LP services are rendered by a qualified installer, using certified materials, installing risk-derived, engineered and integrated LP systems, incorporating all or some of the following, air termination systems, down conductors, earth electrode systems, equipotential bonding, surge protection, warning signs, no go areas, safe and unsafe smoking zones, safe and less safe parking areas, LP system protected emergency assembly areas, roped in accessory equipment (eg flag poles), and hopes, blessings and prayers (not for atheists).
Category Archives: Featured
Lightning protection and earthing
Lightning protection and earthing of sub-stations is the key to electrical safety on site, be that a home site, a commercial, industrial, mining, municipal, facility infrastructure such as airport or train station. All power fed sites where lightning density is moderate would benefit from lightning protection and earthing systems by reducing risk of damage to the structure, equipment, services, reputation, popularity and loss of no claim bonus from applicable insurance providers (terms and conditions may apply.) (read more)
Lightning protection and earthing are integrated since, for normal safe electrical system operation a path for fault currents to flow to, with a low resistance, is vital to the detection of electrical faults to enable tripping and isolation of the problem before excessive fault current flow initiates a fire or electrocutes livestock unlucky enough to be in the wrong place during a sustained uncleared earth fault, or injured / killed by a huge shunt of an enormous amount of lightning energy over the space of a few fractions of a second.
So, the process of burying earthing conductors of copper, galvanized steel, or other metallic items to handle this function of shunting electrical energy into the ground is the “earthing” part of lightning protection and earthing. The air terminal on top of your building, (maybe down the side too) and its associated down-conductors make up the other two thirds of the formula for external lightning protection and the earthing taken care of by the buried metallic component.
Earthing Mats South Africa
Earth Mats South Africa : Before we begin, lets just state that there are earth mats and earth mats, the first a small electrode systems installed as component part of type A earth termination systems for static, RF, or LP applications. The second earth mat referred to above is the one associated with sub stations, those large blocks of steel found on the sides of roads in our suburbs where the transmitted high voltage is transformed to low voltage domestically useable electrical energy suitable for reticulation over low voltage networks to our homes, class rooms, shops, offices and factories, etc.
Installing An Earth Mat South Africa
Here are some tips and questions to ask when you are thinking of installing an earth mat in South Africa, or if you are facing some earthing problems with an existing building that may need an earth mat in South Africa.
1. Every Earth Mat will have different requirements
It’s better to get an expert to take a look at your situation before you do anything. This could lead to you saving a lot of money down the line as if you go ahead with an installation without a proper design, you will have an installation that does not solve your solution and you are back to square one with a large and expensive mistake that you will have to take out the ground or have to add additional requirements before it becomes certifiable.
2. Will it need to be certified?
if that answer is yes, then consult an expert. We have engineers that will be able to give you advice, click here to set up an appointment.
3. Do you know the resistivity of the ground that it needs to be installed in?
Installing an earth mat in South Africa comes down to knowing the resistivity, and that will give you the data you need to design a compliant earth mat design. Click here to set up an appointment where we can test your soil resistivity for you. This will give you a good idea of what kind of earth mat you need to install, the exact dimensions, and whether you will need drilling or not.
4. Will you need a drill rig?
Unfortunately, I will have to give you an answer not many like to hear, which is “it depends”. How compact is your ground? How rocky is the area is and How resistive is the ground? it all matters.
There are so many variables that it’s hard to give straightforward advice. The best thing you can do is describe your situation to us on the phone and let us give you the best advice possible for your situation. Click here to speak to one of our engineers, and get an expert to help you sor out your earth mat problems.