Marc M wrote:GEC: Grounds the electrical system as we know it.
GEC=Grounding Electrode Conductor
Yes, sort of, the GEC is the conductor which bonds (connects) the electrical service equipment, the metallic enclosures, the neutral conductor, and the equipment grounding conductors to the Grounding Electrode System. In that sense, because all those things are bonded together at the service equipment, it therefore bonds all those items to the grounding electrode system.
EGC: bonds Electrical equipment to all metal parts ( in whatever given area) e.g. Hydromassage tub motor to pipes...
EGC = Equipment Grounding Conductor
Correct to a point - the equipment grounding conductor grounds the pump and other related electrical items (metal timer enclosures, metal heat pump cabinets, etc.,) back to the service equipment point where the equipment grounding conductor is bonded to "ground", i.e., the neutral and the grounding electrode conductor, and to the grounding electrode system.
The conductor which "bonds" the hydromassage motor to the metal water piping is a "bonding conductor", not a "grounding conductor" as that conductor does not go to "ground", all that bonding conductor does is electrically connect specific metallic items to each other. Now, those metallic items may also be bonded back to ground by means of some other conductor, such as the metal water piping would be bonded back to ground by the interior metal water piping bonding conductor and the metallic pump motor housing would be connected back to ground by its equipment grounding conductor.
NAME ? : That bonds the equipment panel to water pipes
That is typically called a bonding conductor, however, the NEC defines that as a "bonding jumper".
- Bonding Jumper. A reliable conductor to ensure the required electrical conductivity between metal parts required to be electrically connected.
People tend to think of a "jumper" as being short in length, measured in 'inches' instead of 'feet', but there is no maximum length for a "jumper", so people tend to call long lengths of a 'jumper' a 'conductor' instead - makes it more understandable to think of a long 'bonding jumper' as a 'bonding conductor' because there is no mental thought or picture of a short length. This 'short length' aspect possibly comes from seeing the short 'bonding jumpers' in service equipment where the neutral terminal bar is bonded to the enclosure, which is 'grounded' - that 'jumper' is what, maybe 2 inches to 3 inches long?
I attached another image. Same thing, there was no water pipe bond within the interior anywhere. So I assume the GEC is also being used as the water pipe bonding? I noticed it is continuous from the panel, through the electrode (rod) and to the water pipe (electrode).
That would not be the bonding for the interior water piping system, that would be a grounding electrode bonding jumper which is connecting the underground metal water piping serving as the grounding electrode to the supplemental ground rod so that the two different grounding electrodes are 'bonded' together.
Now, *IF* ... that big "if" the metal water piping is unbroken through to the interior of the building and to the interior metal water piping system, that may serve as the 'interior metal water piping bonding jumper', however, there are many AHJ which will require the interior metal water piping' to be bonded to the service equipment with the connection made on the interior side of the piping, after all, that bonding jumper is for the "interior" metal water piping, not the "exterior" metal water piping, and they want to make sure that no repair of the piping, such as inserting a piece of PVC in the outdoor piping, breaks the continuity of the bonding from the "interior" metal water piping.
That is why, in my previous response, I said: "Thus, the answer is that, under one special condition, yes, the grounding electrode conductor could also be the interior metal water piping bonding jumper.", with the critical word there being "could", as in "could also be the interior metal water piping bonding jumper" - that would be up to the AHJ as they 'may not allow that use'.
In this image, can the metal straps at the ends of the FMC make an effective bond?
From the photos it is difficult to tell, but those fittings may well be designed and listed for that purpose. That said, keep in mind that the Flexible Metal Conduit is only there to protect the grounding electrode conductor from physical damage, and that flexible metal conduit is one of the options listed for that protection "it shall be in rigid metal conduit, intermediate metal conduit, rigid nonmetallic conduit, electrical metallic tubing, or
cable armor." I would say that flexible metal conduit is essentially similar to 'cable armor'.