ImpactofFloatingNeutralinPowerDistribution

Introduction:
If The Neutral Conductor opens, Break or Loose at either its source side (Distribution
Transformer, Generator or at Load side (Distribution Panel of Consumer), the distribution
systems neutral conductor will float or lose its reference ground Point. The floating
neutralconditioncancausevoltagestofloattoamaximumofitsPhasevoltsRMSrelative
toground,subjectingtoitsunbalancingloadCondition.
FloatingNeutralconditionsinthepowernetworkhavedifferentimpactdependingonthe
typeofSupply,TypeofinstallationandLoadbalancingintheDistribution.BrokenNeutral
orLooseNeutralwoulddamagetotheconnectedLoadorCreatehazardousTouchVoltage
atequipmentbody.HereWearetryingtounderstandtheFloating NeutralConditionin
TTdistributionSystem.

What is Floating Neutral?

If the Star Point of Unbalanced Load is not joined to the Star Point of its Power Source
(Distribution Transformer or Generator) then Phase voltage do not remain same across
eachphasebutitsvaryaccordingtotheUnbalancedoftheload.
AsthePotentialofsuchanisolatedStarPointorNeutralPointisalwayschangingandnot
fixedsoitscalledFloatingNeutral.

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ImpactofFloatingNeutralinPowerDistribution

Normal Power Condition & Floating Neutral

Condition

Normal Power Condition:

On3phasesystemsthereisatendencyforthestarpointandPhasestowanttobalance
outbasedontheratioofleakageoneachPhasetoEarth.Thestarpointwillremainclose
to0Vdependingonthedistributionoftheloadandsubsequentleakage(higherloadona
phaseusuallymeanshigherleakage).
Threephasesystemsmayormaynothaveaneutralwire.Aneutralwireallowsthethree
phase system to use a higher voltage while still supporting lower voltage single phase
appliances.Inhighvoltagedistributionsituationsitiscommonnottohaveaneutralwireas
theloadscansimplybeconnectedbetweenphases(phasephaseconnection).

3Phase3WireSystem:
Three phases has properties that make it very desirable in electric power systems. Firstly
the phase currents tend to cancel one another (summing to zero in the case of a linear
balanced load). This makes it possible to eliminate the neutral conductor on some lines.
Secondlypowertransferintoalinearbalancedloadisconstant.
3Phase4WireSystemforMixLoad:

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ImpactofFloatingNeutralinPowerDistribution
Mostdomesticloadsaresinglephase.Generallythreephasepowereitherdoesnotenter
domestichousesoritissplitoutatthemaindistributionboard.
KirchhoffsCurrentLawstatesthatthesignedsumofthecurrentsenteringanodeiszero.If
theneutralpointisthenode,then,inabalancedsystem,onephasematchestheothertwo
phases, resulting in no current through neutral. Any imbalance of Load will result in a
currentflowonneutral,sothatthesumofzeroismaintained.
Forinstance,inabalancedsystem,currententeringtheneutralnodefromonePhaseside
isconsideredpositive,andthecurrententering(actuallyleaving)theneutralnodefromthe
othersideisconsiderednegative.
Thisgetsmorecomplicatedinthreephasepower,becausenowwehavetoconsiderphase
angle,buttheconceptisexactlythesame.IfweareconnectedinStarconnectionwitha
neutral, then the neutral conductor will have zero current on it only if the three phases
havethesamecurrentoneach.Ifwedovectoranalysisonthis,addingupsin(x),sin(x+120),
andsin(x+240),wegetzero.
The same thing happens when we are delta connected, without a neutral, but then the
imbalanceoccursoutinthedistributionsystem,beyondtheservicetransformers,because
thedistributionsystemisgenerallyaStarConnected.
Theneutralshouldneverbeconnectedtoagroundexceptatthepointattheservicewhere
theneutralisinitiallygrounded(AtDistributionTransformer).Thiscansetupthegroundas
apathforcurrenttotravelbacktotheservice.Anybreakinthegroundpathwouldthen
exposeavoltagepotential.Groundingtheneutralina3phasesystemhelpsstabilizephase
voltages.Anongroundedneutralissometimesreferredtoasafloatingneutralandhasa
fewlimitedapplications.

