If in your old house the electrical network consists of 2 wires (there is only a working zero and a phase), it is imperative to organize a grounding system. Don't know what it is for? The main purpose of the system is to drain hazardous potential to earth in the event of an insulation fault. In other words, if the electrical wiring is damaged, you will not be shocked by the body of a powerful electrical appliance (for example, a connected washing machine). Read on to learn how to make grounding in a private house with your own hands!
Importance of the question
If you are wondering whether it is necessary to do grounding in your country house or cottage, then we immediately say that you cannot do without a protective circuit. Even according to the norms of PUE, SNiP and GOST, it is required to make a special branch that will protect you from. The organization of the TN-S system (its correct name) in the 220 and 380 Volt network must be carried out even during construction, because then it is more costly to do it (it will be necessary to change the two-core cable to a three- or five-core cable throughout the house).
If you bought a country house in which the system is not connected, you must first of all make its connection yourself. In addition, the installation is quick and does not require any special calculations. In addition, it is desirable to also make lightning protection, but this is no longer included in the requirements. We talked about that in a separate article.
Circuit device
The protective grounding circuit consists of an external and internal subsystem. Two routes are combined in a switchboard, which must be installed indoors. The street part consists of electrodes dug into the soil, connected by metal plates. A metal bus is removed from this structure, which fits to the main shield.
As for the internal protection device, it consists of many individual conductors coming from the housings of powerful electrical appliances. All contacts are connected to a bus, which is located inside the shield (in the photo you can see the grounding device in a private house). 
The plate and the bus are connected with a copper cable of a suitable cross-section. Moreover, the cable is attached to the metal using a bolted connection. As you can see, no super-complex engineering solutions are used here, so you can do everything on your own, without even having work experience. Next, we will provide for your attention a description of how to arrange grounding in your home step by step.
We develop a scheme
The first step is to decide on the grounding scheme in a private house, according to which you will need to make the entire system.
Today, two schemes are popular:
We recommend that you make grounding in a private house according to the triangle scheme, because in fact, the installation work will not change (you still have to dig three holes and drive in three pins), but the efficiency will be several times higher than with an in-line scheme. We talked about in more detail in a separate article!
In addition to the above provided grounding schemes in a private house, you can make your own version. For example, fill the corners with a rectangle or an oval. For example, we recommend that you print the four most popular options:
We prepare tools and materials
As for the tools for installing grounding in a country house (for example, in the country), you will need:
- a welding machine (its presence is required, since the connection of plates and fittings without welding will not create high-quality contact, especially under the soil);
- grinder (cut metal into suitable pieces);
- bayonet shovel;
- puncher;
- a sledgehammer (the heavier, the better, because you will have to drive the pins 2 meters deep);
- a set of wrenches (tighten the bolt).
Of the materials you should use:
- Metal corner made of stainless steel with dimensions 50 * 50 mm, at least 2 meters long. An alternative option is a steel water pipe with a diameter of 32 mm, a wall thickness of at least 3.5 mm, or fittings. You can also use a rectangular profile, the main thing is that its cross-sectional area does not exceed 150 mm 2.
- Three strips of metal 120 cm long, 4 cm wide and at least 4 mm thick.
- A metal strip made of stainless steel 40 * 4 mm, having a length from the location of the system to the porch of the house.
- Bolt M8 or M10.
- Copper wire, for example, with a thickness of at least 6 mm 2 (depending on which section is accepted for the phase conductor).
Having prepared everything you need, you can proceed to the manufacture of grounding in a private house.
Installation work
Step 1 - choosing a location
First, you need to decide where to make the ground loop. The importance of this stage is very high, because the safety of using the system depends on the choice of the grounding site at the summer cottage. If a breakdown of the electrical wiring occurs, as a result of which the protection will work, then there should be no one in the place where the pins are located. The presence of a person or animal at the site of the drainage of electricity into the soil can be fatal. That is why the location of the electrodes is chosen taking into account the fact that no one will be here. It is best to place the branch along the fence behind the house, at a distance of no more than 1 meter from the foundation of the building. Additionally, it is recommended to make a low fence or curb to fence off the unsafe area.
If you do not want to spoil the landscape design of the site, we recommend organizing a grounding system for a residential building under boulders or some voluminous garden sculpture. In this case, no one can be in the danger zone and nothing will harm the beauty of the backyard!
Step 2 - earthwork
For example, consider how to correctly make grounding in a private house with a triangle according to the scheme that we considered above. At this stage, it is necessary to dig a triangle with sides of 1.2 meters with a shovel (the most optimal distance between the corners). The depth of the trench should be between 50 and 70 cm. The same trench should be dug to the porch of the house.