I'm setting up some solar panels on the side of my manufactured home and I'm wondering about grounding options. The only grounding rod I can find is located on the opposite side of the house, and given that my lot is either paved or has volcanic tuff about a foot down, I'm not able to drive a new grounding rod. I'm curious if it's acceptable to ground my solar system directly to the frame of my home instead.
3 Answers
It's generally not recommended to drive a separate ground rod for residential setups. Instead, you should connect back to the existing ground rod. Just make sure you have the right gear to check if the metal frame is grounded properly.
If you're using this power inside the house, it's important that everything is grounded to the main panel. Since you're just powering some fans and pumps during outages, you'll want to ensure safety with your connections.
You should definitely verify your setup. From what I've seen, it's crucial that the metal frame connects to a grounding rod. And if your home has multiple sections, they should be interconnected as well, all leading back to one ground rod.