How Much Power In A Lightning Bolt?
Lightning bolts carry from 5 kA (5,000A) to 200 kA (200,000A) and voltages vary from 40 kV (40,000V) to 120 kV (120,000V). If we take average values, say, 100 kA and 100 kV, this bolt would carry power Pave as calculated below:
Pave = 100,000 A x 100,000 V
Average Power = 10,000,000,000 Watts or 10 Billion Watts.
COMPONENTS OF LIGHTNING PROTECTION
1) Building Lightning Protection System (BLPS) for the Protection of Building and Persons Occupying it.
2) Lightning & Surge Protectors for Electrical and Electronic Equipment:
1- Building Lightning Protection System (BLPS)
Adding a building lightning protection system doesn't prevent a strike, but gives it a better, safer path to ground. The air terminals, earth conductors (from air terminals to earthing rods), and ground rods, all work together to carry the immense currents away from the structure, preventing fire and most appliance damage.
Without a Building Lightning Protection System (BLPS), the lightning current does not have a low resistance path to reach ground, and will pass through any conductor available inside a house or building. This may include the electrical wiring, phone wiring, coaxial cable, the water or gas pipes, and the metallic parts of building structure itself.
Lightning usually will follow one or more of these paths to ground, sometimes jumping through the air via a side flash to reach a better-grounded conductor. As a result, a direct lightning hit on a building without BLPS causes fire, flashes, damage to structure, damage to appliances, and kill or injure occupants of house or building.
Types of Building Lightning Protection Systems (BLPS)
(1) Single protection
(2) Multiple protection
Single protection is cost effective, but still there is substantial chance of damage by lightning bolt. There being only single conductor to earth, a substantial part of lightning bolt may still pass through building structure.
With Multiple Protection System, there is very little chance that any appreciable part of lightning bolt will go through building structure. This is due to the fact that there are enough number of parallel paths provided by large number of lightning rods, copper down strips/wires and earth rods, all bonded together at roof level as well as ground level.
2 - Lightning and Surge Protectors for Electronic Equipment
Lightning protectors, Surge protectors and UPS units provide good degree of protection of Electronic equipment from voltage spikes from everyday power surges, static build up, and distant lightning strikes.
However when lightning strikes a building directly or very close to it, lightning/surge protector simply cannot have any effect on the tremendous amount of currents and voltages involved. Lightning current in a direct hit is simply too big to protect with a lightning discharge device, or a little electronic device inside a power strip, or a UPS unit. The lightning will just flash over or through the device.
Even a disconnect switch or physical disconnection will not guarantee protection against a direct or close strike. A small air gap of few inches or even few feet, will not stop a lightning bolt that has already jumped across miles of air between cloud and ground.
Suggested reading:
http://stormhighway.com/protection.php
Lightning bolts carry from 5 kA (5,000A) to 200 kA (200,000A) and voltages vary from 40 kV (40,000V) to 120 kV (120,000V). If we take average values, say, 100 kA and 100 kV, this bolt would carry power Pave as calculated below:
Pave = 100,000 A x 100,000 V
Average Power = 10,000,000,000 Watts or 10 Billion Watts.
COMPONENTS OF LIGHTNING PROTECTION
1) Building Lightning Protection System (BLPS) for the Protection of Building and Persons Occupying it.
Consists of
(a) Lightning rods on roof
(b) down conductors bonding lightning rod to earthing rods
(c) earthing rods.
(a) Lightning rods on roof
(b) down conductors bonding lightning rod to earthing rods
(c) earthing rods.
2) Lightning & Surge Protectors for Electrical and Electronic Equipment:
Consists of
(a) Bonding of the antenna and dish mounting hardware to the building ground
(b) Bonding the incoming coaxial cable sheath to the building ground
(c) Surge/Lightning protector at antenna and dish coaxial cable entry to building
(d) Surge protectors on the AC power wiring
(e) Additional surge protectors on signal wiring
(f) Supplementary "Point-of-Use" surge protectors at the equipment to be protected.
(a) Bonding of the antenna and dish mounting hardware to the building ground
(b) Bonding the incoming coaxial cable sheath to the building ground
(c) Surge/Lightning protector at antenna and dish coaxial cable entry to building
(d) Surge protectors on the AC power wiring
(e) Additional surge protectors on signal wiring
(f) Supplementary "Point-of-Use" surge protectors at the equipment to be protected.
1- Building Lightning Protection System (BLPS)
Adding a building lightning protection system doesn't prevent a strike, but gives it a better, safer path to ground. The air terminals, earth conductors (from air terminals to earthing rods), and ground rods, all work together to carry the immense currents away from the structure, preventing fire and most appliance damage.
Without a Building Lightning Protection System (BLPS), the lightning current does not have a low resistance path to reach ground, and will pass through any conductor available inside a house or building. This may include the electrical wiring, phone wiring, coaxial cable, the water or gas pipes, and the metallic parts of building structure itself.
Lightning usually will follow one or more of these paths to ground, sometimes jumping through the air via a side flash to reach a better-grounded conductor. As a result, a direct lightning hit on a building without BLPS causes fire, flashes, damage to structure, damage to appliances, and kill or injure occupants of house or building.
Types of Building Lightning Protection Systems (BLPS)
(1) Single protection
(2) Multiple protection
Single protection is cost effective, but still there is substantial chance of damage by lightning bolt. There being only single conductor to earth, a substantial part of lightning bolt may still pass through building structure.
With Multiple Protection System, there is very little chance that any appreciable part of lightning bolt will go through building structure. This is due to the fact that there are enough number of parallel paths provided by large number of lightning rods, copper down strips/wires and earth rods, all bonded together at roof level as well as ground level.
2 - Lightning and Surge Protectors for Electronic Equipment
Lightning protectors, Surge protectors and UPS units provide good degree of protection of Electronic equipment from voltage spikes from everyday power surges, static build up, and distant lightning strikes.
However when lightning strikes a building directly or very close to it, lightning/surge protector simply cannot have any effect on the tremendous amount of currents and voltages involved. Lightning current in a direct hit is simply too big to protect with a lightning discharge device, or a little electronic device inside a power strip, or a UPS unit. The lightning will just flash over or through the device.
Even a disconnect switch or physical disconnection will not guarantee protection against a direct or close strike. A small air gap of few inches or even few feet, will not stop a lightning bolt that has already jumped across miles of air between cloud and ground.
Suggested reading:
http://stormhighway.com/protection.php
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