Grounds need to be sized to handle what type of current?

Grounds are essential components in electrical systems, primarily serving to ensure safety in case of faults. When sizing ground systems, it is crucial to account for the maximum potential fault current that could flow through the ground during a fault condition, such as a short circuit. Fault current represents a sudden surge of electrical current that can occur due to faults in the system, such as the unintended connection of live conductors to the ground.

Properly sizing the grounding system to handle this fault current is necessary to prevent equipment damage and ensure the safety of personnel, as it allows for the dissipation of high-energy fault currents into the earth, thereby minimizing the risk of hazardous conditions.

While continuous, intermittent, and cable current are relevant to normal operational scenarios, they do not represent the extreme conditions that grounding systems must be designed to accommodate, which is why fault current is the primary consideration in grounding system design. Being prepared for these robust fault scenarios ensures that the electrical infrastructure maintains its integrity and safety.