Articles

Temporary Protective Ground (TPG) Testing – Do you trust your TPG testing with your life?

Many good ideas are fleshed out over a nice meal and a cold beverage. This idea is no different. Several years ago in a Dallas restaurant, Safearth identified a “hole in the industry.” Temporary Protective Grounds (TPGs) are being used in the field, sometimes for years, between standardized testing. Historically, this testing was difficult, confusing, time-consuming, and non-repeatable. This resulted in uncertainty in the condition of safety equipment and increasing times between tests for many utilities.

On the back of a napkin in that restaurant, a new tester was born. At Safearth, we don’t build mirror products. Safearth invents or improves technology and test methods that provide step-changes in safety. The idea was simple: if TPG testing were fast, accurate, easy, and improved safety levels, the industry will test more frequently. Currently companies test their protective grounds every 1-5 years depending on the company. The testing failure rates of the TPGs are astounding. The disheartening question is: How long have the failed TPGs been in active service?

The international standards community has proven that TPGs with higher resistance have a significantly higher risk of failure under fault conditions. The historical testing methods are time-consuming and involve meters bolted to a laboratory test table. The test personnel spend more time shipping and receiving grounds than proving the performance of their TPGs.

Two years ago, Safearth had prototyped proof of concept and demonstrated the meter to several major utilities. Currently, the PG1 has been in a limited commercial pre-release for two years, with excellent results. It is proven and ready for its full release!

This is a portable TPG tester that is easy to use. Safearth applied proprietary knowledge of battery management and power distribution to provide up to 100A of current to test TPGs – anywhere. Test personnel no longer must unroll a coiled TPG. The TPGs can be in any geometry. Contact resistance is not a part of the measurement. Imagine demonstrating the capability of your TPGs in the field before they are installed – on the ground, in the back of a truck, in the lab, or anywhere you want.

Safearth also included the ability to test the TPG connection point to the grounding system in a substation. Is the grounding riser (pigtail) truly connected to the grounding grid? Is the grounding grid in the work area continuous and well-bonded? The workers can know within minutes! Years and thousands of integrity tests have proven that the grounding grid is often compromised by years of damage and neglect which can result in dangerous and fatal touch voltages during an accidental energization of the TPGs.

Not only can you prove the condition of TPG, but you can prove the connection point to the substation grounding system! This is a game changer.

All testing can be completed within a few minutes. You can know the condition of your equipment and grounding system! Do you trust your current TPG testing with your life?

Phone: 877-8 GROUND (877-847-6863)
Email: USinquiries@safearth.com

Or learn more about the technical aspects of our PG1 – TPG tester HERE