IEEE Guide For The Protection of Communication Installations From Lightning Effects

IEEE Guide for the Protection of
Communication
IEEE Std 90003™-2008 Installations from
IEEE Std 90003™-2008
Lightning Effects
IEEE Power Engineering Society
Sponsored by the
Power Systems Communications Committee
IEEE
3 Park Avenue IEEE Std 1692™-2011
New York, NY 10016-5997
USA
15 August 2011
Authorized licensed use limited to: Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Downloaded on March 27,2012 at 21:38:16 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
IEEE Std 1692TM-2011

Communication Installations from
Lightning Effects
Sponsor
Power Systems Communications Committee

of the
IEEE Power Engineering Society
Approved 16 June 2011

IEEE-SA Standards Board
Abstract: The document addresses methods and practices necessary to reduce the risk of
damages to communications equipment within structures arising from lightning surges causing
GPR (ground potential rise) and similar potential differences.
Keywords: IEEE 1692, lightning, protection, communications equipment, towers
Acknowledgments: Figures 1, 2, and 7 reprinted with permission from Expert Systems
Programs and Consulting, Inc., GPR-Expert—Ground Potential Rise Protection using a High
Voltage Interface. June 15, 1998. Original graphics of Figures 1, 2, and 7 copyrighted © by John
S. Duckworth, P.E., CEO, Expert Systems Programs and Consulting, Inc.
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

3 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016-5997, USA
Copyright © 2011 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

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PDF: ISBN 978-0-7381-6671-1 STD97120

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Introduction
This introduction is not part of IEEE Std 1692-2011, IEEE Guide for the Protection of Communication Installations
from Lightning Effects.
The document addresses methods and practices necessary to reduce the risk of damages to communications
equipment within structures arising from lightning surges causing GPR (ground potential rise) and similar
potential differences.
According to the National Lightning Safety Institute accurate information about lightning-caused damage is
elusive (see National Lightning Safety Institute [B31]).a The U.S. Insurance Institute estimates the annual
damages from lightning in the United States to be $5 billion with the lightning strike claims, not including
U.S. government property losses, paid per year being $820 million (see Brashear [B6]). Other sources
provide much higher values. Lightning damage to equipment results in losses exceeding $26 billion
annually in North America, and nearly three times that worldwide with more than 150 strikes per second
(see Duckworth [B9]). Insurance payout resulting from lightning damage, accounts for approximately 7.5%
of all U.S. insurance company distributions (see Brashear [B6]). Ironically, lightning damage to equipment
could be all but totally prevented.
Special protection methods to minimize lightning damage are simple, very reliable, and inexpensive,
particularly when compared to the cost of equipment repair and replacement, as well as the possible
consequences of harm to personnel. However, methods for lightning special protection cannot be found in
the code books, e.g., National Electrical Code® (NEC®) or the National Electrical Safety Code® (NESC®).b
Per the scopes of these two well-known codes, lightning protection is not covered, yet they are relied upon
for practically all general construction in the United States. The Lightning Protection Standard® (NFPA
780®) should not be expected to provide guidance for the prevention of lightning damage to equipment.
The scope of NFPA 780 covers the protection of structures only. NFPA 780 (4.18.3.2) does contain
requirements for the surge protection of all service entrance signal, data, and communication circuits as
well as surge protection for all service entrance power circuits. Common grounding requirement (4.14) for
electric service, communications, and antenna system grounds as well as underground metallic piping
systems is also included in NFPA 780.
Documented methods for the special protection of equipment from lightning cannot be found in the two
main codes, NEC or NESC, or the Lightning Protection Standard that are systematically referred to for
practically all general construction in the United States. This is in part the reason why there is so much
needless lightning damage. This guide is dedicated to providing special lightning protection methods for
equipment and filling the vacuum that currently exists today (see Duckworth [B9]).
Protection of the structure from lightning plays an important role in the protection of the equipment within
the structure. While the protection of the equipment is the main objective of this document, the protection
of the structure housing the equipment is also covered in this document. The equipment housed in the
structure is often worth many times the value of the structure.
This standard was prepared by the Wire-Line Subcommittee of the IEEE Power Systems Communications
Committee of the IEEE Power Engineering Society.
a
The numbers in brackets correspond to those of the bibliography in Annex A.
b
National Electrical Code, NEC, and NFPA 70 are registered trademarks in the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, owned by the
National Fire Protection Association.
iv
Copyright © 2011 IEEE. All rights reserved.
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v
Patents
Attention is called to the possibility that implementation of this recommended practice may require use of
subject matter covered by patent rights. By publication of this recommended practice, no position is taken
with respect to the existence or validity of any patent rights in connection therewith. The IEEE is not
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advised that determination of the validity of any patent rights, and the risk of infringement of such rights, is
entirely their own responsibility. Further information may be obtained from the IEEE Standards
Association.
Participants
At the time this recommended practice was submitted to the IEEE-SA Standards Board for approval, the
PSCC Wire-Line Subcommittee (SC-6) had the following membership:
Percy E. Pool, Co-Chair and Technical Editor

