Buildings are vulnerable to lightning strikes, from skyscrapers in large cities to houses in suburban neighborhoods. The non-conducting materials can strongly resist the current from the lightning, creating heat that causes fires and destruction. Special protection systems can spare these structures by capturing the lightning with low resistance components and safely transporting the current to the ground.

Lightning Rods

The most well-known devices are lightning rods, sometimes known as Franklin rods due to their invention by Benjamin Franklin. They are usually made of copper or aluminum and include a system of cables that lead to a grounding device. The rod takes the initial charge and diverts it from interacting with high-resistance components. The electricity is then carefully grounded either to the soil or to the water if the structure is a ship.

Meshed Conductors

Other notable solutions in the field of lightning safety aurora co are meshed conductors. These systems use a mesh cage conductor that has terminals on the high points of the building and the edges of the roof. The system extends through the structure’s sidewalls and ends on earthing systems. Unlike a lightning rod that spots specific points, meshed conductors cover a greater area throughout the structure.

Early Streamer Emission Terminals

An Early Streamer Emission (ESE) terminal protects a specific area by generating artificial ion waves to create an upward leader before other protection systems, such as a high point, a lightning rod or nearby trees. The quick reaction creates a large protection area between 10 and 120 meters. As a result, the ESE system is the ideal choice for either larger buildings or several smaller structures within the same area.

A lightning strike’s interaction with poorly conducting elements can devastate a building and endanger its inhabitants. Building owners can rely on several protection options that allow the current to travel to the ground with minimal to no damage.