Surge and Lightning Protection for Tower Power

The tallest metal object in a field will be hit, or it will be near a hit. SARBS lists both a surge protection device and a lightning protection system because they are not the same part. One deals with the energy that arrives on the cables. The other deals with the strike path on the structure.

Two devices, two jobs

Lightning protection gives the strike a deliberate route to earth so it does not wander through the feeder, the cabinet and the radio. Surge protection sits on the power lines — AC in, and where needed the DC bus — and clamps the spike that travels in from the grid or from a nearby strike. A beautiful air terminal with a loose earth pit does almost nothing. A surge protector with no earth does less.

Put them in the power drawing

The rectifier’s wide input range, 85 to 300 volts, is about sags and swells. It is not a substitute for a surge device. Specify protection with the rectifier, the distribution board and the cabinet earth bar, and test the earth resistance before acceptance. SARBS civil teams are used to casting the pit while the pad is still open. Doing it later means digging up a finished compound.

Both products are on the SARBS product list. Mention the soil and the tower height when you ask, so the earth design is not a generic kit.

Figures and product notes on this page are taken from the public SARBS website, the SARBS LinkedIn page and the SARBS YouTube channel.