Electrical grounding is the single most important safety feature in your home's electrical system. A properly grounded system provides a safe path for fault current to flow to earth, which allows breakers and fuses to trip quickly and disconnect power before a shock or fire can occur. Without adequate grounding, a single fault in an appliance or wiring can energize metal surfaces throughout your home.
Many older homes in the Aiken area were built with two-wire systems that lack a grounding conductor entirely. Others have grounding that has degraded over time -- corroded ground rods, broken bonding jumpers, or loose connections at the panel. Unity Power & Light provides complete grounding and bonding services to bring your electrical system up to current NEC standards, protecting your family and your property from electrical hazards.
What We Do
We handle every aspect of electrical grounding and bonding, from simple ground rod replacements to full system upgrades on older homes.
Ground Rod Installation
The NEC requires two ground rods spaced at least 6 feet apart, each driven 8 feet into the earth. We install copper-clad ground rods with proper clamps and connections to establish a low-resistance path to earth for your electrical system.
Bonding Jumpers
Bonding connects all metal components of your electrical system -- panels, conduit, water pipes, gas pipes, and equipment enclosures -- to ensure they are at the same electrical potential. Missing or broken bonding jumpers create shock hazards that we identify and correct.
Grounding Electrode Systems
A complete grounding electrode system includes ground rods, metal water pipe connections, concrete-encased electrodes (Ufer grounds), and bonding to the building steel where present. We evaluate and complete your grounding electrode system per NEC Article 250.
Two-Wire System Upgrades
Homes built before the 1960s often have two-wire systems with no equipment grounding conductor. We upgrade these systems by running new grounding conductors, installing grounded receptacles, and connecting everything to a proper grounding electrode system.
Panel Grounding Corrections
Improperly grounded panels are one of the most common code violations we find. Neutral and ground bars that should be separated in subpanels, missing main bonding jumpers, and undersized grounding conductors all compromise safety. We correct these issues.
Water Pipe & Gas Pipe Bonding
Metal water pipes and gas pipes must be bonded to your electrical grounding system. When plastic fittings replace metal sections -- common during plumbing repairs -- the bonding path is broken. We install bonding jumpers to restore continuity and safety.
Our Installation Process
Evaluate Your Grounding System
We inspect your entire grounding and bonding system: ground rods, grounding electrode conductor, panel bonding, water pipe bonds, gas pipe bonds, and equipment grounding conductors throughout the house. We measure ground resistance to determine how effectively your system dissipates fault current.
Identify Deficiencies
We document every grounding and bonding deficiency against current NEC requirements. This includes missing ground rods, broken bonding jumpers, corroded connections, undersized conductors, and improperly configured panels. You receive a clear report of what needs to be corrected.
Install and Upgrade
We perform all necessary grounding and bonding work: driving ground rods, running grounding electrode conductors, installing bonding jumpers, separating neutrals and grounds in subpanels, and connecting all required grounding electrodes. Every connection uses listed clamps and fittings.
Test and Verify
We test the completed grounding system to confirm low resistance to earth, verify proper bonding continuity throughout the system, and confirm that breakers will trip correctly during a ground fault. We document the final test results for your records and for inspection.
Why Professional Installation Matters
Grounding deficiencies are invisible until something goes wrong. A professional evaluation finds problems before they become dangerous.
Shock and Electrocution Prevention
When a hot wire contacts a metal appliance enclosure in an ungrounded system, the enclosure becomes energized at full line voltage. Anyone who touches it while also touching a grounded surface receives a potentially fatal shock. Proper grounding ensures that fault current flows safely to earth and trips the breaker in milliseconds.
Fire Prevention
Without a low-resistance ground path, fault current may arc through building materials or flow through unintended paths like gas pipes and HVAC ductwork. This arcing generates extreme heat that can ignite surrounding materials. A properly grounded system eliminates these dangerous current paths.
Lightning and Surge Protection
Your grounding electrode system provides the path for lightning energy and power surges to dissipate into the earth. Without proper grounding, surge protectors cannot function effectively, leaving your electronics and appliances vulnerable to voltage spikes that are common during Aiken's summer thunderstorms.
Code Compliance
NEC Article 250 contains detailed requirements for grounding and bonding. Insurance companies, home inspectors, and real estate transactions all scrutinize grounding. Bringing your system up to code protects your investment and ensures your home meets current safety standards.
Grounding & Bonding Pricing
Unity Power & Light provides flat-rate pricing for grounding and bonding work. You will know the exact cost before we begin -- no hourly billing and no surprise charges.
Factors that affect the final price include the age and condition of your current system, accessibility of the panel and ground rods, the number of bonding connections required, and whether a full two-wire upgrade is needed. We provide an exact quote after assessing your specific situation.
For a detailed breakdown of why grounding matters for your home, read our blog post: Why Electrical Grounding Matters for Aiken, SC Homeowners
Why Choose Unity Power & Light
Need other electrical work done at the same time? We offer a full range of residential electrical services including panel upgrades, rewiring, and more. Combining projects in a single visit saves you time and money.
Need Your Grounding System Evaluated?
Serving Aiken, SC and surrounding communities including North Augusta, Graniteville, New Ellenton, Jackson, and Clearwater. Get your flat-rate quote today.