ImpactofFloatingNeutralinPowerDistribution

JULY28,2012

94COMMENTS

Introduction:
IfTheNeutralConductoropens,BreakorLooseateitheritssourceside(DistributionTransformer,GeneratororatLoad
side(DistributionPanelofConsumer),thedistributionsystemsneutralconductorwillfloatorloseitsreferenceground
Point.ThefloatingneutralconditioncancausevoltagestofloattoamaximumofitsPhasevoltsRMSrelativetoground,
subjectingtoitsunbalancingloadCondition.
FloatingNeutralconditionsinthepowernetworkhavedifferentimpactdependingonthetypeofSupply,Typeof
installationandLoadbalancingintheDistribution.BrokenNeutralorLooseNeutralwoulddamagetotheconnectedLoad
orCreatehazardousTouchVoltageatequipmentbody.HereWearetryingtounderstandtheFloatingNeutral
ConditioninTTdistributionSystem.

WhatisFloatingNeutral?
IftheStarPointofUnbalancedLoadisnotjoinedtotheStarPointofitsPowerSource(DistributionTransformeror
Generator)thenPhasevoltagedonotremainsameacrosseachphasebutitsvaryaccordingtotheUnbalancedofthe
load.
AsthePotentialofsuchanisolatedStarPointorNeutralPointisalwayschangingandnotfixedsoitscalledFloating
Neutral.

NormalPowerCondition&FloatingNeutralCondition
NormalPowerCondition:
On3phasesystemsthereisatendencyforthestarpointandPhasestowanttobalanceoutbasedontheratioof
leakageoneachPhasetoEarth.Thestarpointwillremaincloseto0Vdependingonthedistributionoftheloadand
subsequentleakage(higherloadonaphaseusuallymeanshigherleakage).
Threephasesystemsmayormaynothaveaneutralwire.Aneutralwireallowsthethreephasesystemtouseahigher
voltagewhilestillsupportinglowervoltagesinglephaseappliances.Inhighvoltagedistributionsituationsitiscommon
nottohaveaneutralwireastheloadscansimplybeconnectedbetweenphases(phasephaseconnection).

3Phase3WireSystem:
Threephaseshaspropertiesthatmakeitverydesirableinelectricpowersystems.Firstlythephasecurrentstendto
canceloneanother(summingtozerointhecaseofalinearbalancedload).Thismakesitpossibletoeliminatetheneutral
conductoronsomelines.Secondlypowertransferintoalinearbalancedloadisconstant.
3Phase4WireSystemforMixLoad:
Mostdomesticloadsaresinglephase.Generallythreephasepowereitherdoesnotenterdomestichousesoritissplitout
atthemaindistributionboard.
KirchhoffsCurrentLawstatesthatthesignedsumofthecurrentsenteringanodeiszero.Iftheneutralpointisthenode,
then,inabalancedsystem,onephasematchestheothertwophases,resultinginnocurrentthroughneutral.Any
imbalanceofLoadwillresultinacurrentflowonneutral,sothatthesumofzeroismaintained.
Forinstance,inabalancedsystem,currententeringtheneutralnodefromonePhasesideisconsideredpositive,andthe
currententering(actuallyleaving)theneutralnodefromtheothersideisconsiderednegative.
Thisgetsmorecomplicatedinthreephasepower,becausenowwehavetoconsiderphaseangle,buttheconceptis
exactlythesame.IfweareconnectedinStarconnectionwithaneutral,thentheneutralconductorwillhavezerocurrent
onitonlyifthethreephaseshavethesamecurrentoneach.Ifwedovectoranalysisonthis,addingupsin(x),sin(x+120),
andsin(x+240),wegetzero.
Thesamethinghappenswhenwearedeltaconnected,withoutaneutral,butthentheimbalanceoccursoutinthe
distributionsystem,beyondtheservicetransformers,becausethedistributionsystemisgenerallyaStarConnected.
Theneutralshouldneverbeconnectedtoagroundexceptatthepointattheservicewheretheneutralisinitially
grounded(AtDistributionTransformer).Thiscansetupthegroundasapathforcurrenttotravelbacktotheservice.Any
breakinthegroundpathwouldthenexposeavoltagepotential.Groundingtheneutralina3phasesystemhelpsstabilize
phasevoltages.Anongroundedneutralissometimesreferredtoasafloatingneutralandhasafewlimitedapplications.

