Neutral is re-earthed in the control panel

glendower · Jul 14, 2012

I have bought a house in Bulgaria which needs to be rewired

I have been doing a bit of research into how the electrics should be wired in Bulgaria and came across this useful PDF document by Legrad, 'International electrical
standards & regulations',

https://www.electriciansforums.net/attachments/guide-international-pdf.120292/

It appears that Bulgarian wiring should be done in accordance with German regulations see page 4. Pages 14-21 give the information regarding the German regs.

I have only seen a little of electrics in Bulgaria but they do not appear to adhere to any of the earthing requirements? As I want to do my property as per the regs I will be making sure it is earthed correctly.

In regard to earthing I have a question that someone may be able to help me with and that is on page 16 is says "Neutral is re-earthed in the control panel". Can anyone explain what this means please?

Leelectrics · Jul 28, 2015

Hi Glendower,
I to have a house in Bulgaria which I will be moving to later this year! Like yourself I have to undertake a full rewire for my own peace of mind and satisfaction that all is to a standard I would expect to find here in the U.K. Bulgarian wiring does leave a lot to be desired but with regards to your question, most transformers have their centre poles put to earth as a return path. Here in the u.k the neutral in the distribution board is joined to earth outside the property usually underground as it joins the main exterior feed, which may supply a few houses! In Bulgaria to my experience their is only a live feed to each property! Thus the return is done via earth! For this reason and to satisfy the need for a neutral, they allow the neutral bar to be earthed and this along with the earth bonding conductors and equipotential bonding are connected via the earth electrode to an exterior earth rod adjacent to the property! So you have your services (Gas &Water) bonded with 10mmsq your pipes with 4mmsq then out to an earth rod with a 10mmsq! I hope this helps ;-)