While lightning is not a common occurrence in Scotland, it can be deadly. Which is why, for Commercial and Industrial facilities across Scotland, having a Lightning Protection System installed and regularly maintained and inspected is vitally important. Due to the brutal forces and energy within a lightning strike, lightning protection systems will only work if they are in good working condition.
Lightning Protection Design & Installation
Fitting a commercial properties lightning protection systems is the best way of protecting it from the potential damage that a lighting strike can cause.
Lightning strikes are a real and present danger in Scotland and having them fitted to commercial and industrial buildings is part of a legal requirement for building owners to protect occupants from.
As a leading Roofing, Building Maintenance and Rope Access Specialist, we can fit lighting protection systems to buildings of all heights with our Rope Access Team to protect your buildings roof, structure and internals.
Our lightning protection service covers:
- System Design
- Protection System Installation
- Annual Inspection
- Scheduled Maintenance
- System Testing
- Risk Assessments and Surveys
Lightning Protection System – The Basics
The most commonly used lightning protection system is the Franklin System that does not deter a lightning strike, rather re-routes and disperses the energy safely into the ground. But it isn’t just the energy that lightning protection systems have to deal with; it is the heat. Lightning generates a lot of heat which the system has to manage in order to prevent fires.
The entire system works by running the electrical energy from the roof of the building safely to the ground. Because lightning almost always strikes the top of a building, the fit a conductive rod to the top of a commercial or industrial buildings roof – creating a preferred point of strike. The larger the building, the more strike points may need to be fitted. The energy is then passed through a cable running safely down the side of the building ensuring that it does not cause any structural or electrical damage to the building or its contents. The cable is made of copper or aluminium and have a special multi-strand construction.
Annual Lightning Protection System Testing
Lightning Protection Systems must be professionally tested once a year (at least) to ensure that it can handle a lighting strike and safely transfer the electrical current to a safe earthing point. Lightning Protection Testing is required for compliance with the Electricity at Work Act 1989, BS6651 and BS EN 62305.
Balmore Specialist Contracts are trusted to supply and maintain lightning conductor systems in building across Scotland. This ensures the safety of the public, staff and buildings in full compliance with BS:EN 62305 standards, and that meets the criteria required for insurance purposes.
Once we have been contracted to supply and fit or maintain your new lightning conductor product/system, a Contracts Manager will head a team of suitably qualified Lightning Conductor System Engineers from our head office in Glasgow to ensure that work is progressed in a professional & efficient manner.
Method statements and risk assessments are carried out prior to the start of each project and will be overseen by our in-house advisors. This is to determine whether your property requires a lightning protection system and to find the best way to integrate it without compromising the aesthetic qualities of the building.
Find out more
If you would like to know more about lightning protection systems, the benefits of installing them and how we can design a system for your building, please call us today. You can call our head office in Glasgow on 0141 944 6100 or for businesses on the East Coast of Scotland, you can call our Edinburgh office on 0131 314 2896.
