Re: why ground an alarm panel.

["Bill" <bill190nospam@xxxxxxxxx>]

A cold water pipe ground might not be a good ground. Many times the pipe
from the meter to the house is PVC.

Also water meters located inside a basement may have rubber grommets which
electrically isolate the inside piping from the outside piping. There
*should* be a jumper ground wire from the outside pipe to the inside pipe in
these cases. (But then the outside might be PVC after it leaves the building
too.)

New electrical service breaker panels might have two ground wires run for
grounding. One to a cold water pipe ground, and the other to two ground rods
spaced 6 ft. apart.

I would run a ground wire to one of these ground rods.