Floating Neutral Condition:

Powerflowsinandoutofcustomerspremisesfromthedistributionnetwork,enteringvia
the Phase and leaving via the neutral. If there is a break in the neutral return path
electricity may then travel by a different path. Power flow entering in one Phase returns
throughremainingtwophases.NeutralPointisnotatgroundLevelbutitFloatuptoLine
Voltage. This situation can be very dangerous and customers may suffer serious electric
shocksiftheytouchsomethingwhereelectricityispresent.

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ImpactofFloatingNeutralinPowerDistribution

Brokenneutralscanbedifficulttodetectandinsomeinstancesmaynotbeeasilyidentified.
Sometimesbrokenneutralscanbeindicatedbyflickeringlightsortinglingtaps.Ifyouhave
flickering lights or tingly taps in your home, you may be at risk of serious injury or even
death.

Voltage Measurement between Neutral to

Ground:
AruleofthumbusedbymanyintheindustryisthatNeutraltogroundvoltageof2Vorless
atthereceptacleisokay,whileafewvoltsormoreindicatesoverloading;5Visseenasthe
upperlimit.
LowReading:IfNeutraltogroundvoltageislowatthereceptaclethansystemishealthy,If
Itishigh,thenyoustillhavetodetermineiftheproblemismainlyatthebranchcircuitlevel,
ormainlyatthepanellevel.
NeutraltogroundvoltageexistsbecauseoftheIRdropofthecurrenttravelingthroughthe
neutralbacktotheNeutraltogroundbond.Ifthesystemiscorrectlywired,thereshould
benoNeutraltoGroundbondexceptatthesourcetransformer(atwhattheNECcallsthe
sourceoftheSeparatelyDerivedSystem,orSDS,whichisusuallyatransformer).Underthis

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ImpactofFloatingNeutralinPowerDistribution
situation,thegroundconductorshouldhavevirtuallynocurrentandthereforenoIRdrop
onit.Ineffect,thegroundwireisavailableasalongtestleadbacktotheNeutraltoground
bond.
HighReading:Ahighreadingcouldindicateasharedbranchneutral,i.e.,aneutralshared
between more than one branch circuits. This shared neutral simply increases the
opportunitiesforoverloadingaswellasforonecircuittoaffectanother.
ZeroReading:AcertainamountofNeutraltogroundvoltageisnormalinaloadedcircuit.If
thereadingisstableatcloseto0V.ThereisasuspectanillegalNeutraltogroundbondin
thereceptacle(oftenduetolosestrandsoftheneutraltouchingsomegroundpoint)orat
the subpanel. Any Neutral to ground bonds other than those at the transformer source
(and/or main panel) should be removed to prevent return currents flowing through the
groundconductors.

Various Factors which cause Neutral

Floating:
Thereareseveralfactorswhichareidentifyingasthecauseofneutralfloating.Theimpact
ofFloatingNeutralisdependonthepositionwhereNeutralisbroken

1) At The Three Phase Distribution Transformer:

NeutralfailureattransformerismostlyfailureofNeutralbushing.
The use of Line Tap on transformer bushing is identified as the main cause of Neutral
conductorfailureattransformerbushing.TheNutonLineTapgetsloosewithtimedueto
vibration and temperature difference resulting in hot connection. The conductor start
meltingandresultingbrokeoffNeutral.
Poor workmanship of Installation and technical staff also one of the reasons of Neutral
Failure.
A broken Neutral on Three phases Transformer will cause the voltage float up to line
voltagedependingupontheloadbalancingofthesystem.ThistypeofNeutralFloatingmay
damagethecustomerequipmentconnectedtotheSupply.
Under normal condition current flow from Phase to Load to Load to back to the source
(DistributionTransformer).WhenNeutralisbrokencurrentfromRedPhasewillgobackto
BlueorYellowphaseresultingLinetoLinevoltagebetweenLoads.
SomecustomerwillexperienceovervoltagewhilesomewillexperienceLowvoltage.

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ImpactofFloatingNeutralinPowerDistribution
2) Broken Overhead Neutral conductor in LV Line:

The impact of broken overhead Neutral conductor at LV overhead distribution will be

similartothebrokenattransformer.
Supply voltage floating up to Line voltage instead of phase Voltage. This type of fault
conditionmaydamagecustomerequipmentconnectedtothesupply.

