I have a Crouse-Hinds main load center. The ground bus is at the top left of panel and the neutral bus is at the bottom right of the panel. I want to add a 15 amp circuit for two outlets in my garage. The ground bus bar terminals are full. My question is can terminate my neutral and ground wire both to the neutral bus bar as long as they each are different terminals on the neutral bus bar. This load center is main panel and not a subpanel.
Electrical – terminate a ground wire to the neutral bus if the ground bus is full
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Yes, you can add an insulated ground bar in the can (you should be able to get one specifically designed for your particular can, but here's what they look like):
.. and then connect it to the other ground bar using a piece of #4 AWG (solid bare copper, or stranded THHN insulated) assuming you're still at 200 amps. This guarantees that the green bonding screw that's actually bonding your neutral on the other bar will affect both bars if it is removed. It's common to add these for isolated grounds, where they're connected to a different ground altogether instead of the other bar.
Note - the one you buy may come with its own bonding screw, and the appropriate tapped hole to receive it - so check for that prior to connecting the two together (IOW, read the installation notes that came with it).
Neutrals must be one to a hole. No exceptions.
NEC 2011:
408.41 Grounded Conductor Terminations Each grounded conductor shall terminate within the panelboard in an individual terminal that is not also used for another conductor.
Since this is the main panel there is typically no separate neutral and ground bars, although additional bars that attach directly to the back of the panel box MUST be for grounds only. The metal panel enclosure CANNOT be used to carry current.
As long as both existing bars are connected by a link bar or other path you can use either side for neutrals. Grounds typically can be two and even three conductors to a hole, sized #14 or #12 and sometimes #10, and must be the same size. So if you need to make room you can double up on some grounds.
Neatness is all well and good, but fanaticism at the cost of convenience and logic is silly. Keeping the grounds and neutrals on separate bars in a main panel makes absolutely NO sense at all. IMO it is neater when all the wires don't cross from one side to another.
Related Topic
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Best Answer
Mixing Grounded and Grounding
If this panel serves as the main disconnect, and the grounding and neutral bus bars are bonded. Then yes, you can terminate both grounded (neutral) and grounding conductors at the same bus bar.
Notice that the bus bars are bonded using a bonding strap.
Multiple Conductor Terminals
If the bus bar is able to accept multiple conductors under some or all of the terminal screws, it should be labeled as such either on the bar itself or in the panel documentation. Terminating multiple conductors under a screw that is not rated for it, can cause bad connections, excess heating, damage to the conductors, etc.
Additional Bus Bars
Some panels are configured to allow additional bus bars to be installed. If your panel is one of them, you could install an additional bus bar and terminate extra conductors there. Other panels may accommodate extended (longer/larger) bus bars, that can be installed in place of the existing bus bars.