Electrical Surge Protection: January 2021

Tuesday, January 26, 2021

The Industrial Need For Lightning Protection

“Lightning protection” is a generalized way of describing a suite of protection measures used to fend off the damage that can be caused by lighting strikes to property and equipment. Within the industrial sector, this phrase will usually describe the lightning rods, overhead shielding and grounding mechanisms that are put in place in order to divert lightning strikes away from critical equipment that is exposed. Due to the physical makeup of industrial facilities, with structures or components being positioned in remote areas comprised of few other structures which are taller, as well as being made of materials that are lightning attractants, we find that lightning damage is almost unable to be completely avoided. The measures and failsafes that get put into place in order to protect expensive equipment and systems are diversion techniques, and represent attempts to divert lightning strikes to structures that are distanced away from critical components, and where the strike and subsequent surge can be better controlled. Lightning seeks the path of least resistance to earth, which is the reason it will so often strike the tallest structure in a region, or a component made out of a material that possesses the ability to conduct the electricity to the earth. Lightning rods and overhead shields draw the strike to themselves where they can route it to the earth in a safe manner. A major issue with many industrial installations is the poor earthing capabilities within the region they exist, as well as a difficult time effectively drawing the strike to a safe region. Within industries like wind power production and telecommunications, the towers that represent the most critical aspect of the process literally act as a magnet for strikes because of their height and positioning, as well as often poor earthing abilities. These are the reasons that we find that “surge protection for industrial installations” is often separated from “lightning protection” even though the source of the surge is still a lightning strike most of the time.

Lightning strikes produce an intense power surge capable of damaging and destroying almost any computerized component, no matter how robust. The operational range for electrical flow that is safe for the components used in many industrial processes is far short of the volume of electricity produced in a lightning strike, so protection measures beyond simple diversion techniques must be put into place to protect the equipment and systems. Surge protection devices are installed within structures along pathways where electricity would travel from the top to the bottom of structures, as well as along any form of wire or cable that electricity can flow effectively through. The data transfer and power cables within systems create adequate ravel paths for the surge produced by lightning strikes, and through the installation of technologically advanced surge protection devices along these pathways, the downstream equipment can be salvaged many times after a strike instance takes place. Through minimization of damage and avoidance or diversion of strikes, we find that surge protection and lightning protection systems within industrial facilities are saving millions of dollars every year.

Keeping Industrial Processes Active After Lighting Strikes

The need for industrial lightning protection and surge protection devices and systems exists for two main reasons. The first and most obvious is to avoid damage to the equipment used in a process that would be caused by the lightning strike itself or the power surge that follows. Damage at the strike point is usually cataclysmic, resulting in fire and explosion at the strike point that will destroy nearly anything within a small radius of that point. Lightning is an unbelievably powerful entity, and as it seeks the easiest path to the earth and strikes tall structures it causes large amounts of destruction that are nearly impossible to avoid at the point where it hits. This is why the best defense against a lightning strike is a good offense, that offense representing proactive measures to draw the strike away from expensive or critical components in specific structures. Lightning protection is seen in the form of lightning rods or overhead shielding that draws the strike to itself, where is can be safely drawn down or routed to a safe place without damage. If it is possible within the facility to install items like these to divert lightning strikes completely away from more necessary components, there will be a certain percentage of successes and a certain percentage of failures. This is because even if there are lightning protection measures in place, it does not assure that lightning will only strike those components. This is why surge protection devices and systems must also make up the totality of protection systems with regards to lightning.

A successful lightning protection system will divert lightning strikes most of the time, leaving a percentage of strikes that will still occur to structures that house critical components, or to those components themselves. Lightning will produce a power surge that travels along any pathway it can to reach the earth, easily finding electrical and data transfer cables a mechanism to move from the strike point toward the earth. This creates a chain reaction of damage, with any component that is near the strike point and connected to another component further down or away also being impacted and damaged. This can not only create damage that is multiplied in it’s scope but also system failures that take necessary functionality down for the period until it can be restored. This can take critical services offline, or increase product costs through downtimes that add to the cost of goods. In order to minimize downtimes as well as damage costs, new and improved surge protection devices have been developed which do not need for resetting or replugging to maintain their functionality. This can reduce the amount of time that systems are offline, and ultimately improve the bottom line of almost any business through a more efficient process. Damage control and avoidance is only a single aspect of lighting and surge protection systems, with efficiency in process playing another major role.

