Electrical grounding is a concept that gives most of us as much trouble as rubbing our stomachs and patting our heads at the same time. It’s abstract and confusing. 

This article will keep things somewhat simple (with one exception) – for two reasons.

1. You don’t need to understand Lenz’s Law and Faraday’s Law to grok the basics of grounding. You might need to stretch your brain, but no math is required.
2. I am NOT an electrical engineer or licensed electrician. I have a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and professional experience with AC and DC power distribution circuits, but I’m no industrial electronics expert. So for both of our sakes, we’ll keep things simple and safe.

RV Electrical 101

Voltage, as you know, is akin to electrical pressure. Just like water pressure, voltage “wants” to drive electric current from areas of high potential to areas of low potential. The earth is a convenient “zero point,” so we typically define electrical potential relative to the earth, with terra firma itself as “0 volts.”