5 questions to assess whether you need a lightning protection system

Do you need a lightning protection system?

Start with these 5 essential questions to help you determine the level of lightning protection required for your needs.

1. What is the risk for staff? The odds of being struck by lightning in the United States this year are 1 in 700,000. Make the safety of workers and others the primary concern when considering lightning protection. Examples of places where risks to personnel should be assessed include factories, schools, farms, churches, sports facilities and hospitals.

2. What is the risk of structural or material damage? Lightning can cause direct impact damage or indirect electrical damage. Direct hits damage roofing materials, heating and air conditioning units, and other exterior parts of a structure. Consequential damage can be the result of lightning current passing through electrical networks or power lines.

3. What are the problems following such a failure? Consider the level of damage caused by direct or indirect strikes and any associated costs incurred. For a business, will expensive repairs be required? Will your level of customer service be compromised? What is the opportunity cost of production stoppages? Consider all qualitative and quantitative side effects of lightning failure.

4. Is the equipment associated with an essential or public service? Think about the level of need for the structure or area – will the public or customers be directly affected by the downtime? Railways, hospitals, airports and utilities, for example, must look beyond their own initiatives to consider the public that would be affected by disruption.

5. Is it likely that there will be a substantial loss of revenue in the time it takes to restore services? From a business perspective, will the corresponding downtime caused by lightning hurt the bottom line? Downtime is often an unavoidable aspect of business, but lightning protection systems can be beneficial in preventing harmful and avoidable downtime and costly repairs due to property damage.