SANS 10313:2010 and

IEC 62305 Parts 2 and 3

By T Manas, Pontins

The South African code of practice as amended in 2010 gives a brief description of the requirements for the protection of structures and persons
against lightning. The document itself does not cover all aspects of the protection structures and persons against lightning. The cover page of
the code of practice therefore clearly states that it can only be used in conjunction with the IEC/ SANS 62305 series. This explanation will give
a brief description on the requirements as per IEC/ SANS 62035 part 2 (Risk Assessments) and concentrate on the basic requirements of IEC/
SANS 62305 part 3 (Physical Damage and Life Hazard [1].

E
ach part of the IEC code is a substantial document and the objec- S4 – Lightning strike near to a service connected to the structure
tive of the article is to give readers a clear and practical insight RZ – Overvoltage
into these requirements. It covers the process of assessing the The risk of damage must be calculated for all of the R’ values. It is
risk of damage caused by lightning and gives a brief description of the therefore preferable to perform risk assessments with the assistance
basic requirements of protecting structures and living beings against of computer software. Protection against lightning is needed if the
the hazards of lightning. calculated risk is higher than the tolerable risk (RT).

R > RT
IEC / SANS 62305: Part 2 [1]
Risk assessments Every risk must be calculated.
Risk assessments shall be conducted for all structures under con-
sideration. The ‘risk’, defined as the probable average annual loss Type of loss RT (y-1)
in a structure and its services due to lightning flashes, depends on: Loss of human life 10-5
• The annual number of flashes to the structure and its services (N) Loss of services to the public 10-3
• The probability of damage by one of the lightning flashes (P)
Loss of cultural heritage 10-3
• The mean amount of consequential loss (L)
Table 1: Tolerable risk.
Therefore, R = N X P X L
10-5 = 1 in 100 000 chance of a fatal injury over the course of one year
The risk must be determined for all sources of damage and the con- (maximum tolerable risk – loss of human life).
sequential risk of loss:
S1 – Direct lightning strike to the structure
IEC 62305 Part 3:
RA – Human Life
Protection against physical damage and life hazard
RB – Fire/ Explosion
RC – Overvoltage (LEMP) The main and most effective measure for protection of structures
against physical damage is considered to be the lightning protection
system.
Sources of damage A lightning protection system (LPS) usually consists of an exter-
S2 – Lightning strike near the structure nal and an internal (LPS). A complete system must incorporate both
RM – Overvoltage (LEMP) external and internal LPS.
S3 – Lightning strike to a service connected to the structure An External LPS in intended to:
RU – Human • Intercept a lightning flash to the structure (air termination system)
RV – Fire/ explosion • Conduct lightning current safely towards earth (down conductor
RW – Overvoltage system)

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• Disperse lightning current into the earth (earth termination system) lowing methods:
• Protection angle method
An Internal LPS: • Rolling sphere method
• Prevents dangerous sparking within the structure using either • Mesh method
equipotential bonding or a separation distance between the
external LPS and other electrically conducting elements internal Protection Method
to the structure. Class of LPS Rolling Sphere Mesh size w Protection
Radius r m angle
M a°
Class of LPS
I 20 5x5
The class of required LPS shall be selected on the basis of a risk as-
II 30 10 x 10 See Figure 1
sessment [1].
Four classes of LPS (I – IV) are defined and correspond to the III 45 15 x 15
lightning protection level as shown in Table 2. IV 60 20 x 20

Table 3: Positioning.
Class of LPS Lightning Protection Level LPS Efficiency
I I 0,98
Construction
II II 0,95
Air terminals should be installed as follows:
III III 0,90
• If the roof is made of non-combustible material, air terminals may
IV IV 0,80
be installed on the surface of the roof.
Table 2: Four levels of protection. • If the roof is made of readily-combustible material, due care needs
to be taken with regard to the distance between the air termination
Protection measures are effective provided that they comply with the conductors and the material. Typically, for thatch roofs, a distance
requirements of IEC 62305 Part 3 [1] and are able to withstand the of 1,0 m is adequate.
stress expected in the place of its installation.

Air termination systems

The probability of structure penetration by lightning is considerably
decreased by the presence of a properly designed air termination
system.
Air termination systems can comprise any of the following elements:
• Rods and finials (including free-standing masts)
• Centenary wires
• Meshed conductors
Individual air termination rods should be connected together at roof Figure 1: Maximum value for the protective angle – air terminals.
level to ensure current division.
The maximum heights for the Protective Angle method are:
Level 1 = 20 m
Positioning
Level 2 = 30 m
Air terminals installed to a structure shall be located at corners, Level 3 = 45 m
exposed points and edges in accordance with one or all of the fol- Level 4 = 60 m

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 Natural air terminals Protection level Material Down conductor mm2
Metal components of a roof structure may be considered as natural Copper 50
air terminals and therefore part of the LPS – provided they are in ac- 1 to 4 Aluminium 50
cordance with the following table: Steel 50

