1- External Lightning Protection Systems Do Not Provide Electrical Protection
External lightning protection systems used to protect against lightning do not provide protection for electrical systems. They only provide physical protection against lightning. If there is no coordinated protection in your facility, a lightning strike hitting your external lightning protection system will enter through your panels and damage your devices.
2- Characteristics of a Lightning Strike
After striking a point, lightning can manifest itself as a traveling surge within a 2 km radius. In addition, contrary to popular belief, lightning does not always strike the highest point. Sometimes it can strike irregularly. This actually shows that every facility is at risk.
3- Coupling Effect
The coupling effect, which is frequently experienced especially in organized industrial zones, is the flow of surges from one point to another due to coupling differences within facilities. Power lines and data centers are primarily affected.
4- Internal Overvoltages
Problems in the quality of electrical energy today are another reason that increases internal overvoltage surges. According to insurance company analyses, internal overvoltages are the most damaging type of surge to facilities with a rate of 65%. These internal overvoltages include;
- Harmonics
- Switching and breaker operations
- Electrostatic couplings
- Voltage fluctuations
5- Sensitive Electronic Devices
As electronic devices have become indispensable in today’s systems, the problem of protecting these devices from overvoltage surges has also emerged. These devices, which are sensitive to surges, are frequently affected not only by lightning strikes but also by internal overvoltages such as harmonics and switching surges. Especially CCTV, PLC, UPS, LED, Telecom and communication lines must be protected with Class D surge protectors.
