Lightning Protection Systems – Simple Theory of Components and Installation
Lightning strikes, without a designated path will be attracted to many earth-bound conductors. In homes and buildings these conductors include electrical, phone, and television cables, along with water and gas pipes. In the case of steel buildings the lightning may use the framing itself.
A lightning rod or terminal is one component of a lightning protection system. In earlier days the lightning rod was a common site on buildings, both commercial structures and private homes. Today the lightning rods or lightning conductor (as it is identified in some countries) consists of a network of conductors, or multiple path connections bound to metallic objects that make up a grounding system or network that provides a conductive path from the roof of the structure to the ground.
A lightning protection system doesn’t eliminate the possibility of a strike but provides a safer path to ground. These systems include the components of terminals, cables, and variations of grounding rods, that when combined, are extremely effective in rerouting the damaging electrical currents away from structures and electrical equipment protecting from catastrophic damage.
Charge dissipation terminals mitigate direct lightning strikes by dissipating the charge of static electricity into the atmosphere through the process of ionization (point discharge principle). The process of dissipation effectively lowers the probability of streamers forming in time to be first to complete the path of the lightning strike, as static electrical charges build between the lower portion of a storm cloud and the opposite charges on earth and structures.
Early streamer emission terminals are a combination of advanced electronic circuitry incorporated into stainless steel housings that offer a larger zone of protection well suited for mega-structures. This terminal configuration creates an upward propagating streamer earlier than conventional air terminals or other objects on earth, which provides a larger zone of protection. One terminal provides a protection radius of up to 109 meters making it an efficient and cost effective lightning protection system for shopping malls, sports arenas, industrial plants, and distribution warehouses.
The other necessary component of a properly designed and implemented lightning protection system includes a grounding system, which includes conductor cables and ground rods. These provide the path for an electrical charge to be diverted safely past the structure safely into the ground.
Electrolytic grounding systems provide protection from not only lightning strikes but also proper grounding as required to protect against common electrical hazards such as electrical surges created by power line failures, static discharges, and electro-magnetic interference. The electrolytic system is designed for any type of soil conditions because it utilizes a hygroscopic process that acquires moisture from the atmosphere. This collected moisture is then combined with nontoxic chemicals in an electrode that reacts and creates and electrolytic solution that leaches into the surrounding soil. This process greatly improves soil conductivity reducing electrical resistance between the electrode and the earth.
In most cases, lightning protection systems require a comprehensive design process to ensure the maximum degree of lightning protection for today’s sensitive electronic equipment modern commercial operations depend on.
