What is the difference between a Grounded conductor and a Grounding conductor?

Answer 1

In residential 120 VAC, single-phase electrical wiring, there are three main types of electrical wires:

1. Ungrounded conductor (Hot, and sometimes called "Line" or "Phase")

2. Grounded conductor (Neutral), and

3. Grounding conductor (Safety Ground or Protective Earth)

The groundED conductor is the power return, intended as a current return path from the load back to the source to complete the "circuit." Its insulation is White, gray or a non-green color with white stripes. The National Electric Code requires it be connected to earth ("groundED ") at the service entrance and usually only there.

The groundING conductor is usually the safety ground which serves as an emergency current return path in the event of a circuit fault or overvoltage. Like the groundED conductor, it too is grounded at the service entrance, but is also connected to metal surfaces and parts along the circuit, groundING them. It conducts current only if the current "seeks" to return to the service entrance along a path other than the Neutral (like through your chest, should a Hot wire becomes loose and contact metal in the circuit that you may touch). Since the grounding conductor doesn't normally carry current, its cross-section is sometimes smaller than the groundED conductor's. The grounding conductor's insulation is green (no other conductors can have green insulation) though sometimes it is bare copper. Sometimes the steel metal conduit enclosing the Hot and Neutral acts as the grounding conductor.