Earth fault

Earth fault is an electrical fault in which an accidental conductive path exists between a live part and the Earth. IEC Electropedia defines an earth fault as the occurrence of an accidental conductive path between a live part and the Earth, and notes that the path can involve faulty insulation, structures or vegetation and may have significant impedance. In domestic electrical and home energy contexts, the term can appear around RCDs, fuses, circuit-breakers, electrical inspection results, charger and inverter fault codes and fault protection for connected equipment. An earth fault is different from an overload, short circuit or open PEN fault, and the term alone does not identify the faulty item, prove that protection is correctly designed or show that extra equipment can be connected safely.