THE POWER OF STANDARDS IN PROTECTING BUILDINGS AND LIVES FROM LIGHTNING - UGANDA EXPERIENCE

Abstract:
Lightning poses a significant threat to both buildings and lives, particularly in regions with high thunderstorm activity. Using three examples from Uganda, this paper illustrates how the lack of stringent lightning protection standards in the past has led to avoidable damage to infrastructure and tragic loss of life and explores the crucial role of standards in mitigating the risks associated with lightning strikes. For the last ten years, the predominant finding of existing lightning protection in Uganda has been the use of a single air termination, connected to a single down conductor, terminating into an earth electrode that is likely a single rod driven into the earth at random depths. Installations could include one or more independant systems per structure or one system to protect several structures. Insufficient or no bonding nor surge protection is generally noted but in many applications, no aervices will be provided to the structure. This paper addresses how ACLENet attempts to address the introduction of IEC standards methodology while trying to keep the costs affordable for Uganda.