They say lightning never strikes the same place twice, but one strike is all it takes to destroy your expensive electrical communications equipment. A single bolt of lightning can carry as much as 100 million volts of electricity,there’s no way to know exactly where it will strike and indirect strikes can be just as destructive as direct strikes. Damage from lightning can be extensive and costly, from downtime to loss of important data and compromised security systems.
Lightning protectors are an effective and inexpensive way to make sure that your valuable equipment doesn’t get damaged. L-com offers an extensive line of coaxial and data line lightning surge protectors including DC surge protectors for every application. But in order for them to fully protect your equipment it is crucial that the lightning protector be properly grounded.
Here are 5 tips to make sure you don’t get burned by Mother Nature.
1. Never ground to a building's electrical ground
2. Always use at least 8-10 gauge copper wire from the arrestor to the ground stake
3. If possible, connect to an existing telephone company interface. These are usually on the outside of the building and have a heavy ground stake and wire near them
4. If you are using an indoor device, such as a PoE interface with lightning protection, you must still run copper ground wire to the outside of the facility
5. Use a grounding rod. With proper installation, grounding rods complete a safe path for lightning to discharge. They become the final connector of a grounding electrode, meeting or exceeding most local electric codes with resistance of 25 Ohms or less
