dementeddigital
Active Member
So the recent topics regarding lightning and surge protection got me thinking about my HAI install. I live just south of Tampa, which has the highest incidence of lightning in the US.
On my last HAI install, I ran a new AC drop directly from my breaker panel to the closet, and I used the ground lead in the AC wire to Earth the OPII panel. I used an Elk transformer, and just connected the panel ground to the ground lead on the transformer. It ran (and is still running today) for years without a single hiccup due to lightning. I'm thinking of doing the same thing again. Is this reasonable? The OP installation manual says to use a cold water pipe or a 4-foot ground rod, but I see issues with those ideas. I don't see a ground on the water main, and both the water main and house AC ground rod are about 40ft. away from where I'd like to install the panel. Using a ground going to the panel seems more safe to me, in the event that there is a strike and there is current flowing in the ground. (Everything in the house would experience the same offset, so there shouldn't be current flow between them.) I'd install the OPII next to the breaker panel, but that's in my garage which gets painfully hot in the summer.
Also, I'm using shielded wire for the various zones, and I'm thinking about connecting the shields together and to this same ground at the panel. Is this the strategy people generally use for shielded wires for the various zones? Is there a cleaner way to connect them all, other than using a terminal block inside the panel enclosure for the drain wires?
On my last HAI install, I ran a new AC drop directly from my breaker panel to the closet, and I used the ground lead in the AC wire to Earth the OPII panel. I used an Elk transformer, and just connected the panel ground to the ground lead on the transformer. It ran (and is still running today) for years without a single hiccup due to lightning. I'm thinking of doing the same thing again. Is this reasonable? The OP installation manual says to use a cold water pipe or a 4-foot ground rod, but I see issues with those ideas. I don't see a ground on the water main, and both the water main and house AC ground rod are about 40ft. away from where I'd like to install the panel. Using a ground going to the panel seems more safe to me, in the event that there is a strike and there is current flowing in the ground. (Everything in the house would experience the same offset, so there shouldn't be current flow between them.) I'd install the OPII next to the breaker panel, but that's in my garage which gets painfully hot in the summer.
Also, I'm using shielded wire for the various zones, and I'm thinking about connecting the shields together and to this same ground at the panel. Is this the strategy people generally use for shielded wires for the various zones? Is there a cleaner way to connect them all, other than using a terminal block inside the panel enclosure for the drain wires?