Riding the Lightning
We have entered the "storm season" here in the bible-belt. With storms come the most unpredictable, and second most deadly force, lightning. Lightning is not the only concern. Equipment in your facility can malfunction and cause similar damage. Your audio, video, computer, phone, security and other electronic systems can easily be destroyed by lighting, a strong surge, or static electricity. Electronics with "chips" are especially vulnerable, because of their micro geometry's inherent inability to absorb transient energy.
Surges (transients) are abnormally high, quick pulses that substantially exceed the normal operating voltage of a circuit. Surges are generally random. They can last anywhere from a billionth of a second to a few thousandths of a second.
A direct lightning strike to a structure has no defense!
Near misses that hit power service poles, where the equipment itself does not receive the direct discharge have a defense. The surge/spike will enter the equipment through the building wiring. The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) compiled research on lighting induced surges outside and inside buildings. The results of this research is documented in C62.41-1991. Research shows that because of arc-over at the service entrance and within the building wiring, the maximum voltage that reaches a 110V outlet is 6000V. The maximum current is 3000A. If a typical 20,000 amp lightning strike occurs up to 1/2 mile away from your facility, the electric and magnetic fields surrounding that strike would induce hundreds of volts into your AC wiring.
Any equipment with an inductor (motor, transformer, coil) like a refrigerator or air conditioner, create a back-feeding EMF when the inductor is switched off. The EMF voltage can be several times that of the
original voltage prior to being switched off. These are short transients. The transients can cause similar damage to lightning. Sometimes the damage is degrading circuits over time, only to rear its ugly
head in the worst possible moment. I have experienced this personally.
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