Electrical Grounding: Learn the Fundamentals

Conditions for Quality

Since that time, systems have gotten increasingly complex, but many of the same lessons hold true.

When installing a display device -- be it a projector, a flat panel, a big screen or what have you -- you're better off having all the devices plugged into the same electrical ground reference point.

One way to do this is by having the electrician run a dedicated piece of romex wiring from the display back to the equipment rack location. Using a short jumper cable from the dedicated outlet, you can plug the display into the surge or power-conditioning device.

Panamax offers a kit for this purpose, called the MIW-Power TL, that works great.

With the advent of high-definition television and all the related improvements in video quality and image size, ground potential differences will be more visible then in years past.

Better quality systems with larger displays can benefit from power conditioners; many of the products will offer ground isolation circuits, which can dramatically improve picture quality and remove artifacts.

During the prewire phase of installation, it's always good practice to visit with the electrician and make sure that your equipment is on a dedicated circuit. Ensure that you have sufficient current capability to drive your equipment.

If the current draw is too great, have additional circuits run, but run them on the same electrical phase so that problems don't appear in the future.

At first glance, one solution to the ground potential difference problem is to remove the ground plug from the three-pronged outlet.

Don't do it! This is not only dangerous, it's also illegal.

It's better to apply due diligence and solve the problem correctly than to potentially endanger someone's life or home.

By the way, the homeowner from way back when was thrilled with the system when we were done and referred a number of clients to us. Our due diligence paid off in this case.

Fred Harding is in sales and technical support at Capitol Sales (http://www.capitolsales.com), a full service distributor of electronic installation hardware.