Lightning Safety

This website will teach you about lightning safety and offer insight into the science of lightning. Lightning losses to the United States economy approaches $7 billion per year and kills an average of 47 people.

• Lightning is hotter than the surface of the sun and can reach temperatures around 50,000 degress
• A bolt of lightning hits the ground somewhere in the world about 100 times every second.
• That's 8 million lightning strikes per day.

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Lightning Damage

It is estimated that almost one third of all U.S. businesses will suffer lightning damage at some point. The insurance industry experiences an average of $15 billion in losses annually due to lightning-related damage.

• 30% of power failures due to lightning, annual cost over $1 billion
• 5% of insurance claims involve lightning
• Commercial and Military Aircraft Costs ~$4 billion
• Lightning causes damage to perhaps 200,000 computers and networks every year

Lightning Protection

Lightning is a giant spark of electricity in the atmosphere or between the atmosphere and the ground. In the initial stages of development, air acts as an insulator between the positive and negative charges in the cloud and between the cloud and the ground; however, when the differences in charges becomes too great, this insulating capacity of the air breaks down and there is a rapid discharge of electricity that we know as lightning.

A lightning protection unit provides a specified path or redirection of the lightning potential to less volatile locations.

Lightning Protection Design

The purpose of lightning protection design is to safeguard valuable equipment and assets from the hazards arising from exposure to lightning. Benjamin Franklin invented the earliest lightning safety instrument, the lightning rod, in 1752. It still represents a viable solution to lightning strikes.

Other more modern lightning protection systems like the patented Dissipation Array System from LEC provide additional lightning safety solutions. If you are considering lightning unit's design it is recommended that you seek out a professional, experienced lightning protection design team.

Lightning Protection System

We recommend a systems approach in lightning safety. The systems approach provides total isolation utilizing a model similar to the 3 legs of a stool. Those 3 legs being Direct Strike Protection, Strategic Surge Protection (on A/C power, data lines and control lines) and Grounding Protection all working together as a system, as a team, providing total isolation.

We can always carve out one or two of those depending on the situation and other design criteria but that’s what our Lightning strike Protection Design team bring. The expertise and a wealth of knowledge to integrate those into an effective system to protect your facilities from lightning related outages.

Lightning Protection Products

Lightning Eliminators is a one stop shop for lightning safety products. We have 3 individual product lines that we integrate together in a systems approach.

These product lines include Lightning Prevention Products like our Dissipation Array Systems (DAS), Spine Ball Ionizers (SBI), Spine Ball Terminals (SBT), and Streamer Delaying Air Terminals (SDAT). We also have surge protection for AC power, low voltage signal lines, data lines, coax lines, control lines and we also have enhanced grounding products to provide a good low impedance ground. These products all work together in a system designed for total lightning protection.

Grounding Rod

An earthing system or grounding system connects specific parts of an electrical installation with the Earth's conductive surface for safety and functional purposes. The point of reference is the Earth's conductive surface. Regulations for earthing systems vary considerably among countries, though many follow the recommendations of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). Regulations may identify special cases for earthing in mines, in patient care areas, or in hazardous areas of industrial plants.

Lightning Rod

A lightning rod is a metal rod mounted on a structure and intended to protect the structure from a lightning strike. If lightning hits the structure, it will preferentially strike the rod and be conducted to ground through a wire, instead of passing through the structure, where it could start a fire or cause electrocution. Lightning rods are also called finials, air terminals or strike termination devices. This technology goes back about 250 years when this technology was developed by Benjamin Franklin.

It was designed primarily for structural protection.

Lightning Elimination

Today society has evolved to include sophisticated communications, computers, networks, power, power generation, GPS, space travel, air travel and many more but many companies are still using a lightning protection unit that goes back to the 1700’s. Today’s standards still have their roots in the Ben Franklin system and include National Fire Protection Agency NFPA 780 and Underwriters Laboratory (UL). Their primary mission is founded on structural protection and personal safety but they are not geared to electronic integrity and lightning elimination.

That is why LEC recommends an integrated approach for complete Lightning Solution.

