The Difference Between Lightning Protection And Surge Protection

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When researching and executing any plan for a system that is designed to protect critical equipment within a facility against damage that can be caused by power surges, it is important to understand the difference between the lightning protection and surge protection systems.  Although the overall goal of both types of systems is the protection of equipment against damage that can be caused by surges of electricity outside the safe operating range, the causes for these surges differ.  This means that different systems must be designed to address the specific causes for the electrical surge in order to effectively deal with it, and the systems also must act together in order to provide a more total protection of the assets of the business.  Lightning is known as the most potentially damaging and significant of all types of power surges, and there have been recorded lightning bolt levels that have gone upwards of a billion volts.  While lightning is the most spectacular cause of electrical surges, it is not the sole cause of electrical overvoltage events and will make up only a portion of these potentially damaging situations.  Lightning originates from an external source, and therefor lightning protection systems are defined as protecting the structure itself against the direct lightning strike.  Air terminals or systems that are comprised of air terminals and grounding components will generally make up a lightning protection system.  These systems function in a way that will intersect the strike and divert it into the earth in a manner so that it does not have an impact on the surrounding buildings.  Surge protection devices are more specifically designed to protect the electrical systems and equipment inside of a facility from transient surge activity and voltages that are outside of operational ranges.  Around 65% of all transients that are typically seen in industrial facilities are coming from the grid, caused by general switching errors where minor surges are seen as equipment is powered on or off.  Surge protective devices installed in between components and along critical pathways will protect the downstream equipment from degradation over time, or complete destruction as a result of these surges.  Surge protective devices also protect the equipment against the power surges that accompany the lightning strikes, so it is difficult to sometimes identify where the surge protection system begins and a lightning protection system ends.  It is well known that surges produced by lightning strikes many miles away have the ability to couple into connectivity lines and other types of cables, as well as structures nearby and still invade the facility.  This means that even if the lightning protection system does draw the strike away from the facility, the power surge that follows still has the ability to do damage if the equipment is left unprotected.  Lightning protection devices and systems must work in unison in order to perform the function of maintaining an ongoing protection against the large scale loss is that can be seen in an instant from power surges which can happen at any time.