Fan Ionizer Grounding. Needed or no?

Technical Questions
#1

Hi Experts,

I am seeking clarification on the necessity of using external grounding wires for ionizers in an ESD-controlled environment. Our team has installed ionizers equipped with 3-pin plugs, which are already connected to the facility’s electrical grounding system. A customer has raised a request to connect an additional external ESD grounding wire to the ionizers to ensure compliance with ESD grounding standards.

Here are a few specific questions I’d like to address:

  1. Is the electrical grounding via the 3-pin plug sufficient to dissipate electrostatic charges from ionizers effectively?
  2. Under what circumstances would adding an external ESD grounding wire be required for ionizers?
  3. Are there any industry standards or best practices that explicitly address grounding requirements for ionizers?

I want to ensure we comply with ANSI/ESD S20.20 standards and meet customer expectations. Any guidance, references, or experiences you can share would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your time and expertise.

#2

Muhammad,

I believe that the grounding prong on the ionizer should be attached to the chassis of the ionizer, thus effectively grounding it. If this were not the case then the ionizer should be treated as an isolated conductor per ANSI/ESD S20.20 section 8.3.2. In this section it says that if an isolated conductor comes in contact with ESDS items, it has to be less than +/- 35 volts. It also says that if the isolated conductor does not come in contact with the ESDS items, section 8.3.1 on insulators applies. Since an ionizer will not likely come in contact with your ESDS items, you should treat it like any other insulator you have in your ESD protection area and ensure the electric fields from the ionizer are not greater than 5000 V/m (125 V/in) at the location where the ESDS item is handled.

Hope this answers your questions. Thanks