How to ground yourself pc?
This article aims to provide some easy ways for you to ground yourself before working on a PC. Grounding oneself is an important step in the process of preventing shocks from static electricity which could potentially damage your components.
If you’ve been building PCs for a while, you’d probably have come across terms such as ESD and anti-static wrist bands. While anti-static wrist bands are easy to use and require no additional knowledge, they not only cost more money but also don’t provide the same level of protection.
How to ground yourself pc?
ESD is the acronym for “Electro-Static Discharge,” a phenomena where a static charge builds up on an insulated object and discharges to a conductive one through a path of least resistance.
In other words, ESD can discharge from your insulating rubber soled shoes to the steel desk or bench surface you are working on and then to the electronic components you are working with.
Electrostatic discharges can damage or destroy many of the sensitive electrical and electronic components you will be working with such as processor (CPU) sockets, integrated circuits, hard drive connectors and even your motherboard. The electrostatic discharge may not happen all of a sudden; it might take hours for it to gradually damage your components.
To ground yourself , you need a conductive material that is able to carry the electrical current away and dissipate it into the surrounding environment (e.g. floor, wall or your body). Hence, the term “grounding” – as an electrical circuit requires three points of connection: positive (+), negative (-) and the ground, or more specifically, a path for the current to dissipate into.
In fact, as a result of this phenomena, many countries have mandatory ESD control programs and require all personnel who are likely to have contact with sensitive electronic components or assemblies to be grounded through the use of special conductive shoes, mats and work benches. Unfortunately, not many people can afford these fancy tools. Fortunately, there are inexpensive means through which you can ground yourself without spending too much money.
A simple way is to use the strap of your wrist watch and touch it against any metal part of your PC’s case (e.g. drive bay covers) for about 30 seconds before touching any components with your hands while working on your computer. You should do this whenever your PC is on.
Another way is to constantly rub your hands together while working on your PC. This way, you are constantly discharging any static charge that may have built up in your body. One very important thing to note is that you shouldn’t touch any component while rubbing your hands. You need to discharge the static electricity first before touching the components with your hands.
Is grounding necessary for PC?
It is important to note that there is no “required” level of protection based on the industry standard. Protection levels are determined by each manufacturer’s engineering assessment on how much protection a component requires. For example, your motherboard may require a higher level of static protection than your hard drive.
However, never assume that just because you have not experienced a static shock and your PC components are still working, you should not take any measures to protect yourself. Just because you haven’t experienced a problem doesn’t mean that there aren’t problems lurking around the corner waiting for their chance to strike.
Conclusion
It should provide you with a workable understanding of the important concepts. You may purchase anti-static wrist bands or conductive shoes for convenience but as long as you follow the procedures outlined in this article, you should be able to enjoy building PCs without worrying about electrostatic discharge.
