Too many Lightning strikes

Status
Not open for further replies.

Sunset

Member
Location
Louisiana
The place where we want to place a new home already has a power pole and water connections.

Lightning has hit the pole or so close to the pole six times in six years to blow out the fuses and damage the entrance gates controls 250' away from this pole. All sections are grounded with ground rods.

What could I do to improve the setup to drain the lightning away from the house and access controls?
Thanks
 
The short answer is that eventually someone is going to have to find a way to get something other than that pole to be hit by lightning. The MOVs in TVSS boxen eventually get tired of being hit by lightning as well.
 
You can install a Franklin Rod lighting protection system, TVSS's at the Main and at critical loads downstream, but the long and short of it is direct hits and the resulting damage are hard to avoid.
 
If the damage is at the controls 250' away, there may be a grounding problem between the two locations. Are any of the control wires grounded? Is there an EGC between the two locations?
Don
 
Utility arresters dump the lightning to the neutral, which is supposed to have 2 grounds at the pole. Neither ground will dissipate the lightning very much so it travels up and down the neutral to other grounds. It is not uncommon for electrical failures to come from lightning on the neutral side.

Jim T
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top