Hi All
I am often asked about methods to protect security devices from lightning. This is most usually after a customer has had to replace a lot of costly equipment due to lightning damage.
In Johannesburg lightning damage is very common for about 6 months of year but we end up dealing with the results all year round.
In summary, there are usually two ways that we can protect buildings from lightning:
1) Electrical Surge Protectors
2) Structural Lightning Grounding Network
The first - surge protection is the most common and affordable type we use in our houses. Often rated for smaller surges, they are effective at stopping smaller irregularities in the mains supply. They are however very rarely very effective at close lightning strikes. They are however, affordable and are all that is usually required to prove to insurance companies that we have done everything we can to protect our equipment.
The second, is more unusual and more expensive. Grounding is common in our homes. It is used to ground our electrical supplies and plumbing. However, lightning protection grounding is a network of conductive cables linked to strike termination rods and globes. They are more common in large installations but are not often seen in residences.
I will in some later posts discuss these options and how effective they can be.
Cheers
