lightning protection in outdoor areas 1

[juancarloscastrogale]

Hi,

I'm looking for some information about lightning protection in outdoors areas such as recreational parks, court of golf, pools, etc.

Where can i find some of information?


Thaks,

Juan C Castro

 

[hbendillo]

At one time, a manufacturer came to my office and presented a system that used a lightning system array. This was presented as an alternative to the traditional air terminal/downlead type system (Faraday Cage) that protects buildings, towers and other structures. The system used this single array on a tower or the highest point of a structure that essentially would bleed off charge from the the surrounding charged field and prevent the build up to a charge that would produce a lightning strike in the immediate area. The array was made up of thousands of small pointed spikes or air terminals wired together in a large ball that was then grounded. This person in fact advertised this as a lighting preventer. He showed me many applications in which this system was used and had many testimonials. I think he had U. L. approval for the system. This is the only system that I know that may be applicable to you situation. I don't have information on the system but am going to do a search on "Lighting System Arrays" to see what turns up. Why don't you try the same.

 

[hbendillo]

Got some additional information. The manufacturer for the system is a ground called Lightning Eleminators. Their web site is

http://www.lightningeliminators.com/.

 

[peebee]

These arrays you're talking about are often listed by UL, but are not generally listed or recognized to perform any better than a standard air terminal (lightning rod). NFPA has reviewed these devices on several occasions over the last few years and rejected all attempts by the manufacturers to get NFPA to allow fewer of these things to be installed than standard air terminals. In general, stay away from these unless you'd like to vastly increase the cost of your installation.

There's plenty of info on lightning protection for outdoor installations in NFPA 780 - Standard for the Installation of Lightning Protection Systems. Get a copy. Or call up one of the major lightning protection system vendors (Harger or Thompson come to mind). Typically, a metal pole or grounded overhead conductor are installed to provide a "cone of protection" over the area requiring protection.

 

[jghrist]

See

http://www.lightningsafety.com/

 

[juancarloscastrogale]

Hi, every body.

I'm looking for some information about lightning protection for picnic grounds and playground open places with Franklin divices and overhead wires.


Thanks

 

[TWW]

The Harger Co. makes alot of good hardware for lightning protection systems

 

[BJC]

The best protection would be a lightning detector ( of which there are several ) an alarm system ( horns and lights) and evacuate the place when there is danger. Of all the protection systems I have read of or seen none of them were so good that I would stay ( or let my kids stay in ) in an area when the hair on you head starts sticking straght out.

 

[jbartos]

Suggestion: The Faraday Cage Principle that is essentially covered by NFPA 780 is suitable for building with large footprint and relatively low structures. The small footprint structures are more suitable for Franklin Cone type of protection.
When it comes to areas such as golf course, recreational parks, pools, then high mast(s) with the air terminal will be practically feasible, i.e. Franklin Cone, rather than the Faraday Cage that would require many air terminals. There will be a need for fewer Franklin Cone based lightning rods, e.g. early streamer emitters.

 

[busbar]

Short courses can be a good way to introduce certain specialized applications, like facilities lightning protection. They do not qualify one to perform design work, but orient electrical-engineering folks to be able to communicate specifics and ‘cut though the chaff’ in dealing with lightning-design firms. An example of short-course training is

http://www.lightningtech.com/f_sets/courses.html