FloatingNeutralCondition:
Powerflowsinandoutofcustomerspremisesfromthedistributionnetwork,enteringviathePhaseandleavingviathe
neutral.Ifthereisabreakintheneutralreturnpathelectricitymaythentravelbyadifferentpath.Powerflowenteringin
onePhasereturnsthroughremainingtwophases.NeutralPointisnotatgroundLevelbutitFloatuptoLineVoltage.This
situationcanbeverydangerousandcustomersmaysufferseriouselectricshocksiftheytouchsomethingwhere
electricityispresent.

Brokenneutralscanbedifficulttodetectandinsomeinstancesmaynotbeeasilyidentified.Sometimesbrokenneutrals
canbeindicatedbyflickeringlightsortinglingtaps.Ifyouhaveflickeringlightsortinglytapsinyourhome,youmaybeat
riskofseriousinjuryorevendeath.

VoltageMeasurementbetweenNeutraltoGround:
AruleofthumbusedbymanyintheindustryisthatNeutraltogroundvoltageof2Vorlessatthereceptacleisokay,while
afewvoltsormoreindicatesoverloading5Visseenastheupperlimit.
LowReading:IfNeutraltogroundvoltageislowatthereceptaclethansystemishealthy,IfItishigh,thenyoustillhaveto
determineiftheproblemismainlyatthebranchcircuitlevel,ormainlyatthepanellevel.
NeutraltogroundvoltageexistsbecauseoftheIRdropofthecurrenttravelingthroughtheneutralbacktotheNeutralto
groundbond.Ifthesystemiscorrectlywired,thereshouldbenoNeutraltoGroundbondexceptatthesourcetransformer
(atwhattheNECcallsthesourceoftheSeparatelyDerivedSystem,orSDS,whichisusuallyatransformer).Underthis
situation,thegroundconductorshouldhavevirtuallynocurrentandthereforenoIRdroponit.Ineffect,thegroundwireis
availableasalongtestleadbacktotheNeutraltogroundbond.
HighReading:Ahighreadingcouldindicateasharedbranchneutral,i.e.,aneutralsharedbetweenmorethanone
branchcircuits.Thissharedneutralsimplyincreasestheopportunitiesforoverloadingaswellasforonecircuittoaffect
another.
ZeroReading:AcertainamountofNeutraltogroundvoltageisnormalinaloadedcircuit.Ifthereadingisstableatclose
to0V.ThereisasuspectanillegalNeutraltogroundbondinthereceptacle(oftenduetolosestrandsoftheneutral
touchingsomegroundpoint)oratthesubpanel.AnyNeutraltogroundbondsotherthanthoseatthetransformersource
(and/ormainpanel)shouldberemovedtopreventreturncurrentsflowingthroughthegroundconductors.

VariousFactorswhichcauseNeutralFloating:
Thereareseveralfactorswhichareidentifyingasthecauseofneutralfloating.TheimpactofFloatingNeutralisdepend
onthepositionwhereNeutralisbroken