Class Material Thickness a

Thickness b Table 5: Minimum dimensions for down conductor materials.
of t t
Natural down conductors
LPS mm mm
The following parts of a structure can be considered as a natural
Lead - 2,0
down conductor:
Steel (stainless, galva- 4 0,5
• Structural steelwork
nised)
• Concrete steel reinforcing (care must be taken to ensure electrical
I - IV
Titanium 4 0,5 continuity across the interconnected concrete steel reinforcing)
Copper 5 0,5 • Rainwater downpipes (provided that the cross section exceeds
Aluminium 7 0,65 50 mm2, the thickness exceeds 0,5 mm and that the sections are
Zinc - 0,7 welded together
• Steel facades (provided that the thickness exceeds 0,5 mm and
a
t = Prevents puncture, hot spot or ignition
that there is electrical continuity in a vertical direction)
b
t = Only for metal sheets if it is not important to prevent
puncture, hot spot or ignition problems
Down conductors – test joints
Table 4: Minimum thickness of metal sheets or pipes in air termination
systems. • At the connection to the earth termination system, a test joint
should be fitted on each down conductor.
• An exception can be made when using natural down conductors
Down conductor systems with foundation earth electrodes.
In the event of a direct lightning strike to the LPS, the down conductor • The joint shall be capable of being opened with the aid of a tool.
system is designed to safely guide the lightning current towards the In normal use the joint shall remain closed.
earth termination system.
In order to reduce the probability of damage due to lightning
Earth termination systems
current flowing in the LPS, the down conductors shall be arranged
in such a way from the point of strike to earth: The shape and dimension of the lightning protection earthing system
• So that several parallel current paths to earth exist. are important when dealing with safe dispersion of the lightning cur-
• So that the length of current path is kept to a minimum. rent into the ground. In order to minimise any dangerous overvoltages,
• So that equipotential bonding to conducting parts of the structure a low resistance earthing system is recommended – if possible lower
is performed. than 10 Ohms. A single integrated earthing system is preferable, which
is suitable for all purposes (ie lightning protection, power systems,
The separation distance between the down conductors and other telecommunications systems and data systems). Alternatively, all
electrically conductive elements within the structure shall be taken earthing systems shall be equipotentially bonded.
into account and calculated.
Types of earthing arrangements

Type ‘A’
Down conductor materials
This type comprises horizontal or vertical earth electrodes installed
• The number of spacing of the down conductors should be as outside the structure, each connected to a down conductor. In type
previously described. ‘A’ arrangements, the total number of earth electrodes shall not be
• Copper, aluminium and galvanised steel are generally used as less than two.
down conductor materials, the minimum dimension shown in o The minimum length of vertical electrodes = 0,5 minimum length
Table 5. shown on the graph.
• When the distance from a down conductor to a combustible ma- o Protection levels III and IV are independent of soil resistivity.
terial cannot be assured, the cross section of the conductor shall o The minimum lengths can be disregarded if the overall resistance
not be less than 100 mm2. of the earth termination system is less than 10 Ohms.

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 within a structure due to lightning current flowing in the external LPS
or any conductive parts of a structure.
The equipotential bonding of the following elements to the ex-
ternal LPS is essential:
• Metal installations
• Internal systems
• External conductive parts and lines connected to the structure

The interconnection of the LPS to these systems can be done by

means of the following:
• Bonding conductors, where electrical continuity is not provided
by natural bonding
• Surge Protection Devices (SPDs) where direct connections with
bonding conductors is not feasible

Figure 2: Minimum length of earth electrode according to class of LPS. The value of the carrying out of correct equipotential bonding cannot
be understated in value of protecting electronic equipment.

Type ‘B’
o Type ‘B’ arrangements consist of a ring conductor external to the
structure being protected. The conductor shall be in contact with
the soil for at least 80% of its length.
o A foundation earthing system can also be regarded as type ‘B’;
type ‘B’ earthing systems can also be meshed.
o The minimum resistance of a type ‘B’ earthing system can be
disregarded provided that the minimum length requirements
according to the protection level are met.
o Additional vertical earth electrodes should be installed when
a single integrated earthing system is utilised and the overall
resistance of the earthing system does not meet the minimum
requirements of the safety earthing system (ie 1 Ohm or less).

Earthing materials
• Natural earth electrodes
Interconnected reinforcing steel in concrete foundations or con-
crete piles and other underground metal structures should be
used as a natural earthing electrode.
• Earthing materials:

Protection level Material Earthing conduc-

tor mm2
Copper 50
1 to 4 Aluminium N/A Separation distances
Steel 80 An adequate separation distance should be maintained between the
external LPS and all conductive parts of the structure. The separation
Table 6: Minimum dimensions for earthing materials. distance can be calculated as follows:

S = ki kd l
Equipotential bonding km
Equipotentialisation is performed to prevent dangerous sparking

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Where References
ki - depends on the LPS level
[1] IEC 62305: 2010. Part 2. Risk Management. Part 3. Physical dam-
kc - depends on the lightning current flowing on the down
age and life hazard.
conductors
[2] SANS 10313:2010. Edition 3.1. Protection against lightning —
km - depends on the electrical insulation level
Physical damage to structures and life hazard.
l - is the length in metres along the air termination or the down
conductor, from the point where the separation distance is to be
considered, to the nearest equipotential bonding point

Values of coefficient ki
Class of LPS ki
I 0,08
II 0,06
III and IV 0,04

Values of coefficient kc

No of down conductors kc
1 1
2 1… 0,5
4 and more 1… 1/n

Values of coefficient km

Material km
Air 0,08
Concrete, bricks 0,06

Table 7: Values of coefficient ki.

Conclusion
As a result of the substantial changes made in the lightning protection
codes of practice in 2010, and the author’s belief that many contractors
Trevor Manas is the managing director of Pontins, a company
are not implementing the required changes, the author’s company has
established in 1972. Over the years , Pontins has become
embarked on an education programme to inform consulting engineers
widely recognised as a leader in the earthing and lightning
of these new requirements. This article, as part of this programme, protection fields in South Africa and Africa.
gives an outline of the basic requirements of the SANS and IEC codes Enquiries: Tel. 011 792 1300 or email [email protected].
of practice. The information supplied is a brief summary of the basic
principles as described in the codes of practice and does not in any
way constitute all of the requirements as stipulated in the various
About the author
codes of practice.

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