3) Broken of Service Neutral Conductor:

A broken Neutral of service conductor will only result of loss of supply at the customer
point.Noanydamagestocustomerequipments.

4) High Earthing Resistance of Neutral at Distribution Transformer:

Good Earthing Resistance of Earth Pit of Neutral provide low resistance path for neutral
current to drain in earth. High Earthing Resistance may provide high resistance Path for
groundingofNeutralatDistributionTransformer.
Limitearthresistancesufficientlylowtopermitadequatefaultcurrentfortheoperationof
protectivedevicesintimeandtoreduceneutralshifting.

5) Over Loading & Load Unbalancing:

DistributionNetworkOverloadingcombinedwithpoorloaddistributionisoneofthemost
reasonofNeutralfailure.
Neutral should be properly designed so that minimum current will be flow in to neutral
conductor.TheoreticallythecurrentflowintheNeutralissupposedtobezerobecauseof
cancellationdueto120degreephasedisplacementofphasecurrent.
IN=IR<0+IY<120+IB<120.
InOverloadedUnbalancingNetworklotofcurrentwillflowinNeutralwhichbreakNeutral
atitsweakestPoint.

6) Shared neutrals

Somebuildingsarewiredsothattwoorthreephasesshareasingleneutral.Theoriginal
ideawastoduplicateonthebranchcircuitlevelthefourwire(threephasesandaneutral)
wiringofpanelboards.Theoretically,onlytheunbalancedcurrentwillreturnontheneutral.
This allows one neutral to do the work for three phases. This wiring shortcut quickly
becameadeadendwiththegrowthofsinglephasenonlinearloads.Theproblemisthat
zerosequencecurrent

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ImpactofFloatingNeutralinPowerDistribution
Fromnonlinearloads,primarilythirdharmonic,willadduparithmeticallyandreturnonthe
neutral. In addition to being a potential safety problem because of overheating of an
undersized neutral, the extra neutral current creates a higher Neutral to ground voltage.
ThisNeutraltogroundvoltagesubtractsfromtheLinetoNeutralvoltageavailabletothe
load.Ifyourestartingtofeelthatsharedneutralsareoneoftheworstideasthatevergot
translatedtocopper.

7) Poor workmanship & Maintenance :

Normally LV network are mostly not given attention by the Maintenance Staff. Loose or
inadequatetighteningofNeutralconductorwilleffectoncontinuityofNeutralwhichmay
causefloatingofNeutral.

How to detect Floating Neutral Condition in

Panel:
LetusTakeoneExampletounderstandNeutralFloatingCondition.WehaveaTransformer
whichSecondaryisstarconnected,Phasetoneutral=240VandPhasetophase=440V.

Condition (1): Neutral is not Floating

Whether the Neutral is grounded the voltages remain the same 240V between phase &
Neutraland440Vbetweenphases.TheNeutralisnotFloating.

Condition (2): Neutral is Floating

AllAppliancesareconnected:IftheNeutralwireforacircuitbecomesdisconnectedfrom
thehouseholdsmainpowersupplypanelwhilethePhasewireforthecircuitstillremains
connected to the panel and the circuit has appliances plugged into the socket outlets. In
that situation, if you put a voltage Tester with a neon lamp onto the Neutral wire it will
glowjustasifitwasLive,becauseitisbeingfedwithaverysmallcurrentcomingfromthe
Phasesupplyviathepluggedinappliance(s)totheNeutralwire.
AllAppliancesareDisconnected:Ifyouunplugallappliances,lightsandwhateverelsemay
beconnectedtothecircuit,theNeutralwillnolongerseemtobeLivebecausethereisno
longeranypathfromittothePhasesupply.
PhasetoPhaseVoltage:Themeterindicates440VAC.(NoanyEffecton3PhaseLoad)

