A very serious pool electrical safety topic and the second leading cause of death around swimming pools is electrocution. Codes, standards, Guidelines, all exist to provide safety for your family. Having a GFCI [Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter] breaker on all of your pool equipment is one of the best ways to save a life. A GFCI breaker senses power going to the ground and will trip fast enough that you won’t feel a shock in most cases. In conjunction with GFCI breakers, are GFCI receptacles protect equipment that is plugged into them. Oshkosh Wisconsin is one problem area where we see many pools without GFCI’s.
Why is electrical bonding an important aspect of swimming pool safety? Electrical bonding ties together the metallic components of a swimming pool and the water itself to the same electrical potential. Perhaps a short, fault, or other electrical malfunction occurs and puts voltage into your swimming pool, the bonding wire will ensure that all equipment is at the same potential. This greatly reduces the chances for getting zapped. The bonding wire is NEVER connected to the electrical ground. These are two separate but equally important items to ensure are in place. Typically a bond wire will connect to your pool pump, heater, lights, if you have an above ground pool it will run all around the exterior of the pool and connect to a minimum of 4 spots on the pool itself. On concrete pools it will connect to autocover vaults, light niches, and the rebar in the concrete decking surrounding the pool. As components wear, the bond wire is the first item we find missing in many of the safety inspections we do at Pool Envy. Typically, the bond wire is a bare-copper wire, so it is fairly easy to identify.
