When somebody asks us How does a lightning rod work? A lightning rod is the external terminal protection of a building or other structures against direct lightning strikes.
Index:
What is a lightning rod?
A lighting rod is an external terminal installed in a building or structure that aims to attract lightning to have a controlled point of impact and prevent it from striking an unwanted area or people.
There are several types of lightning rods with different characteristics. But they are composed of metallic materials, and their morphology is based on one or more protruding points where the discharge impacts.
The entire installation is called "Lightning Protection System", and it is mainly composed of:
- Capture systems (lightning rods)
- Down conductor.
- Grounding systems.
- Surge arrestors.
Before explaining how the lightning rod works, we would like to contextualize it through history and introduce you to the possible effects of lightning strikes.
History of lightning rod
On June the 15th, 1752, during a stormy day in Philadelphia, an inventor and scientist named Mr. Benjamin Franklin blew up a metal frame kite tied with a silk cord, into which he had previously inserted a metal key, placing it near his hand. Thanks to that experiment, he was able to observe that through the silk thread the electricity reached the key and electric sparks flew.
He could confirm that the metal key was electrostatically charged, and he demostrated that the clouds were electrically charged and that the lightning strikes were large electrostatic discharges.
Franklin discovered that if the lightning strike, or the electric fire, as he called it, came out of the clouds and found a metal conduit on his way to earth to get into, it would stay there and dissipate. As a result of that crazy experiment, a year later, in 1753, he discovered the lightning rod called the Franklin type, and that kite became the most famous in history.
Lightning strikes effects
Among the different effects that can produce lightning strikes, we can mention some of the thermal, physiological, electrodynamic, electrochemical, etc. Due to their importance, we will emphasize the thermal and physiological ones.
Thermal effects occur due to the high temperature reached by the channel through which the lightning current flows; it may reach up to 20,000 °C, which causes great damage when the electric shock reaches, for example, a tree or impacts a structure.
On the other hand, the physiological effects mainly affect living beings and occur due to the step and contact voltages that appear when the lightning is discharged to earth. To combat and mitigate those effects, the regulations for protection against lightning establish safety measures for people and animals, such as those drafted in Annex D of the UNE 21186: 2011 standard.
There are also international regulations that deal with the effects of lightning current on the human body and livestock (IEC TR 60479-4: 2011). And other regulations, which establish safety procedures for risk reduction when we are outside a structure or building (IEC / TR 62713).
The thunderbolt also has two very characteristic associated effects: the lightning, which is its luminous effect due to the high current circulation (up to 200 kA) and the thunder, which is the sound effect due to the expansive wave of the air that is heated in a few microseconds to a high temperature.
Operation
When people ask us, Hus, does a lightning rod work? We indicate that it’s an air terminal that gives external protection to a building or structure from direct lightning strike impacts. That way, the lightning rod needs to be installed over the highest point of the building or structure we need to protect; it will be in charge of capturing and safely conducting the lightning discharge to the ground.
In order to capture this discharge, the lightning rod has a tip and a metallic body, which are connected by a conducting network to a low impedance earthing system (less than 10 Ω) where the lightning discharge dissipates.
In storm conditions, high voltage occurs between the cloud and earth system due to the large number of electrical charges that are present both at the base of the cloud and on the ground. This high voltage is the trigger to start the leader descended from the beam, which will drill the dielectric air between the cloud and the ground. The very high electric field E (kV / m), which appears in that zone, produces a circulation of ascending electric charges through the body of the lightning conductor of the opposite sign, initiating an ascending tracer, which will meet and recombine with the descendant leader, capturing it and unloading it to the ground.
External lightning protection systems
At present, there are 4 external protection systems that are endorsed by regulations:
Due to its advantages with respect to other external protection systems, the ESE lightning rod (Early Streamer Emission) is currently the most used. It provides a greater protection radius than other systems (up to an 80m radius in level I protection), and its installation is very simple because, in some cases, it only requires a down conductor to drive the lightning current and a ground connection to dissipate all its energy. As a consequence of all these factors, the installation of an ESE lightning rod system is simple, easy, fast, and has a very low cost when compared to other systems.
Design and installation
For the correct design of a lightning protection system in a structure, we must first carry out an analysis of the risk of the same to determine if its protection is necessary. In the affirmative case that lightning protection is necessary, we must calculate what level of protection or security factor to apply at this structure (I, II, III, or IV). On the website of INGESCO there is free online software for this risk calculation and evaluation.
Once the protection level of the structure is calculated, we will choose the external lightning protection system that best fits your needs for each project between those four protection systems.
If the selected external lightning protection system is the ESE lightning rod, we will follow all the guidelines set by the international standards (UNE 21186:2011, NFC 17.102:2011, NP 4426:2013)
In the article "Installation of Lightning Rods," you will find more information about how to install an ESE lightning rod according to the mentioned regulations.
How to know if you need to install an external lightning protection system
Knowing whether to install an external protection system with electric shocks depends on the regulations in force in each country. Buying a lightning rod is the choice of the owners of the building or house.
We must keep in mind the risk posed by lightning for people or infrastructure and the importance of complying with the regulations. Saving on not putting in an adequate protection system can be a great cost at a very unexpected moment. The quality of the catchment system is crucial.
You can consult directly with the INGESCO engineering department to carry out a free study according to current regulations and detail in a technical report if the installation of an external lightning protection system is necessary, or you can carry out the study yourself with the INGESCO software.
