Connecting Solar System Ground To House's Ground Rods?

[radareclipse]

Tagged for later.

[pellets4fuel]

Hi,
So I read through quite a bit of this thread, (though I admit not all) I am trying to determine if I need to run 3 wires from my solar panel combiner box at the array to the house, or just two. From what I am gathering in the earlier part of the thread is that it needs to be 3. Later it gets a little confusing. Especially when the topic of electric fencing, towers, etc all get brought up. I have electric fencing. I also am putting up a tilt up wind generator tower with guide cables 4 ways. It is a 3phase AC axial flux unit. I was told to ground the tower at the base, and bond each set of guide cables together to 4 separate ground rods at the cables anchor points. My solar is going to be near my tower area as well. The location of the tower and array are 400plus feet from the house. So 3 wires (one for bonded ground) or just two that 400plus feet? If I do need the bonded ground wire that can be smaller can't it, and just be a bare wire in the same conduit with the two PV panel wires? On a different note can the wires from combiner box to house through plastic conduit be THHN, or is USE-2 wire required?
David

[Sunking]

II'll tell them that is what is needed. Thanks for the suggestion. I think you talked about this in the QRZ.COM articles, it sounds familiar.

Yes Sir. By code it works, just not best practice to run in PVC. The more copper in contact with dirt, the lower the impedance.

[gvl]

Yes using a water Auger.

Won't work, there is about 25 feet of concrete I need to go under with some pool piping in the way, plus I still need to cut just to get under it. Can I just run armored bonding wire along the house wall and not below ground?

[SunEagle]

I wouldn't use EMT, but what's wrong with PVC?

Nothing wrong as long as you use a dedicated and properly sized ground wire.

What Sunking was referring to was that if the conduit installed underground was rigid galvanized steel conduit then you are allowed to use "it" as the ground path instead of the ground wire.

[Mike90250]

....Thanks, interesting info. No, at least not without breaking of some concrete at one of the rods.

Won't be a good ground. For a rebar to be a good ground, it's got to be a 20' length, no way to know poking around if it's a long piece, or a short stub, that won't perform.

[sdold]

You ran the bonding wire in PVC? Is it bare or insulated?

It's bare, and runs alongside the coax in the same PVC conduit. It was done that way years ago by whoever sold DOT the systems. These are highway advisory radios.

If bare get it out and run in dirt. You want bare to shunt off lightning current to earth as much as possible. Not to mention it could get warm enough to damage coax. Doubt it but possible.

I'll tell them that is what is needed. Thanks for the suggestion. I think you talked about this in the QRZ.COM articles, it sounds familiar.

[Sunking]

It's run in the PVC now, should we take it out and run it in dirt instead? Or do you mean just for new installs?

You ran the bonding wire in PVC? Is it bare or insulated?

If bare get it out and run in dirt. You want bare to shunt off lightning current to earth as much as possible. Not to mention it could get warm enough to damage coax. Doubt it but possible.

[Sunking]

EDIT: or did you mean go under concrete to pull a bonding wire?

Yes using a water Auger.

[sdold]

Polly Vinyl Chloride is plastic not metallic. You can use it, but not as a bonding conductor or electrode. Just don't run the bonding conductor inside PVC, run it in dirt.

It's run in the PVC now, should we take it out and run it in dirt instead? Or do you mean just for new installs?

[gvl]

Do you know how to use a Water Auger?

Probably. Can be tricky to find rebar in the concrete I imagine. Wouldn't I need to tie both sides to the rebar that is electrically connected as in metal to metal?

EDIT: or did you mean go under concrete to pull a bonding wire?

[Sunking]

A few days ago I went to home depot and bought one of those water jet nozzles for the garden hose, the kind that's sort of a poor-man's pressure washer. I put it on the end of a 1/2" PVC pipe with the appropriate fittings. It bored a 1" hole under my 36" sidewalk in about two minutes, I couldn't believe how well it worked. I could have gone under my whole driveway if I had enough pipe.

That is a Water Auger. Works great so long as you do not encounter rocks or roots.

[sdold]

Do you know how to use a Water Auger?

A few days ago I went to home depot and bought one of those water jet nozzles for the garden hose, the kind that's sort of a poor-man's pressure washer. I put it on the end of a 1/2" PVC pipe with the appropriate fittings. It bored a 1" hole under my 36" sidewalk in about two minutes, I couldn't believe how well it worked. I could have gone under my whole driveway if I had enough pipe.

[Sunking]

I wouldn't use EMT, but what's wrong with PVC?

Polly Vinyl Chloride is plastic not metallic. You can use it, but not as a bonding conductor or electrode. Just don't run the bonding conductor inside PVC, run it in dirt.

[Sunking]

Thanks, interesting info. No, at least not without breaking of some concrete at one of the rods.

Do you know how to use a Water Auger?