ISA Interchange

AutoQuiz: What Is the Purpose of the Proper Grounding of Electrical Devices?

Written by Joel Don | Oct 5, 2018 12:00:12 PM

AutoQuiz is edited by Joel Don, ISA's social media community manager.

This automation industry quiz question comes from the ISA Certified Control Systems Technician (CCST) program. Certified Control System Technicians calibrate, document, troubleshoot, and repair/replace instrumentation for systems that measure and control level, temperature, pressure, flow, and other process variables. Click this link for more information about the CCST program.

Proper grounding of electrical devices is important for all of the following reasons, except:

a) safety
b) over-current protection
c) heat dissipation
d) electrical noise reduction
e) none of the above

Grounding practices do not address or affect heat dissipation in electrical circuits or components. Proper grounding provides safety, over-current protection, electrical noise reduction, lightning protection, and static electricity reduction. In each of these cases, proper grounding is important to provide a common reference voltage for electrical equipment and to provide a low-resistance pathway for stray currents and current surges to be carried away from electrical circuits. Proper grounding also prevents the buildup of excess charge, which can be harmful to equipment and dangerous to personnel.

The correct answer is C, "Heat dissipation."

About the Author
Joel Don is the community manager for ISA and is an independent content marketing, social media and public relations consultant. Prior to his work in marketing and PR, Joel served as an editor for regional newspapers and national magazines throughout the U.S. He earned a master's degree from the Medill School at Northwestern University with a focus on science, engineering and biomedical communications, and a bachelor of science degree from UC San Diego.

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