Protect your Business from Lightning Strikes via a Lightning Protection System

 Do you know that extreme weather conditions, such as lightning, are capable of causing huge destruction in commercial as well as residential buildings? They not only impact the infrastructure of a property but also lead to fire hazards and fatalities. Besides, they have the potential to result in annual economic losses of more than $1 billion, according to safety consulting and certification company UL. So, how do business owners prevent their workplaces and assets from the terrible consequences of lightning strikes? They install a lightning protection system with the assistance of an expert. Also, they get their performance verified by conducting thorough lightning protection testing. It determines the safety of the building and its occupants, which ultimately gives them peace of mind. Besides, this saves them from investing money in structural repairs or replacements.

Without a proper setup and reliable testing of this system, your property is subjected to various damages. Your employees may get personal injuries due to lightning bolts. Thus, it is vital to learn about the risks posed by lightning, the role of protection systems, and how the lightning conductor works in order to comprehend its importance in the industrial sector.

How Lightning Can Cause Significant Damage to Businesses?

Lightning that strikes a structure without a safe path to the earth’s surface can harm the building’s framework and its electrical systems. The energy has the power to shatter timbers, rip off the roofing shingles, and lead to fire explosions. Further, this damage is usually caused by the tremendous amount of current running during a lightning strike’s return stroke or the heat produced by the electrical discharges.

Smaller lightning strikes may not cause any visible damage to your structure, but they are capable of obliterating the electrical wirings and the associated devices. For instance, there are a few common types of destruction caused:

• Power Surge Damage: If lightning uses electrical wiring as its primary or secondary path, all the connected appliances may experience devastation from the explosive surge.
• Downtime and Productivity Loss: Businesses may face substantial downtime while repairing if lightning damages infrastructure or equipment. Ultimately, it can result in loss of sales and unhappy clients.
• Shock Wave Damage: Lightning produces shock waves that can affect concrete, brick, and stone chimneys.
• Data Loss: Thunderbolts can impair electrical systems, leading to data loss or corruption. Without the protections, this could have a negative impact on business activities, customer data, and financial records.

Sometimes, even a surge-protecting power strip may not be adequate to prevent wear to your gadgets from an intensive strike. Your laptops, hard drives, cash registers, display screens, and other appliances can become a pile of waste if you don’t pay attention to installing an appropriate system to prevent lightning devastation. Most importantly, what would you do if your employees get deep injuries? You will have to take them to the hospital, which will eventually spread panic and cause financial distress.

How Does a Lightning Protection System Work?

Five essential components make up a lightning protection system, such as:

• Roof network
• Down conductors
• Equipotential bonding
• Grounding system
• Surge suppression devices

Sirge devices are on incoming power and communication cables. Further, they have conductive copper and aluminum poles or strips to create a pathway from your building’s roof to the ground. They divert the flow of electricity to the earth’s surface without impacting your company’s structure or belongings. 

The majority include an antenna, typically installed on the roof, intended to draw in the lightning bolt and immediately ground it. It is crucial to have an effective whole-house lightning protection system because a single antenna won’t be sufficient to ground a powerful lightning strike.

If your workplace already has a television antenna, a weather vane, or another metal object positioned on the roof, this need is considerably greater.

Simply put, it intercepts direct lightning strikes via an air-termination system to safely channel the lightning current to the ground via a down-conductor system. Then, it distributes the lightning current via an appropriate earthing system.

Tips to Protect Your Business Via Lightning Protection Systems

In today’s technology-driven world, companies rely heavily on electronic equipment and infrastructure to operate efficiently. However, this dependence also makes them vulnerable to the devastating effects of lightning. To minimize the risks, it is vital to implement a few tips to promise the protection of your property, equipment, and employees. 

Perform a Risk Assessment

You must start by determining how susceptible your company is to lightning strikes. Examine the building’s location, size, and structural characteristics, as well as the presence of tall structures or trees nearby.

In addition, identify the equipment and systems that need to be protected.

Install Lightning Rods

The most recognizable part of a lightning protection system is a lightning rod, also known as an air terminal or a lightning conductor. These rods are cautiously positioned on the tallest points of a structure to draw lightning strikes and safely route them into the ground.

Bonding and Grounding

Moreover, create an extensive grounding network by attaching all lightning rods, metallic parts, and electrical equipment to it. The risk of damage is decreased by proper bonding, which guarantees that lightning-induced currents are carried to the ground securely and effectively.

Surge Protection Devices

You must install surge protectors or transient voltage surge suppressors (TVSS) at key electrical panels and critical equipment. Additionally, they prevent excessive electrical surges brought on by lightning strikes from accessing the system and harming expensive machinery.

Maintenance and Regular Inspections

It is essential to perform routine inspections and lightning protection testing to assess the performance of the system. So, you must maintain system compliance with applicable safety standards by replacing damaged or worn-out parts and making necessary repairs. Make sure you hire a lightning protection company with extensive experience and expertise in performing these tests.

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Takeaway

In an era where businesses rely heavily on electronic systems, protecting them from lightning strikes is of the utmost significance. It may sound interesting to try installing a lightning protection system on your own to save money. However, the potential harm from a system that is set up incorrectly is too high. Hence, you must seek help from a professional lightning protection company for the installation of this system to guarantee the safety of your property and employees.

If you’re searching for cheap yet credible services for installing a lightning protection system, the qualified experts at South West Lightning Protection have got you covered!