1)AtTheThreePhaseDistributionTransformer:
NeutralfailureattransformerismostlyfailureofNeutralbushing.
TheuseofLineTapontransformerbushingisidentifiedasthemaincauseofNeutralconductorfailureattransformer
bushing.TheNutonLineTapgetsloosewithtimeduetovibrationandtemperaturedifferenceresultinginhotconnection.
TheconductorstartmeltingandresultingbrokeoffNeutral.
PoorworkmanshipofInstallationandtechnicalstaffalsooneofthereasonsofNeutralFailure.
AbrokenNeutralonThreephasesTransformerwillcausethevoltagefloatuptolinevoltagedependingupontheload
balancingofthesystem.ThistypeofNeutralFloatingmaydamagethecustomerequipmentconnectedtotheSupply.
UndernormalconditioncurrentflowfromPhasetoLoadtoLoadtobacktothesource(DistributionTransformer).When
NeutralisbrokencurrentfromRedPhasewillgobacktoBlueorYellowphaseresultingLinetoLinevoltagebetween
Loads.
SomecustomerwillexperienceovervoltagewhilesomewillexperienceLowvoltage.
2)BrokenOverheadNeutralconductorinLVLine:
TheimpactofbrokenoverheadNeutralconductoratLVoverheaddistributionwillbesimilartothebrokenattransformer.
SupplyvoltagefloatinguptoLinevoltageinsteadofphaseVoltage.Thistypeoffaultconditionmaydamagecustomer
equipmentconnectedtothesupply.
3)BrokenofServiceNeutralConductor:
AbrokenNeutralofserviceconductorwillonlyresultoflossofsupplyatthecustomerpoint.Noanydamagestocustomer
equipments.
4)HighEarthingResistanceofNeutralatDistributionTransformer:
GoodEarthingResistanceofEarthPitofNeutralprovidelowresistancepathforneutralcurrenttodraininearth.High
EarthingResistancemayprovidehighresistancePathforgroundingofNeutralatDistributionTransformer.
Limitearthresistancesufficientlylowtopermitadequatefaultcurrentfortheoperationofprotectivedevicesintimeandto
reduceneutralshifting.
5)OverLoading&LoadUnbalancing:
DistributionNetworkOverloadingcombinedwithpoorloaddistributionisoneofthemostreasonofNeutralfailure.
Neutralshouldbeproperlydesignedsothatminimumcurrentwillbeflowintoneutralconductor.Theoreticallythecurrent
flowintheNeutralissupposedtobezerobecauseofcancellationdueto120degreephasedisplacementofphase
current.
IN=IR<0+IY<120+IB<120.
InOverloadedUnbalancingNetworklotofcurrentwillflowinNeutralwhichbreakNeutralatitsweakestPoint.
6)Sharedneutrals
Somebuildingsarewiredsothattwoorthreephasesshareasingleneutral.Theoriginalideawastoduplicateonthe
branchcircuitlevelthefourwire(threephasesandaneutral)wiringofpanelboards.Theoretically,onlytheunbalanced
currentwillreturnontheneutral.Thisallowsoneneutraltodotheworkforthreephases.Thiswiringshortcutquickly
becameadeadendwiththegrowthofsinglephasenonlinearloads.Theproblemisthatzerosequencecurrent
Fromnonlinearloads,primarilythirdharmonic,willadduparithmeticallyandreturnontheneutral.Inadditiontobeinga

potentialsafetyproblembecauseofoverheatingofanundersizedneutral,theextraneutralcurrentcreatesahigher
Neutraltogroundvoltage.ThisNeutraltogroundvoltagesubtractsfromtheLinetoNeutralvoltageavailabletotheload.If
yourestartingtofeelthatsharedneutralsareoneoftheworstideasthatevergottranslatedtocopper.
7)Poorworkmanship&Maintenance:
NormallyLVnetworkaremostlynotgivenattentionbytheMaintenanceStaff.LooseorinadequatetighteningofNeutral
conductorwilleffectoncontinuityofNeutralwhichmaycausefloatingofNeutral.

HowtodetectFloatingNeutralConditioninPanel:
LetusTakeoneExampletounderstandNeutralFloatingCondition.WehaveaTransformerwhichSecondaryisstar
connected,Phasetoneutral=240VandPhasetophase=440V.
Condition(1):NeutralisnotFloating
WhethertheNeutralisgroundedthevoltagesremainthesame240Vbetweenphase&Neutraland440Vbetween
phases.TheNeutralisnotFloating.
Condition(2):NeutralisFloating
AllAppliancesareconnected:IftheNeutralwireforacircuitbecomesdisconnectedfromthehouseholdsmainpower
supplypanelwhilethePhasewireforthecircuitstillremainsconnectedtothepanelandthecircuithasappliances
pluggedintothesocketoutlets.Inthatsituation,ifyouputavoltageTesterwithaneonlampontotheNeutralwireitwill
glowjustasifitwasLive,becauseitisbeingfedwithaverysmallcurrentcomingfromthePhasesupplyviatheplugged
inappliance(s)totheNeutralwire.
AllAppliancesareDisconnected:Ifyouunplugallappliances,lightsandwhateverelsemaybeconnectedtothecircuit,
theNeutralwillnolongerseemtobeLivebecausethereisnolongeranypathfromittothePhasesupply.
PhasetoPhaseVoltage:Themeterindicates440VAC.(NoanyEffecton3PhaseLoad)
PhasetoNeutralVoltage:Themeterindicates110VACto330VAC.
NeutraltoGroundVoltage:Themeterindicates110V.
PhasetoGroundVoltage:Themeterindicates120V.
Thisisbecausetheneutralisfloatsabovegroundpotential(110V+120V=230VAC).Asaresulttheoutputisisolated
fromsystemgroundandthefulloutputof230Visreferencedbetweenlineandneutralwithnogroundconnection.
IfsuddenlydisconnecttheNeutralfromthetransformerNeutralbutkepttheloadingcircuitsastheyare,ThenLoadside
NeutralbecomesFloatingsincetheequipmentthatareconnectedbetweenPhasetoNeutralwillbecomebetweenPhase
toPhase(RtoY,YtoB),andsincetheyarenotofthesameratings,theartificialresultingneutralwillbefloating,suchthat
thevoltagespresentatthedifferentequipmentswillnolongerbe240Vbutsomewherebetween0(notexactly)andthe
440V(alsonotexactly).MeaningthatononelinePhasetoPhase,somewillhavelessthan240Vandsomewillhave
higheruptonear415.Alldependsontheimpedanceofeachconnecteditem.
Inanunbalancesystem,iftheneutralisdisconnectedfromthesource,theneutralbecomesfloatingneutralanditis
shiftedtoapositionsothatitisclosertothephasewithhigherloadsandawayfromthephasewithsmallerload.Letus
assumeanunbalance3phasesystemhas3KWloadinRphase,2KWloadinYphaseand1KWloadinBphase.Ifthe
neutralofthissystemisdisconnectedfromthemain,thefloatingneutralwillbeclosertoRphaseandawayfromBphase.
So,theloadswithBphasewillexperiencemorevoltagethanusual,whiletheloadsinRphasewillexperienceless
voltage.LoadsinYphasewillexperiencealmostsamevoltage.Theneutraldisconnectforanunbalancedsystemis
dangeroustotheloads.Becauseofthehigherorlowervoltages,theequipmentismostlikelytobedamaged.

