Product Users

Tower Lightning Protection &
Antenna Lightning Protection Systems

Highrise Building Lightning Strikes Are a Problem, find the lightning protection system right for you LBA Technology and its technology partnershave many years of experience providing grounding and lightning protection services. We offer a complete, integrated capability to design and furnish lightning protection solutions for towers, antennas, and other structures.

We offer lightning protection services and products for broadcasting, cellular telephone, wireless communications, utilities, petroleum, and data industries, to name a few. Our products can protect structures such as antenna towers, windmills and wind farms, lighting standard systems, tanks, drill rigs, flare towers and many more.

Our expertise goes beyond lightning protection to all forms of protection from electromagnetic effects, including radio frequency interference, HEMP (high altitude electromagnetic pulse), and static discharges. Because of this wide ranging capability set, LBA can often integrate all electromagnetic protection requirements in a project for the most cost efficient design.

LBA furnishes its products and services solely for professional and technical applications. It does not deal with residential uses.

Check out our industry leading capabilities in electromagnetic shielding here!

Where Is Lightning Protection Required?

As you can see from the map below – almost everywhere!

While the incidence of lightning strikes varies, virtually all populated regions have some lightning exposure hazard. Taken over the lifetime of typical tower and antenna systems, there is meaningful risk worldwide, and it makes sense to at least minimally protect facilities outside of “lightning belts”. In areas of intense lightning risk, extreme protection measures are mandatory!

Who Needs Lightning Protection?

The largest classes of technical structures needing lightning protection in the world today are wireless communications and broadcast towers and their antennas.

In less than 20 years, cellular mobile towers have proliferated on every continent, and are perfect lightning targets! To a lesser extent, AM, FM, and TV towers have also sprouted, sometimes sharing with cell systems. Not only are the towers at lightning risk, but also the cellular, broadcast, and communications antennas mounted on them. At risk too, are the attached cell site equipment, radio transmitters, coaxial cables, and tower light systems.

LBA specializes in the lightning protection of towers and antennas. With over 40 years experience worldwide in AM. FM, and TV broadcasting, and wireless mobile communications, we have the expertise to design and furnish best protection for these systems.

Global Distribution of Lightning
(click on map for larger view)

The Products LBA Offers for Lightning Protection

LBA offers a wide variety of lightning air terminals in the form of lightning dissipators. Sometimes called a static dissipator, or static dissipation array, this relatively new and advanced air terminal replaces conventional lightning rods in most applications. It functions as a streamer retarding air terminal.

Static dissipation array generically describes a system using point discharge phenomenon to protect towers and antennas and the area around them from a lightning strike. Static dissipation arrays function, as the name implies, by dissipating static electrical charge. Among design factors, the radius of the dissipator electrode cross-section is critical because the process which enables dissipation of static ground charge to the atmosphere is related to electric field intensity (and flux density) surrounding the lightning dissipator. Static dissipation arrays provide, in effect, a "low resistance" route for static ground charge to reach the atmosphere, thus preventing a build up of the ground charge to the value necessary to trigger a strike on the protected object.

Since a static dissipation system must provide a low resistance path to the atmosphere, it seems logical to provide as many discharge points as reasonably possible. By using a large number of air terminal points one can compensate for any loss of efficiency from a theoretical maximum, and spread the dissipator elements over more of the cross-section area of the tower or antenna structure.

All objects have natural dissipation points. On a tower structure, charge tends to gather at, and dissipate from the tower top, antennas and antenna mounts, and from corners. The most effective way to mount a dissipator in terms of structure, weight, wind loading, cost and aesthetics is to enhance this natural dissipation by supporting the dissipator from the structure itself at these natural dissipation points. Since most antenna and tower structures are steel, direct attachment provides excellent conductivity. As a practical matter, the dissipator configuration should be tailored to the structure, not vice versa.

To ensure the most efficient dissipator connections to earth, we offer a wide range of copper ground system components. For installations on insulated AM broadcast towers and masts, LBA offers tower static grounding chokes for all power levels.

