As it is known, our country experiences regular rainfall annually, strong rain and lightning and occasional loss of life and property. City settlements, industrial zones, high buildings and other buildings are on the list of the most affected by lightning in bad weather conditions. Used for protection from lightning and transferring the lightning effect to the soil lightning rodconducts the electrical energy generated during the lightning strike to the earth by pulling on itself with its conductive structure. Thus, a huge energy generated by a lightning strike can be safely discharged to the soil without damaging the structures and the living things around them.
Although a lightning rod system has been installed in the facility, if there is a disruption in this installation, it cannot be expected to function properly. In accordance with legal regulations on earthing, lightning rod measurements shall be required at least once a year. Even if no faulty condition is detected, lightning arrester measurements must be carried out regularly. The conductor measurements must be carried out by electrical engineers, electrical technicians and high technicians. When making these measurements, firstly the strength of the lightning rods is checked. The poles must be intact and free from rust on the ends. Lightning rods are conductive and should not loosen at the connection points. Doing so may cause a fire in lightning weather. Lightning arrester measurement is in fact the same as grounding installation measurement. Lightning arrester grounding, if there is a healthy foundation grounding in the building, the equipotential busbar should be connected to the building installation. If this grounding is not healthy or missing, an external grounding line will be required.
Lightning conductor grounding and all other electrical devices must not be grounded separately. All groundings should be combined in a potential equal. The most appropriate one is to make the grounding of the ground and to connect all the grounding with the equipotential potential. What is important in grounding is the contact surface and abrasion resistance. For the measurement of the ground resistance, the earthing megaw is used by separating the down conductors. The resistance value obtained as a result of the measurement must be at most 10 ohms. If the lightning rod ground resistance exceeds this value, the resistance should be reduced by embedding an additional rod in the ground. Meanwhile, a number of chemicals are available on the market to help reduce grounding resistance. However, experts do not recommend this because they can have corrosive effects and, more importantly, pollute the environment.
Lightning rods used against lightning strikes should be maintained annually and this maintenance is among the important issues that should be repeated periodically. In addition, this situation is also among the reports that are controlled by production facilities and other structures that create risks. In accordance with the legislation in force, in case of detection of lightning rods which are not regularly maintained and checked, serious penalties are applied. By the state that attaches importance to safety lightning protection Particular attention is given to this obligation and this necessity prevents many possible risks.
Main issues to be considered during lightning rod maintenance;
- Whether the lightning rod has a fault,
- Detection of wear and damage in lightning rod conductors and insulators,
- Whether it shows correct installation and operation,
- Many issues are checked for proper grounding, and as a result of these checks lightning rod maintenance report It is formed. Reports must be archived and stored.
The control periods, control criteria and standards to be used for all electrical installations, earthing installations and lightning arresters are included in the annexes of the Regulation on Health and Safety in the Use of Work Equipment. Accordingly, the legal regulations to be taken into consideration in lightning rod measurements are as follows: Grounding in Electrical Installations Regulations, Electrical High Current Installations Regulations, Electrical Internal Installations Regulations and TS EN 60079 standard issues. standards and test methods published by organizations. Our company has been accredited by Turkish Accreditation Agency (TÜRCERT) in accordance with TS EN ISO / IEC 17025 standard.
