Fires resulting from lightning strikes cause 3 to 5 percent of all U.S. commercial property insurance claims, and beyond the fire is the destruction of electrical wires and infrastructure that supports everything we do to communicate and conduct business. LEC shares some steps you should be taking to prevent lightning damage: 1. Lightning rods to disperse direct and indirect strikes The best protection from lightning damage to a facility are modern lightning rods, that are part of complete lightning protection systems that work to safely direct lightning around or through a facility without allowing the excess voltage to damage or destroy structures and assets. Modern systems, such as our patented DAS, create a lightning prevention shield that eliminates the possibility of direct lightning damage and side-flash, which is an arc of electricity that can jump across gaps and damage devices, and even injure bystanders. 2. Voltage arresters help stop excess voltage traveling from utility lines or other buildings Also known as surge protectors, these should be used between your wall outlets and your electronics. Aside from the fact that they successfully divide the more delicate interior wiring and equipment from the high-voltage exterior power lines and wiring, most of the time, they will shield the electronics within your building from potentially harmful voltage spikes caused by indirect lightning strikes or problems with utility lines. SPDs help to protect your refrigeration units, air conditioning systems, web and data servers, and other devices that are impractical to unplug during a storm. 3. A good disaster recovery plan helps get your business back on track when things go wrong
All businesses, particularly those that depend on electronics such as point-of-sale systems and IT phone services, ought to have a disaster recovery plan in place. A solid disaster recovery plan minimizes the possibility of downtime and contains procedures for mitigating the effects of a disaster. Insurance may pay for damaged equipment, but prolonged downtime can bankrupt nearly any company unless you have a well-thought-out plan in place for swiftly restarting operations. Fortunately, taking advantage of all these tips can help keep your downtime to a minimum, and make it easier for your business to avoid lightning damage and bounce back from one. Connect with our lightning eliminator experts to know more.
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Do you know that a lightning protection system designed and installed to international standards reduces the risk of lightning damage to a structure and the systems and people within it? The cost of lightning damage is downtime, reduced production, and industrial electronic repairs or replacement costs. There are some things you can do to help minimize lightning damage:
We have 3 individual product lines that can be integrated together for a comprehensive lightning protection system. These product lines include lightning prevention products like our Dissipation Array Systems (DAS), Spine Ball Ionizers (SBI), Spine Ball Terminals (SBT), Streamer Delaying Air Terminals (SDAT), Grounding and Surge solutions. By installing the Dissipation Array System, patented by LEC, you can limit the build-up of static charge in the protection area and discourage secondary and EMP effects, damage to equipment, and disruptions in operations caused by direct or nearby lightning strikes, thereby enhancing site reliability. Certified specialists will install lightning protection systems on your property in accordance with the national safety standards of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and Underwriters Laboratories (UL) to protect it from lightning strikes. Our systems shield your facility by eliminating the streamer formation over the protected area, thus preventing lightning damage. Contact LEC for a design tailored to your facility's requirements. As solar heat warms the ground, air currents rise to form cumulonimbus clouds, so-called thunderclouds. At altitudes above 5 km, the air temperature is below freezing, so atmospheric moisture turns into tiny ice particles. Collisions between these particles generate friction charges, so the upper part of the cloud has a positive charge, and the lower part has a negative charge, eventually resulting in an electrical discharge. When the discharge occurs within a cloud or clouds, it’s called cloud-to-cloud lightning. The phenomenon of a discharge powerfully striking the ground is a lightning strike. Types of lightning damage:
Therefore, understanding the factors influencing lightning to reduce lightning damage is fundamental. Good LPS aims to minimize the faults caused by lightning strikes. Controlling lightning damage
We have three individual product lines that can be integrated together for a comprehensive lightning protection system.
