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From: collinge@uvicctr.UUCP (Doug Collinge)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Subject: Re: Neutral-Ground Shorts
Message-ID: <260@uvicctr.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 24-Jun-87 00:14:46 EDT
Article-I.D.: uvicctr.260
Posted: Wed Jun 24 00:14:46 1987
Date-Received: Fri, 26-Jun-87 03:20:15 EDT
References: <820@sdcc12.ucsd.EDU> <583@inuxh.UUCP> <467@rlvd.UUCP> <258@uvicctr.UUCP> <753@unccvax.UUCP>
Reply-To: collinge@uvicctr.UUCP (Doug Collinge)
Organization: University of Victoria, Victoria B.C. Canada
Lines: 26

In article <753@unccvax.UUCP> dsi@unccvax.UUCP (DataSpan R+D) writes:
>In article <258@uvicctr.UUCP>, collinge@uvicctr.UUCP (Doug Collinge) writes:
>> What I have wanted to know for years is,  why is residential service
>> referred to ground at all?
> If the distribution system in the home
>were left in an essentially floating, balanced line condition, the danger
>of electrocution due to leakage from L1-L2 to a cold water pipe (say, the
>poorly designed toaster in the kitchen) would be minimized.  The danger 
>from fire due to extremely high voltage transients would not be minimized.
>It is much easier to insulate 240 VAC than a few million volts of very
>high current pulses from a dwelling and its occupants.

OK, I get your drift - but telephone companies run floating lines into
houses and solve the lightning problem with surge arrestors.  Why can't
the power company put surge arrestors in the transformers and/or in the
house?

Yes, and Ground Fault Interruptors are wonderful, of course.
-- 
		Doug Collinge
		School of Music, University of Victoria,
		PO Box 1700, Victoria, B.C.,
		Canada,  V8W 2Y2  
		collinge@uvunix.BITNET
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