Fall of Potential Testing Gone Wrong

Jacob Rioux, Hood Patterson & DewarColumns, Tech Tips, Winter 2025 Columns

As testers, where should we start? The standards! For grounding testing, the industry reference is IEEE Std. 81, Guide for Measuring Earth Resistivity, Ground Impedance, and Earth Surface Potentials of a Grounding System. As with most standards, familiarity and interpretation are key.  It can be a challenge to understand the intent, methods, and implementation of the prescribed testing. Fall of Potential …