Converting a TT earthing system to TNS System

It is in principle 'that simple' but there are a few gotchas.

The connection back to the transformer needs to be able to handle the full prospective fault current - no good having an 'earth' that melts when called upon to operate. It also needs to be wired in a robust way so it cannot go open circuit, but that is probably obvious. In a TT system the earth wiring can be quite thin, as the current is limited by the series resistance of the loop of earth and the entry and exit electrodes. Local wiring codes (or local workers) expecting TT may not call up a suitable cable.

The protective devices (fuses circuit breakers etc ) need to handle that increased current too, and someone needs to think about the voltage rises that occur during a fault. (e.g. if there is an L- E fault and the cable path resistance is equal for L and E, then the voltage at or near the point of fault is half the supply, being divided by two equal resistors, for the short time before it all goes bang and the power goes off ) Simultaneously accessible metal needs to be at the same voltage while this happens. Some thought about where TN-S earthed things and TT earthed things come close to one another may be needed.

What happens if there is a fault to true earth also needs to be considered,  if for example there is a live to water pipes fault, will an RCD or similar operate?  It is possible if the transformer earthing electrodes have a higher resistance to terra-firma than the fault path, that both N and E  becomes several tens of volts offset from the terra-firma earth voltage.

Also are there lightning electrodes to consider, and what do local regs say?

Also where filters and surge arrestors are earthed to matters. You can, and probably should, add additional electrodes to the TN-S earth at such places.

Most of the trickier problems vanish if the system is pure TN-S or pure TT, but if  the strategies are mixed on the same transformer and or the same buildings, then the places where the earths of the two systems meet need consideration.

If it is a private transformer and the site is under technically competent management, it should not be a great problem. It is important that everyone involved realises the significance however.

Mike

Thank you very much Mike. I will review the design with these points in mind. Really appreciate your help 

Just a note that, whilst additional earth electrodes may be required to make the TN-S system safe, IEC 60364 series (and BS 7671 in the UK) would require all simultaneously accessible exposed-conductive-parts to be connected to the same earthing system - which means the TN-S earthing system would have to be bonded to the TT earthing arrangement of the TT part of the installation, if there were simultaneously-accessible conductive parts of each system (that is, within 2.5 m).

In this case, because the TN-S is derived from the TT supply, there ought to be no issue with that. It's not always the case the other way round, or with systems having separate supplies.

In Japan, IEC 60364 series are introduced into Section 218 of Interpretation of Technical Standards for Electrical Equipment which is published by Agency for Natural Resources and Energy. So if the design firm and the construction company are well aware of the regulation and technically competent, it is possible that they can build TN-S earthing system.

Do you happen also to know what approach is commonly taken  in Japan to lightning electrodes and bonding to the building earthing ? I can imagine that if TT is standard for commercial supplies,  then it may not be quite the same as someone more used to TNx may expect.

My knowledge of Japanese wiring is theoretical only- I have only even been briefly to Japan as a visitor, but just looking up I was impressed (as I was in the US actually) by the amount of overhead combined MV/LV and how different it looked, especially  the rarity 3 phase compared to Europe.

Mike.

Maybe I mentioned  the  Japanese regulation about  IEC 60364 series misleadingly. In Japan traditinal earthing system is still TT system.  In adition to the earthing system, Japanese contracactor can now build TN-S system because Agency for Natural Resources and Energy took in IEC 60364 series almost entirely into Interpretation of Technical Standards for Electrical Equipment in 1999. But I entertain misgiving that most of elecatrical contractor in Japan might not know the existence of IEC 60364 series･･･. I hope this is not irrelevant answer.

Thanks eizo for the reply..

I am in the process of creating a check list for the engineers, who proposed the solution, based on the information I got from here to make sure that the final arrangement is safe and up to the standard.

Hopefully this will lead to some useful discussions with the client and a proper solution.

I expect that protective devices in your recieivd proposal are circuit breakers. In that case and when protective condutor’s sizes are to decide using calculation, manufacture’s data are needed to decide whether sizes of protective conductors are adeqate for these breaker’s let through energy or not. I would like to know if the manufacture could provide these data, (if the manufacture is Japanese one), form my personal feelings.