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ImpactofFloatingNeutralinPowerDistribution
PhasetoNeutralVoltage:Themeterindicates110VACto330VAC.
NeutraltoGroundVoltage:Themeterindicates110V.
PhasetoGroundVoltage:Themeterindicates120V.
Thisisbecausetheneutralisfloatsabovegroundpotential(110V+120V=230VAC).Asa
resulttheoutputisisolatedfromsystemgroundandthefulloutputof230Visreferenced
betweenlineandneutralwithnogroundconnection.
If suddenly disconnect the Neutral from the transformer Neutral but kept the loading
circuitsastheyare,ThenLoadsideNeutralbecomesFloatingsincetheequipmentthatare
connectedbetweenPhasetoNeutralwillbecomebetweenPhasetoPhase(RtoY,YtoB),
andsincetheyarenotofthesameratings,theartificialresultingneutralwillbefloating,
such that the voltages present at the different equipments will no longer be 240V but
somewherebetween0(notexactly)andthe440V(alsonotexactly).Meaningthatonone
linePhasetoPhase,somewillhavelessthan240Vandsomewillhavehigheruptonear
415.Alldependsontheimpedanceofeachconnecteditem.
In an unbalance system, if the neutral is disconnected from the source, the neutral
becomesfloatingneutralanditisshiftedtoapositionsothatitisclosertothephasewith
higher loads and away from the phase with smaller load. Let us assume an unbalance 3
phasesystemhas3KWloadinRphase,2KWloadinYphaseand1KWloadinBphase.If
theneutralofthissystemisdisconnectedfromthemain,thefloatingneutralwillbecloser
to Rphase and away from Bphase. So, the loads with Bphase will experience more
voltagethanusual,whiletheloadsinRphasewillexperiencelessvoltage.LoadsinYphase
will experience almost same voltage. The neutral disconnect for an unbalanced system is
dangerous to the loads. Because of the higher or lower voltages, the equipment is most
likelytobedamaged.
HereweobservethatNeutralFloatingconditiondoesnotimpacton3PhaseLoadbutIt
impacts only1PhaseLoadonly

How to Eliminate Neutral Floating:

ThereareSomePointneedstobeconsidertopreventofNeutralFloating.

a) Use 4 Pole Breaker/ELCB/RCBO in Distribution Panel:

Afloatingneutralcanbeaseriousproblem.Supposewehaveabreakerpanelwith3Pole
BreakerforThreePhaseandBusbarforNeutralfor3Phaseinputsandaneutral(Herewe
have not used 4 Pole Breaker). The voltage between each Phase is 440 and the voltage

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ImpactofFloatingNeutralinPowerDistribution
between each Phase and the neutral is 230. We have single breakers feeding loads that
require230Volts.These230Voltloadshaveonelinefedbythebreakerandaneutral.
NowsupposetheNeutralgetslooseoroxidizedorsomehowdisconnectedinthepanelor
maybe even out where the power comes from. The 440Volt loads will be unaffected
howeverthe230Vloadscanbeinserioustrouble.WiththisFloatingneutralconditionyou
willdiscoverthatoneofthetwolineswillgofrom230Voltsupto340or350andtheother
linewillgodownto110or120volts.Halfofyour230Voltequipmentwillgoupinhighdue
toovervoltageandtheotherhalfwillnotfunctionduetoalowvoltagecondition.So,be
carefulwithfloatingneutrals.
SimplyuseELCB,RCBOor4PoleCircuitBreakerasincomeinthe3phsupplysystemsinceif
neutralopensitwilltripthecompletesupplywithoutdamagingtothesystem.

b) Using Voltage Stabilizer:

Whenever neutral fails in three phase system, the connected loads will get connected
between phases owing to floating neutral. Hence depending on load resistance across
thesephases,thevoltagekeepsvaryingbetween230Vto400V.Asuitableservostabilizer
with wide input voltage range with high & low cutoff may help in protecting the
equipments.

c) Good workmanship & Maintenance :

Give higher Priority on Maintenance of LV network . Tight or apply adequate Torque

for tighteningofNeutralconductorinLVsystem

Conclusion:
A Floating Neutral (Disconnected Neutral) fault condition is VERY UNSAFE because If
Appliance is not working and someone who does not know about the Neutral Floating
couldeasilytouchthe Neutralwiretofindoutwhyappliancesdoes notworkwhenthey
arepluggedintoacircuitandgetabadshock.SinglephaseAppliancesaredesigntowork
its normal Phase Voltage when they get Line Voltage Appliances may
Damage.DisconnectedNeutralfaultisaveryunsafeconditionandshouldbecorrectedat
the earliest possible by troubleshooting of the exact wires to check and then connect
properly.

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