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    Grounding Your Electrical System in Raleigh, NC

    Proper grounding is one of the most important parts of your electrical system. The ground wire is an additional path for electrical current to return safely to the ground without danger to anyone during a short circuit. Without a ground present, metal appliances or objects have the potential to carry electrical current allowing whoever touches them to be at risk for an electrical shock. A properly grounded system is not only for safety but also helps reduce the amount of electrical noise certain electronics, motors, or appliances cause on your electrical system which is a major cause of hum or interference on audio or video equipment. In our area, the most common type of grounding is by ground rods or grounding electrodes. It is now recommended that you install two ground rods to achieve your correct grounding potential.

    Dawson's Electric is here to make sure you have a properly grounded electrical system. We will check your main grounding system as part of our panel safety and ground inspection that we perform on every service call. Please give us a call today to ensure your home and electrical system is properly grounded.


    Yes, an electrical box needs to be grounded. Ensuring that the electrical components in your home are grounded protects your safety and the safety of your home. When an electrical box is grounded, that allows for shocks and surges of electricity to flow to the grounding point of the system rather than to you or your home. It is a good idea to make sure that your electrical boxes are grounded because it also prevents your appliances from becoming damaged due to a strong electrical surge. To get your electrical box grounded, contact us today.


    Each electrical system in your home should be grounded. To ensure that your home is grounded at a basic level, you should check your outlets to make sure that they are three-prong rather than 2 prong, as the third hole is for grounding. Appliances and devices that come with cords that have three prongs have a grounding component built-in. When it comes to making sure your entire home is grounded properly, you should call an electrician to get it inspected. To get your electrical systems inspected, give us a call today.


    To run a ground wire to an electrical panel box, start by:
      Turning off the power to the electrical panel.
      Knock out the circle on the side of your breaker box with a hammer and a screwdriver.
      Run the wire into the electrical breaker’s box.
      Connect the wires to their respective connection points.

    Depending on if you have a two or three-wire cable, the connection points will vary. When it comes to running a ground wire to your electrical panel box yourself, you should ensure that there is no power to the electrical panel box before you begin working on it. Call us today to get help running a ground wire to your electrical panel box.


    To check if your house is properly grounded, you will need a circuit tester.

    If you have a circuit tester you should:
    • Put the red probe inside the small outlet slot.
    • Put the black probe in the larger outlet slot.
    • Check for an indicator light.

    If you do not see an indicator light, switch the probes to see if it was grounded in reverse.

    If an indicator light never shows up, then the outlet is not grounded and you should refrain from using it. Another way to check to see if your house is properly grounded is to make sure that your outlets are three-prong, rather than 2 prongs since the third hole is a grounding component. To get your house’s electrical systems inspected, contact us today.

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