Lightning directly into a building causes a fire due to the deformation of materials, a sharp and strong increase in their temperature. Therefore, lightning protection of buildings and structures is a necessary element in the equipment of any civil, administrative or industrial facility. This is a set of technical measures to ensure the safety of the structure, equipment, property and people in the building. And this is far from a far-fetched problem, since more than 40,000 thunderstorms occur on the planet on average per day. But there is another aspect in the modern world - this is the damage or complete failure of electronic equipment as a result of an overload caused even by distant lightning discharges. And this is a very significant problem in the days of computers and the Internet.
In order to prevent this from happening, a systemic integrated lightning protection of buildings and structures has been developed. Lightning strikes a power line even at a distance of several hundredmeters from the object causes a powerful impulse that can go into nearby buildings, disable engineering communications and create a fire. Due to the different nature of threats, two systems have been developed: external lightning protection of buildings and structures and internal. Each of them is designed to solve specific problems.
The external system must catch the lightning heading into the building, transport it through a special outlet to the ground, while completely blocking the possibility of causing damage to the structure and people in it. Internal lightning protection can provide a reduction in electromagnetic effects on communication systems located at the facility. Such systems are mandatory introduced by regulatory documents both at the stages of project development, construction or reconstruction, and for the operational period of all types of facilities and industrial communications, regardless of ownership and departmental affiliation. But the situation is far from being so simple, since there are two documents: lightning protection of buildings and structures SO 153-34.21.122-2003 and RD 34.21.122-87. These instructions are not equivalent.
Fundamentally, the device for lightning protection of buildings and structures depends on the functions that it must perform. The external system consists of a lightning rod, down conductor and grounding element. The internal one is more complex - these are lightning arresters, surge protection devices, spark and gas arresters, lightning protection barriers. In the countries of America and Europe, the requirements for these systemsmuch higher than in our country. Lightning protection devices there activate their functions already in the event of a discharge threat due to special sensors capable of detecting an increase in voltage in the atmosphere. These are the so-called rod lightning rods. They are capable of protecting a much larger area.
For a long time, people have understood that high-quality lightning protection of buildings and structures is to ensure the safety of people and property from threats of fire and death. This is primarily a guarantee of their own well-being.
