However, without appropriate consideration given to grounding issues, designers risk delivering products that may be unreliable or may not work at all.
Galvanic isolation refers to the isolation of bus signals from power line ground noise currents.
These currents can adversely affect the operation of the bus, rendering it non-functional or, often worse, unreliable. Unfortunately, not all manufacturers consistently implement galvanic isolation due to cost or a lack of understanding of the need. Additionally, designers may not realize that their application will be subjected to an earth ground situation. In these instances the recommendation fails to protect the end user. The PC world consists of three wire power cords and grounded equipment cases.