[sdiy] ESD grounding in USA

[Seb Francis]

  On 18/10/2010 22:24, Dave Magnuson wrote:
>
>
> I agree that the "ground" in US wiring is not consistent/good but...
> water pipes aren't a great ground anymore, either.     Anyone with a well has plastic piping into the house.     Many cities are now using PEX tubing to connect from the water main to the building.... so many times the metal pipe in your building never actually reaches the earth anymore.
>
> There always used to be a copper (or lead!)  pipe back to the main in the street, but that's not always the case anymore.   Many times it's plastic until after it penetrates the foundation or slab
>
> The ol' copper ground rod is the only thing you can really rely on IMHO.
>

In the UK all metal piping is tied to the mains ground at the point where the pipes and mains come into the house, and also additional bonding straps are required in bathrooms, etc.  I'm sure this must also be the case in the US, otherwise you have a risk when mains wiring runs next to metal piping that the plumbing could become live.

Seb