Does a subpanel in a detached building need a ground rod?

A detached building with a subpanel needs its own ground rod, regardless of if there are three wires or four wires feeding it. The earth is a very poor conductor.

Does a subpanel need a separate ground?





The biggest difference between a subpanel and a main panel is that the ground and neutral buses on a subpanel have to be separated. Most panels come with a bar joining the two, which is easily removed. Code requires subpanels to have a ground connection that’s independent of the main panel’s.

Does a sub panel need to be bonded?

Rule #3: In a subpanel, the terminal bar for the equipment ground (commonly known as a ground bus) should be bonded (electrically connected) to the enclosure. The reason for this rule is to provide a path to the service panel and the transformer in case of a ground fault to the subpanel enclosure.

Should ground and neutral be bonded in sub panel?

Here it is: Your ground and neutral wires definitely need to bond (or connect) together. But this is ONLY allowed in the main panel— never a subpanel, or anywhere else in the home.

Does a subpanel in an attached garage need a ground rod?

Yes, any sub panel outside of the main building requires it’s own ground rod and a ground wire back to the main building.

Does a detached garage need a separate ground rod?





Yes, you need a grounding electrode (ground rod) local to the detached building.

Can ground and neutral be on same bus bar on a sub-panel?

The answer is never. Grounds and neutrals should only be connected at the last point of disconnect. This would be at main panels only.

How do you ground a garage subpanel?

Pull 4 conductors (2 ungrounded (hot), 1 grounded (neutral), 1 grounding) (250.32(B)(1)). Grounded (neutral) and grounding bus must be separate at sub-panel (250.32(B)(1)).



  1. 2 ground rods minumum 6′ apart unless you already got another type of electrode out there. …
  2. There’s a long list of acceptable grounding electrodes.

How do you wire a subpanel to a separate building?

Connect the bare wire to the ground strip in the subpanel. Strip back the white wire and connect it to the neutral bus strip. Connect the red and black wires to the two screws on the hot bus strip of the subpanel. Tighten all the screws to hold the wires in place, then attach the subpanel cover.

Does a secondary electrical panel need to be grounded?



Answer: No. You’d need at least one grounding electrode, or ground rod, for every sub-panel in a detached building. Whether you need two or not is determined by the soil and local regulations. So, check your local code requirements.

Can I tie the neutral and ground together?

No, the neutral and ground should never be wired together. This is wrong, and potentially dangerous. When you plug in something in the outlet, the neutral will be live, as it closes the circuit. If the ground is wired to the neutral, the ground of the applicance will also be live.

Do you use a bonding screw on a subpanel?

Quote from the video:
Quote from Youtube video: But in this case. The bonding screw is that green headed screw right there. So that screw just simply threads through the neutral bus.

Does a pool subpanel need a ground rod?



Jimrahbe. CT, Most residential pool sub-panels do not use a separate ground rod. The equipment pad is considered part of the main house assuming that is where the power is coming from.

Why are grounds and neutrals bonded?

The reason we sometimes bond the neutral and ground wire in the main panel is for cost savings. There is no electrical engineering advantage in this bond; it is there because it is often cheaper to install a jumper wire than it is to route a ground wire all the way from the transformer to the panel.

When should I bond my electrical panel?

Quote from the video:
Quote from Youtube video: Now why do we bond electrical systems to neutral. And ground first of all we need a way to clear a fault if there is a fault condition.

What is the difference between grounding and bonding?

Bonding is the connection of non-current-carrying conductive elements like enclosures and structures. Grounding is the attachment of bonded systems to the earth. Both are necessary to safeguard people and property from electric hazards.

Why do neutral and ground need to be separated?



With ground and neutral bonded, current can travel on both ground and neutral back to the main panel. If the load becomes unbalanced and ground and neutral are bonded, the current will flow through anything bonded to the sub-panel (enclosure, ground wire, piping, etc.) and back to the main panel. Obvious shock hazard!

How do you ground a 200 amp service panel?

Quote from the video:
Quote from Youtube video: In order to get 25 ohms resistance you have to have two ground rods a minimum of 6 feet away and that's what we're accomplishing with the number 4 solid wire based on the amperage of the panel.

Do you need two ground rods for 200 amp service?

The ground wire, often referred to as the grounding electrode conductor, is the link between the ground rod and the service ground connection. Ground wires for residences typically are made of copper and are #6 (6 AWG) or larger. for 200 Amp services, a #4 grounding electrode conductor (ground wire) is required.

How far can ground rod be from panel?

NEC Article 250 does not specify a minimum or maximum distance between the main electrical panel and the ground rod. Because the panel must be connected to the ground rod by a buried copper wire, however, best practices suggest that the shorter the distance to the ground rod, the more efficient the ground.