Lightning Protection Systems

  Conventional   lightning protection systems   protect buildings, equipment, and people from lightning strikes by using lightning rods to attract the lightning and conduct the resulting surge current to ground via a grounding wire or the building’s steel frame. However, the associated   electromagnetic pulse   (EMP) can cause a surge current to flow through electronic devices in the building, resulting in damage to equipment. In contrast, the new Dissipation Array lightning protection system prevents lightning damage by inhibiting the lightning strikes themselves. DAS interrupts the formation of upward streamers through point discharge, a phenomenon where a well-grounded point exchanges ions between the air and the ground. Point discharge becomes more efficient when the points are connected to a low-impedance grounding system and more ions can be transferred with a greater number of points, interrupting the formation of upward streamers, thereby preventing direct strikes. The DAS ligh