Electrical panel picture - is this normal?

[ejb]

Hi guys.

Evaluating what I have in my panel in planning for few new circuits. Popped the cover of the panel and was suprised to see (what I think) is the neutrals and ground wires all connected to the same bar...at least thats the way it looks to me.

Last panel I looked at grounds were all on one side and the neutrals on a seperate bar on the other...comments?


edit: On second thought, I am wondering if I am thinking about a sub-panel where the neutral and ground are on seperate bars...and they are on the same bar in the main?

 

[Shimon]

You are correct. The neutrals and grounds are connected at the main panel but they are not connected at any sub-panels.

 

[454shooter]

You are right on your second thought.

 

[PineRidge]

Must be right as it passed the electrical inspection. There was an electrical permit taken wasn't there? /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[midlf]

You are correct, if this is the main panel and not a sub-feed panel, this is normal. In a sub-feed panel the neutral bar is insulated from the sheet metal of the box.

 

[JohnBoy45]

You need to ask this question at the link below. The site has many electricians.

http://www.electrical-contractor.net/

Terry

 

[JohnBoy45]

You need to ask this question at the link below. The site has many electricians.

http://www.electrical-contractor.net/

Terry

 

[kensfarm]

The older boxes never had a neutral bar.

 

[kensfarm]

The older boxes never had a neutral bar.

 

[BillyP]

I really don't understand electricity at all. The neutral and ground are tied together at the electric pole. What difference would it make if the neutrals and grounds are separated inside the panel or not? That is unless you have a separate ground rod for the ground bar.

 

[BillyP]

I really don't understand electricity at all. The neutral and ground are tied together at the electric pole. What difference would it make if the neutrals and grounds are separated inside the panel or not? That is unless you have a separate ground rod for the ground bar.

 

[Inspector507]

It can make a big difference depending on the circumstances

 

[Inspector507]

It can make a big difference depending on the circumstances

 

[gsganzer]

While we're on this subject. I'm renovating parts of my house. In the new pantry/laundry room, I want to put in a motion controlled wall switch, so when you have an armload of stuff you're not fumbling to turn on the light.

The wall switch has two blacks (obviously) and a ground. The light box in the ceiling doesn't have a ground coming from the junction box. It's just the old two conductor wiring without ground. The switch needs the ground to operate. The question is, can I tie the ground on the switch to the neutral at the light box in the ceiling (white wire). The white wire (neutral) lands on the ground/neutral bus bar in the junction box. So electrically, the grounds and neutrals are all the same anyway.

Or, should I pull new wire to the light box in the ceiling that has a separate ground?

Secondly:
It appears the motion controlled switch always has a small amount of bleed current, therefore the switches will only work with incandescant and fast start flourescents. If you use it with an electronic ballast flourescent, the light will have a very dim glow when it's off. I'd like to use the same flourescent fixtures that I've used in the adjoining kitchen, but unfortunately they have electronic ballasts. Do they sell a fast start kit that I can replace the ballast with?

Thanks for any help.

 

[gsganzer]

While we're on this subject. I'm renovating parts of my house. In the new pantry/laundry room, I want to put in a motion controlled wall switch, so when you have an armload of stuff you're not fumbling to turn on the light.

The wall switch has two blacks (obviously) and a ground. The light box in the ceiling doesn't have a ground coming from the junction box. It's just the old two conductor wiring without ground. The switch needs the ground to operate. The question is, can I tie the ground on the switch to the neutral at the light box in the ceiling (white wire). The white wire (neutral) lands on the ground/neutral bus bar in the junction box. So electrically, the grounds and neutrals are all the same anyway.

Or, should I pull new wire to the light box in the ceiling that has a separate ground?

Secondly:
It appears the motion controlled switch always has a small amount of bleed current, therefore the switches will only work with incandescant and fast start flourescents. If you use it with an electronic ballast flourescent, the light will have a very dim glow when it's off. I'd like to use the same flourescent fixtures that I've used in the adjoining kitchen, but unfortunately they have electronic ballasts. Do they sell a fast start kit that I can replace the ballast with?

Thanks for any help.