Earthing is one of the most important aspects to protect one from electric shock. Earthing is very important and a must for places with expensive and delicate equipment to avoid shock or any damage. Earthing is very necessary to take care of the expensive equipment and eliminate the electrostatic/ dynamic discharge of electricity.
What is Chemical earthing?
It is a process where chemicals are added to the soil in which the ground rod is inserted. It requires less maintenance and has minimum fluctuations and is eco-friendly. It works well in low water surfaces and requires low maintenance which makes it less expensive than conventional earthing.
Difference between Chemical and Conventional Earthing:
In conventional earthing systems, Coal and salt are placed all around the earthing plate, but it has a lot of drawbacks as it does not have proper control over the proportion of mixture of salt and coal and even its not much reliable solution plus it doesn't give the stability for earthing resistance. In conventional earthing after a certain time period salt can dissolve and corrosion to the earthing plate might occur which automatically reduces the conductivity, which is not a good solution for earthing systems. Whereas Chemical earthing has literally taken over the whole concept of conventional earthing as it is a most reliable and permanent solution for lightning protection and earthing systems.
In the case of a chemical earthing system, we bore a hole according to the size of the earthing rod /electrode, and then the earthing rod is placed in the middle of the pit and it's covered with SOILTREAT backfill compound.
The top portion of the electrode is connected with the down conductor of the building so whenever the fault current or Lightning strikes occur the current passes through the down conductor.
While implementing chemical earthing we use SOILTREAT which is a highly conductive backfill compound, produced by Atharva Infrastructure instead of salt and coal which is ecologically safe as it protects the nutrients and minerals of the soil plus it benefits you economically. The compound is highly conductive and the compound is also very swelling in nature which automatically eliminates the air pockets.
The current carrying capacity of the ACTROD electrode is up to 60-kilo ampere for 1.00 seconds as tested by Central Power Research Institute (Our product is CPRI Tested) and in conventional earthing, Cross-sectional area non-uniform and comparatively much lower reducing current carrying capacity.
Where can we use Chemical Earthing?
To keep the surroundings safe from lightning strikes and faulty current we can use it everywhere like at home, shop, company, industries, etc. plus, it can also be done in such a place where salt and coal earthing are not used. In mountain areas only chemical earthing is possible because of the soil conditions. This type of earthing is used in areas with low humidity.
The Material Used in Chemical Earthing:
To implement consistent and reliable earthing solutions, there are lots of materials which is used while implementing earthing, the names of some important materials are as given below:
Earth Electrode/ ACE Electrodes/ ACTROD (copper bonded solid rods)
Backfill compound/SOILTREAT.
Chamber Cover
What is the Cost of Chemical Earthing?
It depends on how deep the pit is. The cost can be reduced if you do it by yourself.
The cost of the chemical earthing electrode for residential purposes is around Rs.2000 to 3000, Gi electrode is much cheaper as compared to the copper electrode.
According to this, if we make earthing ourselves, this work can be done in Rs.7000 to 8000, but if the installation work is done by a company or a professional, it can go from Rs.10000 to 12000 for industrial use.
Chemical Earthing Electrode / ACTROD:
Atharva Infrastructures has designed a superior quality electrode which is ACTROD to implement chemical earthing in a more effective way.
ACTROD Is basically made up of low carbon, high tensile steel rods which are 99.9% pure molecularly bonded with copper (coated). So that it not only ensures greater performance but also has a higher life span even in a corrosive soil nature.
The tinned inspection plate is encoded on the top of the electrode to avoid corrosion due to bimetallic contact between the down conductor and electrode.
Chemical Earthing Electrode-ACE Electrodes
Pipe in Pipe Electrode
Pipe in pipe design incorporates the use of two pipes i.e. two coaxial diameters are joined together for enhancing the life and performance of the overall earthing system. The cavity is filled with conductive material.
Strip in Pipe Electrode
In the Strip in Pipe series the design incorporates the use of pipe and strip. In this, the copper bonded pipes are manufactured of mild steel pipe which is ISI certified. The tinning is done over Cu for connecting plates to avoid bi metallic corrosion. So that it adopts GI & Cu strips without any problem.
SOILTREAT Backfill Compound for Chemical Earthing:
SOILTREAT is a backfill compound which acts as a filling, where in the electrode is placed.
It's a highly conductive material plus ecologically safe as it does not pollute the soil. The minerals as well as nutrients of the soil are maintained properly, as the use of coal and salt might reduce the fertility of the soil which is hazardous for the environment. SOILTREAT is hygroscopic in nature so it's fine in size that's why no voids are formed in the compound.
Chamber Cover:
Chamber cover is used to cover the chemical earthing rods and earth pit. Is lightweight with 5 tones load bearing capacity. It comes up with various shapes i.e. round and square and easy to install.
Benefits of chemical earthing:
● It requires less maintenance as regular watering is also not required.
● We can have control over the proportion of mixture of backfill compounds.
● It ensures an easy installation process and requires less area to be implemented.
● SOILTREAT Backfill compound is ecologically safe and does not pollute the nutrients of the soil.
● The proportion and density of the backfill compound is maintained properly.
● Reduces the resistance of the soil.
● Performance is quite consistent in all the weather conditions.
● Which makes ACTROD with SOILTREAT compound The most reliable permanent and consistent solution for the earthing system.