"arthuritis" wrote in message
ups.com...
I wish to ground my backyard solar shed, which will have a 130 watt
solar panel, 25 amp charge controller, two 12V-126amp hour deep-cycle
batteries in parallel, 1750 watt inverter, and AC distribution panel.
The system will have a nominal voltage of 12 volts.


The 12V portion of the system does not require a safety ground as this
voltage is considered non lethal. It is advised to use one for the primary
reason of lightning protection and or unintentional connection to the 120V
side of the system.

There are strandard practices used by PV folks. Do some more research
before settling on a solution. The manuals of each piece of equipment
should have had something on the subject.


First, do all of the metal devices I've mentioned above need to be
grounded separately to a single grounding point, or can a grounding
wire simply "daisy-chain" all the devices, and then terminate in a
single spot? This sounds like a stupid question even to me, but I just
need to know.

Second, once a single grounding point is reached, what is the best
diameter of copper grounding wire to use as a grounding conductor from
that point to the grounding electrode in the earth? And, must the
conducting wire be solid, or can it be stranded?

Thirdly, is there a requirement for the distance that the grounding
electrode must be away from the shed before I bury it?

Lastly, if I am only able to get the grounding electrode part way into
the earth, say 4 feet, can I put another grounding electrode 4 feet in
the ground some distance from the first one? If so, how far do I need
to separate the two grounding electrodes? Or, am I jst pipe-dreaming?


Multiple Grounding electrodes and uthe use of a UFER (rebar in your
foundation) as a ground are all covered in NEC. Get a copy of Code Check
electrical (or another book) if you are doing any substantial wiring job and
want to be familiar with the principals and rules for safe wiring.







Thanks,
Lou Dalessandro