Grounding Panel

The electrical current in your home’s wiring system consists of a flow of electrons within metal circuit wires. The current comes in two forms, a negative and a positive charge, and this charged electrical field is created by huge generators operated by the utility company, sometimes many hundreds of miles away. It is this polarized charge than effectively constitutes the flow of electrical current and it arrives at your home through a vast network of high-tension service wires, substations, and transformers that blanket the landscape.

The negative half of the charge is the “hot” current. In your home’s wiring system, the hot current is normally carried by black wires, while the neutral wires, which are white, carry the positive charge. Both sets of wires enter your home through the utility’s main service wires, run through your electrical service panel, and run side-by-side through every circuit in your home.

The physics of electrical flow are more complicated than most simple explanations can convey, but essentially, electricity seeks to return its electrons to “ground”—that is, to discharge its negative energy and return to equilibrium. Normally, the current returns to ground through the neutral wires in the electrical system. But should some breakdown of the pathway occur, the hot current may instead flow through other materials, such as wood framing, metal pipes, or flammable materials in your home. This is what may happen in a short circuit situation, where most electrical fires and shocks originate.1 A short circuit is when electricity strays outside the wires it is supposed to flow through—in other words, when it takes a shorter path to ground.