Keeping Telecommunications Online In Inclement Weather

Telecommunications plays a major role in our daily lives as we use our cellular phones to transfer information every day. In many cases this is not critical data, as we have grown to use our cell phones for entertainment purposes. Streaming movies or chatting with friends would be negatively impacted by cellular outages, but this would not be the end of the world for most users. Just like insurance is only there for the times that you need it, telecommunications is only crucial wen you need it. Although we appreciate all the rest of the time when we are using the capabilities of modern cellular networks to transfer information from one user to the next, it is really during emergency situations that we find the cell phone to be a critical tool for survival. Sometimes, life and death can be being decided by the signal that cell phone gets, especially during inclement weather. These are the times when we are not just enjoying good cell phone coverage, but needing it.

Cellular towers represent a prefect target for lightning strikes, especially if they are positioned in remote areas with poor grounding capabilities. These towers not only are constructed of materials that can effectively conduct electricity, but also house components that can be easily damaged by power surges. Both of these things are present when a cell tower is struck by lightning, with the strike usually happening at or near the top of the tower. This impacts the strike point itself, where fire and explosions take place, and also overwhelms the RRH (remote radio head.) This component is essentially the group of machines that receives the signal from your cell phone on the ground. The RRH is directly connected to the BSU (base station unit) which is the group of components that transmits that data received from the RRH to the network itself, and allows for other users to receive it or transmit to it. When the RRH is overwhelmed by a power surge and damaged, the electricity will flow along the connection lines to the BSU and many times overwhelm it as well. This compounds the amount of damage that has happened as a result of a single strike, and almost assures that this particular cell dower will be rendered inoperable until it is repaired. The amount of time that this tower is offline not only increases losses to the company in the form of money, but also increases the potential for loss of life as a result of a user not being able to connect during the time when it is most necessary. To keep cell towers functioning for the maximum periods of time, effective surge protection devices and systems are installed throughout the structure and along all pathways. Through minimization of damage we can increase the uptimes of cellular connection, and ultimately provide more connectivity when it is most necessary and critical. Surge protection is saving lives as well as providing better service to customers.

The Importance Of Surge Protection In Telecommunications

The unfortunate fact with regards to telecommunications is that the very aspects of the physical installation of cellular towers that provide good service are the same ones that make lightning a major threat. While lightning strikes are a threat to nearly everything during an inclement weather incident, cellular towers are especially prone to strike and damage as a result. This is because of the nature of lightning strikes, and the specific necessity of the towers to be tall and unobstructed. They are also usually in relatively remote places, at least not being located specifically within areas of significant human traffic. The cellular signal that is provided and received by your phone on the ground will vary, based upon it’s ability to communicate with the nearest tower which is functional. While it does not need to be visually unobstructed, the signal will be stronger and clearer with the fewest amount of obstructions between them. For this reason, it is generally the plan to mount cellular towers on the tops of buildings, mountains or as the tallest structure for a copious amount of surrounding space. This allows the top of the tower to be within a straight line to your phone on the ground with relatively few obstructions in between. It has been proven that this type of installation will provide the best communication between your phone and the “remote radio head” equipment at the tower top. The need to make position this equipment at the highest point in a region also makes it a direct target for lightning strikes, which take the path of least resistance to the earth. Ultimately, this means that lightning has the propensity to strike the tallest structure which is connected to the ground, in this case more often than not being the top of the tower. The lightning strike to the top will push a significant amount of electricity into the structure, which easily travels along communication and power lines from the equipment at the top to the “base station unit” and equipment at the bottom. This need for communication between the tower top and bottom will provide an added amount of damage as a result of the kind of surge provided by a lightning strike, not isolating the damage to the strike point itself. This is why surge protection equipment and devices must be installed along critical pathways in between the tower top and bottom, so as to salvage equipment that is not located at the strike point itself. Through this mitigation of the amount of equipment damaged by a lightning strike, cellular companies can not only keep prices for service lower by driving down their costs but also keep towers operational for longer periods of time. The minimization of the need for extra maintenance allows for towers that are damaged to come into service quicker, providing better service to the consumers. The result of surge protection integration is better service, lower prices and more consistent connection rates.