non-US GFI requirements[RE-wrenches]

[Jeff Yago]

For several years I have had engineering projects in Japan, Germany, Italy, Sicily, and Spain, and I quickly noticed how most appliances were 2-wire 230 volts or higher, and nobody was getting killed even though there were no ground wires,even on washing machines. I am not saying we should get rid of the NEC and grouding requirements, I just wanted to know how their systems worked. One day I noticed a meter technician outside an institutional facility where I was working and this was a big deal since most electric meters were inside locked boxes with no public access. 

I asked him why there was no GFI outlets in any homes and he said the entire service was GFI protected. He then opened the box and there was the biggest GFI I ever saw on the 2 power wires of the service entrance. The obvious advantage is every circuit is protected, but the down side is any ground fault will take down all circuits and that means you may be standing in the dark after a ground fault is detected.  Yes, this arrangement has its advantages, but I still was nervous when standing on a wet concrete floor touching the high voltage, un-grounded washing machine!

Jeff Yago

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Netscape.  Just the Net You Need.


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