Our lightning dissipators are available in configurations which can protect the entire tower structure, or just individual cellular antennas. To accomplish this, dissipators are available in linear, spot, and candelabra styles. From our proprietary products to those of LBA partner suppliers, our products meet highest quality and reliability standards, certified by standards organizations as required. Consult with LBA for the exact mix of products to most effectively protect your antenna or tower system.

LBA Lightning Dissipator Arrays
(Replace lightning rods on towers and antennas)

Towertop array linear dissipator lightning protection system
Towertop Array

linear dissipator element for your lightning protection needs

four element candelabra lightning protection system
Four element candelabra

vertical dissipators for lightning protection systems

Streamer - Retarding Air Terminals

Linear Dissipators

Description:

The linear dissipator consists of a central cable with dissipation electrodes inserted continously within the wind of the cable. The dissipator is designed to retard streamer formation and to enhance the natural dissipation characteristic of the structure, consistent with aestetic considerations.

Application:

Structures where high levels of dissipation are required, such as bridge spans, large broadcast or communications towers, large light structures, pumps, construction equipment, stadium lights, etc.

Candelabra Protectors

Description:

The Streamer-Retarding Air Terminal (US Patent #4,910,636) consists of a multiplicity of dissipator electrodes comprising the point of the air terminal, an elevation conductor, and a threaded base support.

Application:

For use wherever an air terminal (lightning rod) is appropriate and static dissipating qualities are desired. The Streamer-Retarding Air Terminal secures the benefits of the latest technology in static dissipation while retaining the proven protection of the conventional air terminal. These products are all Underwriters Laboratories listed as air terminals, and can be used as part of a "Master Label" system.

Spot Dissipators

PP-1 - (US Patent #4,910,636) Multipurpose spot dissipator that can be used on just about anything including handrails, storage tanks, signs, lighting poles, etc. PP-1 has one 1/4" mounting hole. Recommended spacing is from 10 to 15 feet with a maximum of 20 feet. Dissipators can be mounted in various number of ways including 1/4" bolts, self tapping screws, or mounted to a pipe to use as a height extension.

PP-2 - Similar to PP-1 dissipator except with two mounting holes for vertical rigidity. Can be used for sheds, metal buildings, metal equipment shelters, etc.

GM-2 - Ground Masts in power substations, etc. Two PP-1 Dissipators connected to a 3/8 x 12" Stainless Steel threaded rod. In the middle is a 3/16 x 1-1/2 S.S. Clamp that fits up to 2-1/2" round pipe.

AS-2- Light weight assembly for top of DC grounded antennas. These Spot Dissipators are an assembly of a PP-1 dissipator and a hardware set to attach the dissipator to a vertical rod or stud up to a 1" diameter.

PP-32 - Air Terminal for building structure use. Solid Copper Alloy. These Spot dissipators are used in place of standard air terminals in a structural lightning protection system installed to UL-96A and NFPA 780 specifications.

The models shown above are representative of the products offered by LBA,
for your specific requirements please consult an LBA Sales Expert.

We carry a complete line of supporting hardware for lightning dissipators.

Ground System Materials

A complete selection of copper bare wire and strap of various widths and gauges is available for grounding system construction – see below. LBA can also furnish prefabricated copper ground wire terminations, Copperweld™ ground rods, chemical ground rods, earthing mesh, and exothermic welding materials.

Copper mesh ground screens
Copper and Copperweld ground wires
Copper grounding straps and plates
Exothermic welding molds and charges
Ground system backfill material
Tower leg ground straps
Coaxial cable ground kits
Ground rods - chemical and solid

Copper grounding cables and straps

Project Design, Furnish & Commission Services

LBA has the experience to take responsibility for lightning protection, tower, and antenna system provisioning worldwide! Learn more here about our Design, Furnish & Install services.

Typical Services Provided:

Site evaluation & surveys
Design of protection systems
Project management
Installation supervision
Troubleshooting & repair
Maintenance inspections
Ground systems testing
Electromagnetic hazard testing
RF & EMF training

Other Products and Services

LBA has long experience in dealing with RF transmission requirements and protection. Please visit our Product Index and Gallery to see and access our wider product line. A few of the tower and antenna products you may be interested in are: