Lightning protection systems are essential to protect people and structures from lightning strikes. It is easy enough to make statements but a lot of science and planning goes behind setting up Lightning Protection UK and requires regular testing too. The reality of this is much more complicated and you should thoroughly inform yourself before you get it set in your home. It is essential, but you can only benefit if you know how it works and how often to get it tested.
Setting Up Lightning Protection UK
To set up a lightning protection system in your home, the company you work with will send their best electrical engineers to survey the building, and surrounding area and take the necessary measurement. Using this information, they will create the most ideal system for your home.
This is not to be taken lightly as the efficiency of the system depends on the planning. The fact that we know so little about lightning strikes makes it even more important to plan this carefully and set it up with care.
Parts Of A Lightning Protection System
A lightning protection system is made of multiple parts. How they are set up or arranged over your property depends on your property, the area it takes as well as the tallest structures that form it. Let’s take a look.
- The Roof Network – some of the main aspects of Lightning Protection UK will be set up on the roof. This is because this is the point where you can attract a lightning strike towards the conductor and safely away from buildings and people.
- Consequently, the very highest and starting point of a lightning protection system begins with the lightning conductor or arrestor as some might call it. Even though the terms are used interchangeably, an electrical engineer will tell you how different they are.
- The lightning rod or rods are connected to highly conductive wires such as those made of copper connecting each other and leading all the way down to the down conductors. The role of the down conductors and the copper wires is to provide a path of least resistance for the lightning to travel.
- Surge protection systems are equally important and should be part of regular Lightning Protection Testing. A single lighting strike discharges vast amounts of power and electricity that our electrical connections and communication lines are simply not equipped to handle.
- Surge protection equipment will control and absorb most of the power and ensure that it doesn’t go through and damage other equipment or appliances.
- The down conductor mentioned above ends directly in the ground. Previously, it was believed that the surge from lightning strikes on the lighting conductors is passed on to the ground through the down conductor, now we know differently. The ground creates charged-up particles as much as the clouds do in the air leading to lightning strikes.
- Thus we now know that the down conductors or ground rods work with the lightning conductor and allow the immense energy to disperse safely.
The Objectives Of Lightning Protection Testing
Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s take a look at some of the most important factors regarding lighting protection testing.
Meeting The Requirements
The very first objective of conducting lightning protection tests regularly is to ensure that the Lightning Protection UK system continues to meet the requirements. These are the basics of a lightning protection system and these standards ensure that the property will be safe in case of a lightning strike.
The Whole Is Only As Good As Its Parts
Each essential part of the lightning protection system is tested according to the specific requirements of the component. It is to ensure that each component is in good condition and can perform its functions in case of a lightning strike. Consequently, you may need to get your system checked if it has been hit by a lightning strike. This check will test all the relevant areas and make sure that no damage has been caused by the strike and that your system need not be updated.
Testing Of New Systems
When you have new construction in place or new services of any kind, it is important to get your system tested. The electrical engineers from your lightning protection company will perform certain tests to ensure that the new construction or services are integrated with the protection system in place.
Installing Lightning Protection Systems
Once the lightning protection system is installed in your home, the very first step your company will do is to test it to see how it is functioning. This is especially necessary if you’re getting an integrated or semi-integrated system installed where it will be concealed within the walls or the building structure. Testing it after installation is the best way to ensure everything is as it should be and so that any mistakes can be corrected immediately.
After The Storm Has Passed
Lightning Protection Testing will never be conducted during a storm. Instead, it is often conducted after a storm if a lightning strike has occurred. These tests make sure that the condition of none of the components has deteriorated and does not require replacements. The earth rods are also tested for corrosion and rust as well as the resistance value.
Regular Or Routine Inspection
Routine inspection should take place every year without fail, storm or not. It is also the standard in the UK to have all of these lightning and surge protection systems every year. This test will check all the key components of the system.
- The resistance test makes sure that all parts are conductive and will allow for the passage of electricity without issue.
- Continuity of the components from the lightning conductor to the earthing rod is tested too.
- Finally, the ground conductor like the above as well as the soil will be tested for resistivity.
Conclusion
As useful as lightning protection systems are, it’s the regular testing that makes sure that everything is functioning as it should. To protect your home and other properties from lightning strikes and the damage caused by them, get in touch with South West Lightning Protection immediately.