Lightning Protection of Wind Turbines

4:01 PM 1 Comment

With the movement toward green energy, we all have to be thinking about new ways to do things, and wind turbine lighting protection is becoming a big concern. After all, any time you have a tall object sticking up high in the air and standing all by itself, lightning is going to strike it at some point. It is simply a matter of when. But there are some steps you can take to protect your wind turbine from lightning.

Surge protection is essential when it comes to wind turbine lightning protection. Here’s how it works:

· A lightning rod offers some protection to wind turbines, but it’s not enough. Rods only really protect against direct strikes, which are not going to be as common as other dangers from lightning. In order to have complete wind turbine lightning protection, you also need a lightning current arrester.

· Carbon brushes help to ground lightning off of wind turbines, creating an escape path for the lightning to get down to the ground. High quality brushes and brush holders will be able to stand up to the rigours of a lightning strike and protect your wind turbine.

· A class one arrester with spark gap technology is needed to comply with spark gap requirements in most cases. This arrester handles the largest majority of the strike’s power and keeps the class two arrester from overloading.

· A class two arrester connects to the class one arrester and handles all the initial conduction because it is able to respond rapidly to the threat posed by the lightning strike.

Protecting wind turbines from lightning strikes is a very new area of expertise, and it is definitely not one you want to overlook. Whether you’re a major power company with thousands of wind turbines or you’re a home-owner with one turbine in your backyard, you've got to protect your assets.

A lightning rod is a good place to start, but you can’t afford to miss out on the additional protection offered by a carbon brush and brush holder. Power surges won’t be a concern when you have this added insurance against damages.

Some companies offers wind turbine lightning protection. Their carbon brushes are specifically made to protect wind turbines from lightning strikes. They use low resistant grades of material to ensure that the lightning has a very easy path down to the ground that does not involve the overpowering of your wind turbine.

Grounding Brushes & Lightning Protection

Companies offer several different carbon brushes for grounding applications. The most popular grounding brush is used as a shaft grounding assembly that diverts static and induced electric currents in motor shafts away from the bearings, protecting them from pitting and damage. Check out the Bearing Protector which is a brush and holder kit that can be easily installed on the end of the motor shaft. Shaft grounding for use on Variable Frequency Drives (VFD) is the most popular use of the Bearing Protector. VFDs on both AC and DC motor induce harmful electrical current on the motor shaft that results in damage to the bearings. Carbon brushes are also used to provide a path to ground for lightning on Wind Turbine applications. Low resistant grades of material are used to create a sure path to ground for lightning applications. The carbon brush and holder assembly is good insurance against lightning damage. Lightning Protection for Wind Turbines Lightning strikes are a serious concern for wind turbines. Companies offer brush and brush holders that meet the rigorous demands of lightning protection. The brush grades perform well in high surges and are not prone to wear. Low resistivity ensures that electrical currents are directed away from crucial components. Brushes and brush holders are unsurpassed in quality and are a perfect safeguard for your investment.