Lightning Surge

Cloud-to-ground lightning bolts are a common phenomenon—about 100 strike Earth's surface every single second—yet their power is extraordinary. Each bolt can contain up to one billion volts of electricity. Peak current intensity is of the order 10 to 100 million volts of electricity; the average about 30,000 amps. Energy goes into light and heat with temperatures about 54,000 degrees Fahrenheit, six times hotter than the sun.

When this power surge comes in contact with power lines, facilities, the earth or other assets tremendous damage may occur.

Surge Protector

A surge protector is an appliance or device designed to protect electrical devices from voltage spikes. A surge protector attempts to limit the voltage supplied to an electric device by either blocking or shorting to ground any unwanted voltages above a safe threshold.

The terms surge protection device (SPD) and transient voltage surge suppressor (TVSS) are used to describe electrical devices typically installed in power distribution panels, process control systems, communications systems, and other heavy-duty industrial systems, for the purpose of protecting against electrical surges and spikes, caused by lightning.

Lightning Surge Protection Devices

LEC provides an entire product line of lightning and surge protection products. Facility Guard provides UL listed lightning surge protection for industrial service entrance and subpanel applications. The UL listed Transient Limiters provide up to 100,000 amps of voltage and lightning surge protection per phase. The DC Surge Protector provides protection for all DC applications to ensure maximum lightning safety. Other products provide similar lightning surge protection for Data Lines, Telcom, Coax and Control Lines.

Using LEC in Standards-Based Systems

Standards such as NFPA-780, UL96A, NAV FAC DM4, and Army 385-100 are based on the use of a single point lightning rod known as the air terminal or the stroke collector.

However, since UL has listed the SBI®, SBT® and SDAT these assemblies can be used in place of the singlepoint terminal. In most cases, they can be used as a direct replacement.

The SBT® and SDAT are designed to fit into the conventional lightning rod mounting plate.

Risk Assessment

The need for a lightning protection system usually involves an analysis of risk and the following types of loss.

1. Loss of, or risk to, human life
2. Loss of production or service to the public
3. Loss of economic value
4. Loss of cultural heritage

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) offer guidelines on risk assessment and LEC offers a complimentary Risk Assessment to our customers.

LP for Instrumentation and DCS

If you are in an industry where sensitive electronics and measurement systems are needed to provide control systems for expensive generators, SCADA systems, DCS or other industrial devices you are at risk of of both direct and indirect lightning hits and equipment damage.

LEC recommends a systems approach in lightning safety. The systems approach provides total isolation utilizing a model similar to the 3 legs of a stool. Those 3 legs being Direct Strike Protection, Strategic Surge Protection (on A/C power, data lines and control lines) and Grounding Protection all working together to provide total lightning protection.

LP for Instrumentation and DCS

If you are in an industry where sensitive electronics and measurement systems are needed to provide control systems for expensive generators, SCADA systems, DCS or other industrial devices you are at risk of of both direct and indirect lightning hits and equipment damage.

LEC recommends a systems approach in lightning safety. The systems approach provides total isolation utilizing a model similar to the 3 legs of a stool. Those 3 legs being Direct Strike Protection, Strategic Surge Protection (on A/C power, data lines and control lines) and Grounding Protection all working together to provide total lightning protection.

Types of LPS

There are four general types of commercially available lightning protection systems, as follows:

1. Conventional air terminal systems – designed to collect strikes
2. Early streamer emitting air terminal systems– designed to collect strikes
3. Charge Transfer Systems – streamer delaying arrays that are that are designed to prevent all possible lightning strike collection
4. Hybrid System - streamer delaying air terminals that collect strikes only when charge transfer capacity is exceeded by dissipation requirements.

Lightning Arrester

A lightning arrester (alternative spelling lightning arrestor) (also called lightning diverter) is a device used on electric power systems and telecommunication systems to protect the insulation and conductors of the system from the damaging effects of lightning.

The typical lightning arrester has a high-voltage terminal and a ground terminal. When a lightning surge (or switching surge, which is very similar) travels along the power line to the arrester, the current from the surge is diverted through the arrester, in most cases to earth.