Larry S. Young, Co-Chair and Secretary
Ron Baysden Jean DeSeve Dan Jendek

Steve Blume Ernest M. Duckworth, Jr. Richard L. Knight
Joe Boyles John Fuller Randall Mears
Claude Brisson Ernie Gallo Mark Simon
Timothy Conser Gaetano Grano John Wruble
David P. Hartmann
The following members of the individual balloting committee voted on this recommended practice.
Balloters may have voted for approval, disapproval, or abstention.
William J. Ackerman Ronald W. Hotchkiss Donald Parker

S. Aggarwal Piotr Karocki Percy Pool
John Banting Yuri Khersonsky R. Ray
R. Baysden Stanley Klein Charles Rogers
Joe Boyles Richard Knight Bartien Sayogo
Chris Brooks Joseph Koepfinger Gil Shultz
Gustavo Brunello Robert Konnik Mark Simon
William Byrd Jim Kulchisky James Smith
Suresh Channarasappa David Landry Jeremy Smith
Timothy Conser Greg Luri Jerry Smith
Michael Dood Michael Maytum Gary Stoedter
Ernest Duckworth William McCoy David Tepen
Donald Dunn Daniel McMenamin James Tomaseski
Gary Engmann Joseph Mears Eric Udren
Gaetano Grano Jerry Murphy John Vergis
Randall Groves Arthur Neubauer Karl Weber
Edward Hare Michael S. Newman James Wilson
John Hawkins Gary Nissen Jan Wisniewski
Lee Herron Chris Osterloh John Wruble
Gary Hoffman Lorraine Padden Larry Young
vi
When the IEEE-SA Standards Board approved this standard on 16 June 2011, it had the following
membership:
Richard H. Hulett, Chair

John Kulick, Vice Chair
Robert M. Grow, Past Chair
Judith Gorman, Secretary
Masayuki Ariyoshi Jim Hughes Gary Robinson

William Bartley Joseph L. Koepfinger* Jon Walter Rosdahl
Ted Burse David J. Law Sam Sciacca
Clint Chaplin Thomas Lee Mike Seavey
Wael Diab Hung Ling Curtis Siller
Jean-Philippe Faure Oleg Logvinov Phil Winston
Alexander Gelman Ted Olsen Howard L. Wolfman
Paul Houzé Don Wright
*Member Emeritus
Also included are the following nonvoting IEEE-SA Standards Board liaisons:
Satish K. Aggarwal, NRC Representative

Richard DeBlasio, DOE Representative
Michael Janezic, NIST Representative
Don Messina
IEEE Standards Program Manager, Document Development
Erin Spiewak
IEEE Standards Program Manager, Technical Program Development
vii
Contents
1. Overview .................................................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Scope ................................................................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Purpose ................................................................................................................................................ 1
1.3 Application .......................................................................................................................................... 1
2. Normative references.................................................................................................................................. 2
3. Definitions acronyms, and abbreviations ................................................................................................... 2

3.1 Definitions ........................................................................................................................................... 2
3.2 Acronyms and abbreviations ............................................................................................................... 3
4. Overview and background .......................................................................................................................... 3
5. Lightning effects......................................................................................................................................... 4
5.1 Surge protective devices (SPD) and wire-line ..................................................................................... 5
5.2 Isolation techniques ............................................................................................................................. 6
5.3 Lightning—a major source of ground potential rise .......................................................................... 10
6. Handling lightning strike current .............................................................................................................. 10
7. Locating (siting) towers ............................................................................................................................ 11
8. Grounding (earthing) considerations ........................................................................................................ 11

