Lightning Protection Systems

Lightning protection   performs an important and imperative function in the energy and electrical power sectors helping companies avoid downtime and restoration cost that come with outages. Each year a multitude of electric power facilities are knocked off line due to lightning. These lightning strikes have a primary effect such as fire and also secondary effect, such as transient surges and over voltage. This occurrence degrades/reduces what is called  mean-time-between-failure  (MTBF) and it can be extremely costly to electric power providing companies as well as their customers. An electrical power company need  lightning protection  because: -   Large surface areas, metal structures that attract lightning -    Located in isolated areas -    High rates of lightning strikes -    Damage to highly sensitive equipments Therefore it is important for these entities to have lightning protection, and to create a thorough and compreh...

There is an infinite amount of information housed, shared and stored throughout facilities globally. It’s transferred through and to data centers around the planet. Industries rely on this data to operate and provide an environment where the data can be handled securely and reliably. Outages caused by lightning or  surge  in a data center can create havoc. Aside from the obvious risk of fire or injuries, it can wreck your equipment and lead to the destruction of the infrastructure, directly impacting your company’s resources, profitability and assets. The good news is that these consequences can be mitigated with suitable lightning protection. And to install a suitable  lightning protection  you need to know the following: Is lightning protection necessary to protect the infrastructure of your data center? Risks: -    Data center is a sensitive site. There are several high points on a data center facility such as antennas, chimneys, etc. these are pref...

  Benjamin Franklin was attracted to electricity. Given its similar colour, crackle, and configuration, he suspected that lightning itself was electricity. He further noted that a pointed metal needle could draw electricity from a charged metal sphere, which came to be known as lightning rod. To protect one self, the implementation of a system of protection against lightning is needed. Today, more than two-and-a-half centuries later, lightning rod protection persist—as decorative architectural pieces, as vestiges of the past, and as mitigators of lightning’s power. These rods are known by many names: air terminals, finials, lightning conductors, or strike-termination devices. Today every building is equipped with many sensitive electronic systems thus they need to be protected from any unforeseen damage from lightning strikes. This is the reason more people are considering  lightning rod protection  than ever before. And as every structure is vulnerable to lightning damag...

  Surge Protection  Devices (SPDs) have become increasingly important in recent years and has got wide presence across industries. Costly electronic equipment, which is sensitive to voltage peaks on the supply, are now found in all offices and factories, including highly- sensitive data processing, telecommunication and computer networks that form the backbone of worldwide communications structures without which, no company can survive. Machines and production lines are monitored and controlled by electronic equipment programmed for specific purposes. Why is SPD an integral part of an LPS? Lightning  protection and mains systems both deal with electricity. However, the parameters that the two handle are unique. The former focuses on incredibly high currents and swift rising impulses. On the other hand, mains power offers a consistent electricity supply. Normally, it has an alternating current at a much lower voltage and a very low frequency as well. This is so it can powe...

Lightning rods  are installed on a roof as network of interconnected rods and grounded to an appropriately designed grounding system. During a thunderstorm, as electrostatic field develops, the surface of the earth becomes charged. The lightning bolt travels through a downward leader that propagates in jumps in any direction. When the bolt approaches the ground it can hit any object. The aim of the lightning rod is to become the point of discharge of the bolt in order to achieve a controlled impact without damage. As the lightning strikes this rod, static energy is safely grounded, protecting the facility from damage. What is the science behind a conventional lightning rod protection? A conventional lightning rod has a blunt or sharp tip and is made out of aluminium, copper or stainless steel. They are evenly spaced on the roof of a structure to be protected. However, most lightning rods have a sharp point. The theory behind this was that a sharp point causes the largest electric f...

Large single surge events, such as lightning, can reach hundreds of thousands of volts and can cause immediate or intermittent equipment failure. Lightning can generate electric surges strong enough to damage electronic equipment quite a distance from the actual strike. It can travel through the electrical, phone,  plumbing , and radio/television reception systems. While lightning and power anomalies are problematic, they only account for 20% of transient surges, and the other 80% are produced internally in a facility. Smaller in size but higher in occurrence, these surges, transient, or a spike can degrade expensive equipment within the facility, add costly hardware repairs, lost revenue from downtime and significant data loss. Not to mention the impact on your reputation when your systems are down, and you can’t provide products or services on schedule. LEC offers services and products that can help protect your company and sustain the longevity of your equipment. Let’s spread aw...

  A power surge is a sudden and unwanted increase in voltage that can damage, degrade, or destroy electronic equipment. Surges can originate from electric utilities or lightning or other electric faults. A low-voltage surge protective device (SPD) limits transient voltages by diverting or limiting surge current and SPDs are a cost-effective solution to prevent downtime, improve system and data reliability, and eliminate equipment damage caused by transient voltages and surges for power and signal lines. Is surge protection right for you? Are you experiencing damage to electrical, electronic or communication equipment due to power surges or transient voltages? Or is there a risk of damage occurring due to an unstable power supply or lightning strike? If your answer to any of the above question is affirmative, then  Surge protection  device is a necessity. When selecting an SPD for any given application, there are several considerations that must be made: Application  ...