A Field Survey of Electrical Grounding Systems of Commercial Broiler Houses in Mississippi and Alabama

Commercial broiler house construction, maintenance, and insurance costs continue to increase with the adoption of advanced housing control equipment that aid in flock management through automation of environmental control and data collection. Proper earth grounding is essential to protect these systems from lightning strikes or other dangerous electrical surges. However, the quality of grounding systems on broiler farms in Mississippi and Alabama is currently unknown. Therefore, a field survey of electrical grounding systems was performed on 96 commercial broiler houses of varying ages in Mississippi and Alabama. Survey parameters included earth ground resistance (Omega, ohms), house age, and grounding system type (traditional grounding rod or Ufer supplemental ground). 64% of surveyed broiler houses were at or below the National Electrical Code (NFPA 70) recommendation of 25 Omega. 58% of traditionally grounded houses and 74% of Ufer supplemental grounded houses were at or below the 25 Omega ground resistance threshold, respectively. Ufer supple-mental grounding has become a required or preferred method over traditional ground rods in new broiler house construc-tion to improve earth grounding. Producers should have their grounding systems inspected annually with an earth ground resistance meter to mitigate both overvoltage and lightning-induced damage.