Why solar installations need lightning protection
Solar arrays are mounted on rooftops and open ground, often the highest and most exposed point of a site. A direct strike can damage panels and structures, while surges induced by nearby lightning can travel along cables and destroy inverters and monitoring electronics.
Protection works in three layers: air terminals that intercept strikes, an earthing system that dissipates the current, and surge protection devices that protect the electrical equipment.
Lightning arresters for solar rooftops
Air terminals are positioned so that the solar array lies inside the zone of protection. Because an ESE lightning arrester covers a large radius from a single mast, it can protect a whole rooftop array without a forest of rods across the roof. Henel Engineers has installed lightning arrester masts on residential rooftops with solar panels.
Solar earthing
Module mounting structures, equipment and the lightning protection system all need reliable earthing. We supply and install earth electrodes, earth pits and earthing materials — copper bonded and GI earth rods, CARBOMAXX earthing compound and polyplastic or FRP earth pit covers.
Surge protection for solar systems
Surge protection devices protect the electrical installation from transient overvoltages. Every SPD must be selected for where it is installed — the AC side of an inverter and the DC side of a solar array have different requirements — so SPD selection is part of the design.