8.1 Grounding impedance........................................................................................................................ 12
8.2 Grounding requirements .................................................................................................................... 13
8.3 Radial counterpoises .......................................................................................................................... 13
8.4 Grounding conductor requirements in equipment buildings ......................................................... 14
8.5 Interior equipment ground ring (IEGR) ............................................................................................. 15
8.6 AC power grounding electrode .......................................................................................................... 15
8.7 Coaxial cable, waveguide, and building entrance panel (BEP) ......................................................... 15
8.8 Communication facility isolation from a lightning induced ground potential rise ............................ 16
8.9 Single point ground ........................................................................................................................... 16
8.10 Installation of ground rods and bonding requirements .................................................................... 16
9. Grounding (earthing) tower and equipment.............................................................................................. 17

9.1 Single point grounding ...................................................................................................................... 17
9.2 Ice bridge ........................................................................................................................................... 17
9.3 Building entrance panel ..................................................................................................................... 17
10. Entrance cables ....................................................................................................................................... 18
11. AC power surge protection ..................................................................................................................... 18

11.1 Protecting ac services entering and exiting the building .................................................................. 19
11.2 Surge protective devices (transient voltage surge suppression) ....................................................... 19
12. Personnel safety considerations .............................................................................................................. 20
13. Equipment building lightning protection system .................................................................................... 20
Annex A (informative) Bibliography ........................................................................................................... 21
viii
Annex B (informative) Lightning protection guide checklist for risk management ..................................... 23
B.1 Key considerations for the application of this Guide ........................................................................ 23
B.2 How to use this Guide ....................................................................................................................... 23
Annex C (informative) Basic concepts for lightning protection of structures .............................................. 25
Annex D (informative) Power-line isolation: theory and application........................................................... 26

D.1 LGPR and equipotential planes ........................................................................................................ 26
D.2 LGPR detection and isolation activation .......................................................................................... 26
D.3 Back-up power and rectifier implications ......................................................................................... 26
D.4 Power line transient protection ......................................................................................................... 27
ix
.
Communication Installations from
Lightning Effects
IMPORTANT NOTICE: This standard is not intended to ensure safety, security, health, or
environmental protection. Implementers of the standard are responsible for determining appropriate
safety, security, environmental, and health practices or regulatory requirements.
This IEEE document is made available for use subject to important notices and legal disclaimers.
These notices and disclaimers appear in all publications containing this document and may
be found under the heading “Important Notice” or “Important Notices and Disclaimers
Concerning IEEE Documents.” They can also be obtained on request from IEEE or viewed at
http://standards.ieee.org/IPR/disclaimers.html.
1. Overview
1.1 Scope
This document presents engineering design guidelines for the prevention of lightning damage to
communications equipment within structures.
1.2 Purpose
The purpose of this guide is to provide reliable engineering methods and practices to minimize damages to
communications equipment located within a structure.
1.3 Application
The protection of the structure plays an important role in the protection of the equipment within the
structure. While the protection of the equipment is the main objective of this document, the protection of
the structure housing the equipment is also covered in this document.
1
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IEEE Std 1692 -2011
IEEE Guide for the Protection of Communication Installations from Lightning Effects
2. Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document (i.e., they must
be understood and used, so each referenced document is cited in text and its relationship to this document is
explained). For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of
the referenced document (including any amendments or corrigenda) applies.
Accredited Standards Committee C2-2007, National Electrical Safety Code (NESC). 1
IEEE Std 487™-2007, IEEE Recommended Practice for the Protection of Wire-Line Communication
Facilities Serving Electric Supply Locations..2, 3
IEEE Std 1590™-2009, IEEE Recommended Practice for the Electrical Protection of Communication
Facilities Serving Electric Supply Locations Using Optical Fiber Systems.
NFPA 70, 2008 Edition, National Electrical Code (NEC). 4
NFPA 780, 2000 Edition, Standard for the Installation of Lightning Protection Systems.
3. Definitions acronyms, and abbreviations

