Distant or nearby, lightning strikes the amount to billions of volts that is beyond a normal human or his dwelling can withstand. They cause destruction to structure and enter the building via conductors further reduces the service life of electrical / electronic devices.
The Lightning discharge originating from the sky always looks for a shortest and low resistance path to the ground further it always finds a good conductor on the ground so as to complete the electric circuit. For this reason, it is mandatory to install a lightning protection system obeying numerous obligatory standards for testing and designing.
A proper protection scheme is installed to safeguard people from electrocution and also the buildings or structures from fire hazards. Below mentioned components are utilized to execute the complete need as per mandatory standard IS / IEC 62305
Air Terminal: Sharp pointed air terminal network is employed to capture the electric discharge and provide the conductive path to the ground. If this guarded path is not provided, then the downstream can hit on the earth surface causing injuries and damages. Providing a large coverage area, the earthing system & lightning rod is mounted on the top of the structure to be protected and is made of Copper, Aluminum or Copper Coated Steel etc. The effective functioning of the system depends on the design as per the risk assessment conducted on the lightning prone area based on which the dimensions and the material of the air terminal is determined. Moreover, in this reliable technique air terminal is uniquely designed and positioned to provide satisfactory protection radius.
Down Conductor: In conjunction to the air terminal, down conductor is yet another essential component connecting the lightning rod to the earth termination system. It is also designed uniquely to withstand the over voltage spikes as it is made up of good conductors such as copper, copper coated steel or aluminum or any such conductors for smooth flow of fault current to ground.
Maintenance Free Earthing System: It is the last level to any electrical network providing a stable platform for the electric system by diverting any fault occurrences to the conducting part of the earth crust.
As per IS / IEC 62305 & NBC 2016, the earth resistance shall be maintained as less than 10 ohms for an ideal lightning protection system.
Solid Rods Technology of low carbon high tensile steel molecularly bonded with min. 250 microns copper coating - Copper bonded steel rod complying to IEC 62561-2, IEEE 80 & IS 3043 along with Earth enhancement compound material of less than 0.12 ohm-meters as per standard IS 3043: 2018 together makes earthing system maintenance free which is designed to stay for 20+ years.
Lightning Strike Counter: This is an additional accessory for analyzing fatal lightning strikes. With the installation of this 6-digit digital display detection device, it gives you an estimate of the number of lightning strikes hitting on the protected area. It can automatically record valuable information ie, each lightning strike passing through an arrester and further ditch it using typical surge current parameters.
All the components required for the lightning protection system shall be in compliance with IS / IEC 62305 and are tested as per IEC 62561 series.