HereweobservethatNeutralFloatingconditiondoesnotimpacton3PhaseLoadbutItimpactsonly1PhaseLoad
only

HowtoEliminateNeutralFloating:
ThereareSomePointneedstobeconsidertopreventofNeutralFloating.
a)Use4PoleBreaker/ELCB/RCBOinDistributionPanel:
Afloatingneutralcanbeaseriousproblem.Supposewehaveabreakerpanelwith3PoleBreakerforThreePhaseand
BusbarforNeutralfor3Phaseinputsandaneutral(Herewehavenotused4PoleBreaker).Thevoltagebetweeneach
Phaseis440andthevoltagebetweeneachPhaseandtheneutralis230.Wehavesinglebreakersfeedingloadsthat
require230Volts.These230Voltloadshaveonelinefedbythebreakerandaneutral.
NowsupposetheNeutralgetslooseoroxidizedorsomehowdisconnectedinthepanelormaybeevenoutwherethe
powercomesfrom.The440Voltloadswillbeunaffectedhoweverthe230Vloadscanbeinserioustrouble.Withthis
Floatingneutralconditionyouwilldiscoverthatoneofthetwolineswillgofrom230Voltsupto340or350andtheother
linewillgodownto110or120volts.Halfofyour230Voltequipmentwillgoupinhighduetoovervoltageandtheother
halfwillnotfunctionduetoalowvoltagecondition.So,becarefulwithfloatingneutrals.
SimplyuseELCB,RCBOor4PoleCircuitBreakerasincomeinthe3phsupplysystemsinceifneutralopensitwilltripthe
completesupplywithoutdamagingtothesystem.
b)UsingVoltageStabilizer:
Wheneverneutralfailsinthreephasesystem,theconnectedloadswillgetconnectedbetweenphasesowingtofloating
neutral.Hencedependingonloadresistanceacrossthesephases,thevoltagekeepsvaryingbetween230Vto400V.A
suitableservostabilizerwithwideinputvoltagerangewithhigh&lowcutoffmayhelpinprotectingtheequipments.
c)Goodworkmanship&Maintenance:
GivehigherPriorityonMaintenanceofLVnetwork.TightorapplyadequateTorquefortighteningofNeutralconductor
inLVsystem

Conclusion:
AFloatingNeutral(DisconnectedNeutral)faultconditionisVERYUNSAFEbecauseIfApplianceisnotworkingand
someonewhodoesnotknowabouttheNeutralFloatingcouldeasilytouchtheNeutralwiretofindoutwhyappliances
doesnotworkwhentheyarepluggedintoacircuitandgetabadshock.SinglephaseAppliancesaredesigntoworkits
normalPhaseVoltagewhentheygetLineVoltageAppliancesmayDamage.DisconnectedNeutralfaultisaveryunsafe
conditionandshouldbecorrectedattheearliestpossiblebytroubleshootingoftheexactwirestocheckandthenconnect
properly.