We design complete protection against lightning and surges: from air termination on the structure to the surge arrester next to each sensitive device. Up to 100 kA lightning current (10/350 µs) at the service entrance, photovoltaic installations up to 1500 V DC and certified solutions for hazardous areas.
Lightning current seeks the lowest-impedance path to earth. If the installation does not provide one, it finds it through structures, cables and equipment. Surges also enter through the power supply and signal lines, and originate from switching operations within the plant itself. The consequences are destroyed equipment such as inverters, controllers and UPS units, fires, extended downtime and, in hazardous areas, ignition risk. The most common deviations are a Type 2 arrester installed where Type 1 is required, arresters out of service that nobody monitors, and earthing whose resistance no longer meets the design.
We start from the risk assessment, which defines the protection level.
Required protection level per IEC 62305-2 and IRAM 2184.
Air termination, down conductors to earth, equipotential bonding and surge and lightning protection.
We integrate the right technology from our partners for each zone.
Intercepts the strike before it hits the structure or rooftop equipment and conducts it to earth along a defined path. The critical condition is maintaining the separation distance between the protection system and the building's metallic or electrical parts; where space does not allow it, high-voltage-resistant insulated conductors achieve the same in a few centimeters.
The final destination of lightning current and the reference for the whole installation. Low-resistance, corrosion-resistant earthing, combined with bonding of all metallic parts through busbars and connectors tested with lightning current, prevents dangerous potential differences between structures, piping and equipment.
Surges are controlled in stages: a Type 1+2 arrester at the service entrance diverts lightning current, a Type 2 in distribution panels limits transients and a Type 3 protects the sensitive device. The three stages must be coordinated. Versions with remote signaling allow their status to be monitored from the management system and a module to be replaced before the installation is left unprotected.
A photovoltaic installation combines a large exposed area, long cable runs and a DC side that requires dedicated arresters. Protection is installed at the inverter inputs and outputs, on both the DC and AC sides, and sized so that the array's maximum open-circuit voltage does not exceed the arrester's operating voltage.
In hazardous areas, any component of the protection system can be an ignition source. Ex-rated insulated conductors, certified components and arresters dedicated to intrinsically safe instrumentation loops are required, installed at both ends of the loop to protect the interface and the field instrument.
Pipelines, tanks and buried structures with cathodic protection are divided into electrically isolated sections by insulating flanges and threaded joints. During a strike, the potential difference between both sides can cause an uncontrolled arc, often inside a hazardous area; bonding the sections with a conductor, however, would cancel the protection. Isolating spark gaps resolve this conflict: they keep the sections isolated in normal operation and connect them in a controlled way during the discharge. They are also used to link earthing systems that must remain separate, with versions certified for zones 1, 2, 21 and 22. Buried joints are completed with anti-corrosion tapes.
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