Why You Need Lightning Protection:
Lightning protection systems have changed drastically since Benjamin Franklin first invented lighting rods in 1752. Today's systems must protect modern appliances, electrical systems and building constructions - they have to keep up with tile changing requirements of modern technology.
The Need for Lightning Protection:
Lightning can strike anywhere on earth - even the North and South Poles! In any geographical location, lightning storms occur as few as five times or as many as 100 times per year . The Western Provinces have the most violent thunderstorms in the country because of the area's extremely high earth resistivity
High earth resistivity (the earth's resistance to conduct current) increases the potential of a lightning strike. If struck, structures in these areas will generally sustain more damage when there is no lightning protection system present.
Each year, thousands of homes and other properties are damaged or destroyed by lightning. It accounts for more than a quarter billion dollars in property damage annually in North America. Lightning is responsible for more deaths and property loss than tornadoes, hurricanes and floods combined, but of these violent forces of nature, lightning is the only one we call economically afford to protect ourselves against.
Some properties have a higher risk of lightning damage. When considering installation of a lightning protection system, you may want to assess this risk. Call the Experts at Van Rijn Electric to access your particular situation and come back to you with a free estimate.
The following series of photo's show the damaged caused to an Irrigation pump station.
How a Lightning Protection System Works:
Lightning is the visible discharge of static electricity within a cloud, between clouds, or between tile earth and a cloud. Scientists still do not fully understand what causes lightning, but most experts believe that different kinds of ice interact in a cloud. Updrafts in the clouds separate charges so that positive charges moves end up at the top of the cloud while negative flow to the bottom. When the negative charge moves down, a "pilot leader" forms. 'This leader rushes toward the earth in 150-foot discrete steps, ionizing a path in the air. 'The final breakdown generally occurs to a high object the major part of the lightning discharge current is then carried in the return stroke which flows along the ionized path.
A lighting protection system provides a means by which this discharge may enter or leave earth without passing through and damaging non-conducting parts of a structure, such as those made of wood, brick, tile of- concrete. A lightning protection system does not prevent lightning from striking; it provides a means for controlling it and preventing damage by providing a low resistance path for the discharge of lightning energy.
For Further Information on your Lightning Protection needs Contact Van Rijn Electric Ltd.