The traditional lightning protection system focuses on storing the lightning charge instead of eliminating it. This outdated system can cause massive damage to structures and property loss. A state-of-the-art lightning protection technology is the charge transfer system (CTS). It’s based on physics and engineering principles and is intended to prevent a lightning strike from occurring within a protected zone. Lightning Eliminators is a one-stop shop for lightning safety products. Connect with us. Lightning can occur during most storms, which means lightning is a threat everywhere. When it occurs, it can cause significant damage to your business operations, valuable assets, and critical electronics. There are 7 types of lightning damage that your facility can experience: FIRES Fire can start anywhere the lightning channel contacts flammable material. These can include oil and gas tanks, pipes, wood, paper, etc. If lightning follows electrical wiring, it often times overheats, causing a fire hazard. POWER SURGES Lightning damage is caused by the electrical surge that is produced by the strike. Although not always immediately known, lightning can cause catastrophic damage to appliances, electronics, computers and equipment, phone systems, electrical fixtures, and the electrical infrastructure of your business. ROOF DAMAGE
A direct bolt of lightning hitting your roof can cause severe structural damage, punctured shingles, and even electrical fires. Strong lightning bolts can cause your roof to crack down the middle. It can also damage your gutters, shingles, and the eaves of your facility. DAMAGED ELECTRONICS Lightning typically damages electronics in one of two ways. The first is a direct lightning strike to the facility. And second through a nearby lightning strike that enter the facility through wires or pipes. The energy from a nearby lightning strike can travel through communication wires (such as phone, internet, or cable wires), directly from a utility pole into the electrical panel, or through conductive metal (such as plumbing or metal bars in the foundation). SHOCK WAVES Lightning can damage brick, concrete, and stone with its shock waves. It can also damage your walls and windows or even crack your foundation, compromising the structural integrity of your entire structure. BURST PIPES When the lightning hits near or directly at your location it sends a jolt through your facility and usually leaves your pipes with multiple pinholes sometimes in the slab or sometimes in the wall, that requires extensive repairs. INJURY, BURNS & EVEN DEATH If you are exposed to a lightning strike, you can suffer from injuries that have a range of severity. From shocks and minor burns to even death, you can be drastically impacted when you are struck by lightning. Lightning damage, while rare due to increased public education and prevention measures, can present with unexpected expenses, downtime and sometimes even personal injuries or death. Get your facility protected with Lightning Eliminator’s lightning protection system and solutions. Is it possible to protect your industrial electronics from lightning damage? Often Is the lightning damage to electronics repairable? Sometimes. So far there is no equipment, technology or method that can change the weather to prevent the occurrence of lightning. Buildings, devices, wiring and humans or animals can be damaged by lightning no matter whether it strikes directly or indirectly. Packing up to 100 million volts of electricity, lightning's destructive electricity can explode brick, ignite roofs, sidewalls, or framing, and cause operational breakdown and degradation that induces harmful electrical surges that can destroy installations and assets. To prevent this kind of damage to a structure, a complete lightning protection system is the best way to dissipate the dangerous electrical discharge. This system is different than the surge protectors you plug in for computers and other electronics. Surge protectors will not protect your equipment from a lightning strike, only against electrical line surges. The total impact on businesses increases further still when considering the costs of a lightning damage to small and medium sized businesses. Interesting Facts about thunderstorms
Increasing risk is what really distinguishes lightning strikes from other causes of infrastructure failure. However, today, lightning related failures are almost completely preventable. Technologies available today allow any facility, structure, or operation can be protected from loss in the event of a lightning strike. LEC’s Dissipation Array System helped Turner Broadcasting reduce electronic system maintenance by over 85%. Our 3 practical steps improve protection against lightning damage:
Conclusion Preventing lightning damage ahead of time gives you the best chance of reducing unnecessary costs down the road. Solutions are available with us to provide lightning protection for buildings and facilities. Contact LEC expert for more information. A direct lightning strike can be a tremendous loss, costing millions of dollars. Mostly these strikes occur on or near residence, causing havoc on the home’s electrical system, appliances, and electronics. Fortunately, there are ways to help safeguard your property, family and yourself from lightning damage. Facts
The safest place to be during a lightning strike is your office or home. Still, some precautions needs to be taken to prevent any lightning damage. Try to stay away from anything that conducts electricity such as:
Invest Investing in the right lightning protection system is the best way to protect everyone from lightning damage. These systems create a pathway for lightning bolts to ground itself. Without a designated path; electrical wirings, metal plumbing pipes and even the metal gas system lines become potential pathways, thus causing damage to every device connected. A tailored system specifically for the home can safely guide the strike to the ground without harming anyone or anything. Surge Lightning strikes near power lines can cause huge power surges, thus a surge protection device should be installed in conjunction with a lightning protection system. These SPDs (point of use Surge Protection Device) do not suppress or arrest a surge; they divert it to the ground. This provides an extra layer of protection to your electrical and electronic appliances. Take action Lightning damage can cause irreparable damage. Take immediate action of getting your exterior and home systems checked and then installing the correct lightning protection device. Lightning Eliminators & Consultants Inc., are pioneers in this field since decades. Their name is synonymous with international standard protection and no strike warranty.
Did you know lightning causes more than $5 billion property damages each year? Lightning is a dangerous natural process. It is one of the leading cause of weather related deaths worldwide. A thunderstorm produced by lightning and thunder together can cause considerable damage. You can protect your business and home from lightning strikes by installing an effective and adequate lightning protection system. In an outdated lightning protection system, electrical charge is diverted to a less damaging path to ground and is stored through electrical rods. This old method can cause considerable damage to electrical appliance, downtime and loss of product to companies. The team of Lightning Eliminators came up with the latest technology of Charge Transfer System (CTS). It is a system planned to avoid a lightning strike from occurring within a protected zone or area. You must be wondering how this state of the art patented technology by Lightning Eliminators & Consultants, Inc. (LEC) works? Let us find out a basic layout of a lightning protection system. The Charge Transfer System (CTS) ismostly consists of these assemblies:
For the best Lightning protection solutions choose Lightning Eliminators & Consultants, Inc. (LEC). Their expert team has patented charge transfer technology, providing comprehensive and integral lightning protection consulting, assessment and design for over 40 years in more than 90 countries.
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AuthorLightning Eliminators & Consultants, Inc. (LEC) serves its clients by installing and maintaining lightning protection systems (LPS), and prevention solutions. Equipped with over four decades of experience, LEC has provided successful support to over 90 countries and throughout the United States. Archives
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