A Carbon Footprint Study of Conventional and Advanced LPS

Lightning (A)

Comprehensive lightning protection for buildings, structures and facilities requires a four-step approach comprising protection of critical assets against direct lightning strikes, protecting equipment against incoming surges and transients, providing a bonded, low impedance reference earth, and protection of living beings.

A direct strike “lightning protection system” (LPS) is typically designed and installed to achieve some of the steps above. A LPS includes air terminals, bonding conductors & connections, and an earth electrode system designed to provide a low impedance path to ground for lightning strikes. Different approaches are possible with regard to direct strike protection, and two of them are discussed in this paper.

Whilst a LPS is essential for protection of assets and people, its components are all sources of CO2 emission and hence have a “carbon footprint”. The aim of the present paper is to quantify the differences in carbon footprint due to the materials used in different types of LPS, namely, “conventional” and “non-conventional” (or “advanced”) LPS. This comparison is made for a “basic box building” and a “complex structure”. The total amount of CO2 produced in manufacturing the materials for both systems applied to these two case studies is estimated and compared.

Another aspect of the comparisons carried out is participation in the “circular economy”. A significant contribution in this regard is the use of recycled resins and plastics by applying appropriate masterbatch additives wherever possible in the production of lightning protection systems.

Finally, costs can be minimised and productivity enhanced via the use of the latest Industry 4.0 technologies within the production of direct strike LPS and transient suppression product technologies.