods of sys-
the development of the next revision, contact tem grounding (where to
Chairperson Saunders or, better yet, attend ei- ground the system), and
ther the IEEE IAS Industrial and Commercial the design aspects of sys-
Power Systems Conference or the IEEE IAS tem grounding (selecting
Annual Meeting and get involved and partici- the equipment). For ex-
pate in person. (Both meetings are listed in our ample, it identifies some
2001 Conference Calendar here in the maga- pr obl e m s of s ys t e m
zine and at the website www.ieee.org/ias.) grounding, which include
The grounding of electrical systems is vital connection to ground of neutral (through
to the efficient and effective operation of in- solid, resistance, reactance, or ground-fault-
dustrial and commercial power systems, espe- neutralizer grounding), of the corner of the
cially in today’s environment. That is why delta, or of the midtap of one phase. It even
electrical engineers charged with planning or includes specific information on industrial
modifying electrical distribution systems need generator grounding and UPS grounding.
the most current and reliable information on This is very informative for the electrical en-
grounding. This information can be found in gineer who is either experiencing problems or
the IEEE Green Book. The IEEE Green Book designing a new system.
is an essential source for providing up-to-date In the equipment protection section of the
recommended practices and information used IEEE Green Book, connecting the frames and
throughout industry for the grounding of in- enclosures of electrical equipment (motors,
dustrial and commercial power systems. switchgear, transformers, buses, cable con-
The IEEE Green Book reviews practices duits, portable equipment, building frames,
and methods of system grounding in detail. etc.) to the ground system is addressed. The
With all of the sensitive electronic equip- fundamentals of making the interconnection
ment in both industrial and commercial envi- between the electrical equipment and ground
ronments, proper grounding is vital to the rods, water pipes, etc., are outlined. Grounding
reliability of the system. A thorough investi- information for both indoor and outdoor fa-
gation of grounding problems and methods cilities, such as substations and switching fa-
for solving these problems are presented in cilities, is also included.
this book. It is divided into chapters dealing The book also addresses problems relating
specifically with system grounding, equip- to static electricity and lightning. The causes,
ment grounding, static and lightning protec- measurement, and detection of static electric-
tion grounding, connection to earth, and ity are explained along with methods of static
sensitive electronic equipment grounding. control. The main purpose is to recognize the
This broad coverage provides electrical engi- conditions for problems associated with static
neers worldwide with the basis for applying charge and attempt to control it with static

IEEE Industry Applications Magazine ■ March/April 2001 9

 grounding. Lightning is another problem (with most attention on computers), includ-
that electrical engineers cannot control, but ing grounding with noise control. Again,
with good lightning protection, many prob- good grounding is the key to successful op-
lems associated with lightning (overvoltages, eration of all the sensitive electronic equip-
momentary outages, etc.) can be minimized ment in the system. Additionally, some
or prevented. The IEEE Green Book defines actual case histories are given at the end of
some requirements for good lightning pro- this chapter.
tection and suggests certain equipment and From this brief outline, it is apparent
structures that should have this protection. that no other publication contains so
The connection to earth is another focus of much useful, authoritative information on
the book. The actual connection to earth in- grounding as the IEEE Green Book. I en-
cludes the resistance to earth (dealing with courage anyone interested to contact Lynn
different soil resistivities), the various types Saunders ([email protected]) or attend
of ground electrodes, the actual method of one of the IEEE Industrial and Commercial
construction, and the actual measurements of Power Systems Department’s technical con-
resistance to earth (including periodic testing ferences (or the IEEE IAS Annual Meeting)
and cathodic protection). where development of the IEEE Green Book
Finally, an entire chapter is devoted to takes place. Your questions, comments, and
dealing with sensitive electronic equipment contributions are always welcome. IAS

Product Info - www.ieee.org/

magazines/DirectAccess

Product Info - www.ieee.org/magazines/DirectAccess

10 IEEE Industry Applications Magazine ■ March/April 2001