Lightning rod is an electrical safety equipment that allows the intense electric current generated between static electricity-charged clouds and the ground to be transferred directly to the ground without damaging people, buildings, electrical devices or electrical installations.

How Does the Lightning Rod, Which Stands Out with Its Lightning Protection Feature, Work?

The methods that provide protection against damages that lightning may cause are divided into two groups as lightning arresters and lightning arresters. Lightning rods work according to the lightning arresting principle. Lightning rods, which are placed at the highest point of the structures to be protected and also called external lightning systems, attract lightning with the help of a metal rod at its end and send the current to the ground. Lightning rods, which are positioned at the highest part of buildings or elevations, consist of a long and pointed pipe, a metal plate buried in the ground and copper conductive wires connecting the two mechanisms. The structure of the conductive wires and the ions at the ends of these wires have the effect of capturing the static electric current released by the collision of clouds. The current, which is safely transferred to the ground through the conductive wires, is neutralized thanks to the neutralizing feature of the soil. The periodic maintenance application, which is supported by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security and tied to legal conditions, must be carried out at least once a year. During the lightning rod periodic control operations, the system is checked to see if it is working properly with the help of measuring devices. It is determined whether there is any corrosion on the pole and the catching end. It is checked whether the down conductors descend by maintaining the S distance. The S distance, also known as the safety distance; is the protection margin that sends the electric current to the ground in a safe and controlled manner during a lightning strike. To be more specific; it is the safety margin that does not allow the spark to jump in the entire section of the copper wire assembly, which is the down conductor, until it reaches the nearest grounded conductor (metal plate buried in the ground). Continuity test is performed on the down conductors. The measurement terminal is changed or tightened.