PEX Plumbing Part 2, Electrical Grounding and PEX Plumbing Systems
If you are installing or have installed a PEX plumbing system you need to be very sure that you still have a solid ground for your electrical system. This is VERY IMPORTANT! Please also keep in mind while you are reading this that you need to check your local electrical code requirements for specifics to your area. If in doubt, check with your local city or town building department.
All electrical systems should have a main copper ground attached to the electrical panel that runs to a ground rod on the outside of the home. These ground rods are usually required to be 8′ long vertically into the ground. Newer homes and upgraded installations should also have a secondary grounding system that uses a copper line attached into the plumbing system. Usual requirements are for this connection to be made within 6 feet of where the plumbing enters the home. This secondary grounding can also be required for Jacuzzi and whirlpool tub installations. Many older homes did not employ the use of this unbroken panel to plumbing connection. If you have installed a PEX plumbing system you most likely have now BROKEN the secondary ground system. If by chance you are in a much older residence without an upgraded electrical system you may not have any grounding system at all because many older systems did not employ the use of a main ground rod. Case in point: My home, built in 1954, with an upgraded electrical panel in 1996, did not have either. My outside ground rod was a short piece of re-bar with a copper line to the panel. My plumbing ground was a series of connections from the water main through various galvanized connections to the panel. NOT GOOD.
A plumbing grounding system works by using the galvanized or copper lines in the home to conduct back to ground through the main water line into your home. By installing a non-metallic plumbing system this “conductor” has been broken. The quickest fix for this is to have an “unbroken” copper ground line, of the required size, attached to the metal plumbing line right where it enters your home, before your water meter, going directly to your electrical panel. Again this is required in the code for most newer applications.
You should also have a ground rod installed outside of your home if it does not already exist. Please note that TWO grounds rods are mandatory in most areas if your incoming, (outside your home) water lines are non-metallic. This may be found in many newer well systems.
The point of this guide is not to teach you about electricity or plumbing but to give you a “heads up” for awareness of the interaction of your plumbing and electrical grounding system. I have a 750 page National Electrical Code book and can not even begin to explain all the various rules and exceptions listed. Your best and safest course of action is to check with an electrician and/or your local building department to be sure your electrical system is still safe and up to code when installing a PEX plumbing system.
Also if you are an electrician or plumber and have more information that I can add to this please contact me. The more information, the safer the consumer!
