Protect your possessions

Lightning strike strength on the Highveld is on the increase as global warming takes effect. “South Africa has one of the highest lightning ground-flash densities in the world,” says SA Weather Service’s Tracey Gill, who has made it her life’s work to study and document this phenomenon.

So we can unfortunately expect higher losses of our electronic equipment due to the severe and intense thunderstorms, added with the high soil resistivity levels we have on the Highveld.

So how does this all happen?

Lightning is the result of build up of ions in the air. The electrical discharge of these ions in a very short duration and high voltage is lightening. It can occur between a cloud and the ground or within a cloud. With the Highveld having high soil resistivity, we experience high levels of ground strikes.

Power/voltage surges are fast, temporary spikes in voltage, current or transferred electrical energy within an electrical circuit. Surges are unavoidable. They occur when the electrical charge is boosted at some point in the electrical circuit. They can be caused by lightning but also by electrical switchgear, electrical motors or electrical power generation machines.

This means that damage to your electrical and electronic equipment can be from other sources other than lightning. In South Africa, Eskom’s ageing infrastructure and their implementation of load-shedding is a major cause of power surges.

The following diagram illustrates the waveform of a typical mains supply and that of the same mains supply with power surges.

So this is where power surge protection and lightening protection come in as an absolute must for every home on the Highveld.

When a fault occurs an electrical earthing system makes your electrical installation and your appliances safe so that you don’t get electrocuted. Lightning and surge protection devices have an electrical earthing terminal that must be connected to the electrical earthing system. A path for safely dissipating overvoltage transients surges is provided by earthing.

A surge protector that includes both Threshold Clamping Technology and Sine Wave Tracking Technology are first prize. Excellent protection from lightning load-shedding power surges is offered by these surge protectors. A qualified and registered electrician is required to install surge protectors and lightening protectors to safe guard your house against a lightning strike.