Lightning rods, which are external lightning protection systems, provide protection against the physical effects of lightning. Lightning, which is one of the natural disasters that affects us the most, can cause serious damage if it strikes a facility directly. For this reason, it is very important to have annual maintenance and measurements of lightning rods carried out. The maintenance of lightning protection facilities, which are very important in terms of both life safety and occupational safety, should be performed regularly. This situation has also been made mandatory by standards.
We recommend having lightning rod maintenance performed annually.
How Is Lightning Rod Maintenance Performed?
- The inspection of lightning rod installations is carried out once a year.
- The physical integrity of the lightning rod itself is checked.
- The lightning rod pole and air terminal are checked for corrosion and durability.
- It is checked whether the down conductors descend while maintaining the S distance. An insulated system may be preferred here.
- The clamps of the down conductors are checked.
- The continuity of the down conductors is checked.
- The test clamp is checked; if necessary, it is replaced and tightened sufficiently.
Lightning Rod Measurement
First of all, it should be stated that the grounding of lightning protection systems is not carried out separately from other grounding systems. An equipotential must be established in the facility via local equipotential bonding. Otherwise, due to resistance differences, surges may occur in the facility. Attention should also be paid to the anti-corrosive properties of the lightning rod and grounding materials. Lightning rod measurement should be performed regularly, just like lightning rod maintenance. If the measurement result exceeds the recommended value, the resistance is reduced by making additions. Using chemicals to reduce grounding resistance provides only a temporary solution; instead, additional grounding rods should be used.
Have your lightning rod measurements carried out regularly.
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