Environmental Potentials whole house surge protection, can I get your opinions?

That Ufer ground looks very interesting. Thanks for bringing it up. I am always amazed by what information can be gotten on the internet.
Whart, don't worry about hijacking my thread. I enjoy learning new things.

So, it seems the ground may be a place I should be inspecting more closely. As my house is almost 100 years old, is there any way to test a ground? Or, is there any way to add a newer/more effective ground?
Thanks Bob

I have dual solid copper large ground rods pounded in over 8' apart and large copper solid core ground wire running the them (in series) to my house feed/meter head. From there, I have an EP 2050 waveform regenerator+surge suppression on my main house panel and EP-2750 ground filters on the dedicated circuit in the subpanel and the feed from main house panel. Upstream are my power conditioners in the room. The EP units with proper deep earth ground is a very effective combination. See my system page for more details.

As my house is almost 100 years old, is there any way to test a ground? Or, is there any way to add a newer/more effective ground?

A utility demonstrates what must exist with good, bad, and ugly (preferred, wrong, and right) solutions in Tech Tip 8 in
https://www.duke-energy.com/energy-education/power-quality/tech-tips

Every incoming wire must first share that single point earth ground.  A hardwire connection that is direct (ie TV cable, satellite dish) or that is made via a protector (telephone, AC electric).

gdnrbob said:
So, it seems the ground may be a place I should be inspecting more closely. As my house is almost 100 years old, is there any way to test a ground? Or, is there any way to add a newer/more effective ground?
Thanks Bob

When was the last time the electrical service was upgraded? Approximate year?

Yes the ground, Grounding Electrode to soil resistivity can be tested. Some commercial/industrial electrical contractors have the proper equipment to preform such a test. It is not uncommon though for an electrical contractor to hire a company that deals in Power Quality to preform the test. The Power Quality Company will preform the test and then supply the Electrical Contractor the test data results.

IEEE, just going from memory, recommends 5 ohms or less. 2 ohms or less is preferred....
If the Grounding Electrode to soil resistivity is greater than 5 ohms the Power Quality Company will make recommendations to the electrical contractor how to get a 5 ohm or less soil to grounding electrode resistance reading. It’s usually accomplished just by driving a new ground rod deeper into the earth.

Where you live in the US has a lot to do with soil resistivity. Just the changing of the 4 seasons can have an impact on the electrical service grounding electrode to earth soil resistance.
What part of the country do live in?
http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/

I would first hire an electrical contractor/electrician to check what you have now to see if it meets the bare minimum NEC code as well as the local governing body (AHJ) for the minimum required electrical service grounding system, (Grounding Electrode System) for an electrical service in your area. In some areas the standards may be set by the Utility Power Company in conjunction with the AHJ, (Authority Having Jurisdiction).

Worth noting, NEC says if the grounding electrode to earth resistance is greater than 25 ohms an additional earth driven ground rod shall be installed. That’s it, NEC is satisfied. No further testing is required... I have yet to hear of a residential electrical contractor that checks for earth resistance. To meet NEC code all they have to do is drive a supplemental ground rod.

Testing for soil resistivity.

http://www.esgroundingsolutions.com/what-is-soil-resistivity-testing/

Two different types of test equipment/methods.

http://www.fluke.com/fluke/iden/solutions/earthground/soil-resistivity-method

https://www.atecorp.com/products/aemc/3731
.