For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply. The IEEE Standards
Dictionary: Glossary of Terms & Definitions should be consulted for terms not defined in this clause. 5
3.1 Definitions
all-dielectric optical fiber cable: An optical fiber cable containing no metallic or conductive components.
ground ring: A buried grounding electrode, in the form of a conductor in direct contact with the earth,
encircling the structure being grounded.
ground potential rise (GPR): The product of a ground electrode impedance, referenced to remote earth,
and the current that flows through that electrode impedance.
halo ground: An internal closed loop metallic ground. Usually a 6 AWG sized conductor that is routed
around the room approximately 2 to 2.4 m (6 to 8 feet) above the floor. This ground is used to dissipate
unwanted energy off of metallic surfaces. This ground is used to bond and ground metal objects such as
metal doors, door frames or casings, window frames or casings, air handling ducts, and air conditioning
housings (except fire suppression equipment). It is not to be used to ground communication equipment or
equipment supporting hardware.
high-voltage interface (HVI): Protective apparatus that provides electrical isolation of wire-line
communications conductive paths.
1
National Electrical Code, NEC, and NFPA 70 are registered trademarks in the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, owned by the
National Fire Protection Association.
2
IEEE publications are available from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 445 Hoes Lane, P.O. Box 1331,
Piscataway, NJ 08855-1331, USA (http://standards.ieee.org/).
3
The IEEE standards or products referred to in this clause are trademarks of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.
4
NFPA publications are published by the National Fire Protection Association, Batterymarch Park, Quincy, MA 02269, USA
(http://www.nfpa.org/). Copies are also available from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 445 Hoes Lane, P.O. Box
1331, Piscataway, NJ 08855-1331, USA (http://standards.ieee.org/).
5
The IEEE Standards Dictionary: Glossary of Terms & Definitions is available at http://shop.ieee.org/.
2
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IEEE Std 1692 -2011
lightning ground potential rise (LGPR): A ground potential rise condition caused by a lightning strike to
the earth or object attached to the earth. Characteristics include rise times in the μs and sub-μs time frame,
current flow nominally radial from the strike point, and high differential ground potentials created over
extended distances (subject to local soil resistivity).
primary (or extrinsic) communication SPD: An surge protective device capable of diverting or arresting
a considerable portion of the surge current away from the system it is protecting. They are generally
installed at the cable entrance to a building, on the main distributing frame, or at the equipment/cable
interface.
radial counterpoise: A conductor or system of conductors located on, above, or most frequently below the
surface of the earth; and connected to the grounding system of towers or poles.
3.2 Acronyms and abbreviations
ABD avalanche breakdown diode

ac alternating current
AWG American wire gauge
BEP building entrance panel
dc direct current
EMP electro magnetic pulse
GDT gas discharge tube
GPR ground potential rise
HVI high-voltage interface
IEGR interior equipment ground ring
LGPR lightning ground potential rise
MCOV maximum continuous operating voltage
MDF main distributing frame
MGB master ground bar
MGN multigrounded neutral
MOV metal oxide varistor
MTBF mean time between failures
NEC National Electrical Code
NESC National Electrical Safety Code
NFPA National Fire Protection Association
PSAP public safety answering point
PVC polyvinyl chloride
SAD silicon avalanche diode
SAS silicon avalanche suppressor
SBTC solid bare tinned copper
SCR silicon controlled rectifier
SPD surge protective device
SPG single point ground
TVSS transient voltage surge suppression (see SPD)
UPS uninterruptible power system
4. Overview and background

This Guide presents recommended engineering design practices to reduce the risk of lightning damages to
communications equipment within structures. If equipment is protected from damage by lightning, then
personnel using, or associated with, the equipment may also be protected. Specific measures for the
protection of personnel are not covered in this Guide.
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IEEE Std 1692 -2011
This Guide includes discussion on the following topics:
 Lightning effects on grounded towers, buildings, and equipment (Clause 5)

 Lightning—a major source of ground potential rise (Clause 5)
 Divide and control lightning strike current (Clause 6)
 Tower location with respect to equipment building, electromagnetic radiation, need for Faraday cage
(Clause 7)
 Grounding (earthing) considerations (Clause 8)
 Voltage divider circuit from lightning traveling down a tower (Clause 9)
 Single point ground location (Clause 9)
 Coordinate the coaxial cable entry with building equipment grounding (Clause 10)
 Entrance panel, bulkhead, or wave guide hatch (Clause 10)
 Isolate wire-line communications from remote earth (Clause 10)
 AC power surge protection and uninterruptible power system at the power entrance facility (Clause
11)
 AC disconnect isolation
5. Lightning effects
Lightning is an electrical discharge. The cloud-to-cloud or cloud-to-ground discharge generates electric,
magnetic, and electromagnetic fields. The most significant field is the magnetic one. The magnetic field
induces voltages in conductors and, if a loop is formed, currents in conductive loops. Cloud-to-ground or
grounded structure discharges will cause a localized ground potential rise (GPR). Currents flowing in
structures will cause localized differences in structure grounding voltage and the currents will create
localized magnetic fields.
Electrical equipment damage from lightning may be placed into three major categories:
 Improper or insufficient grounding

 Lack of protection from GPR
 Lack of protection from lightning transients
Improper or insufficient grounding will result in the equipment being stressed and/or damaged (potential
difference) from nearby equipment, metal objects, misdirected current flow, etc.
Lack of protection from GPR will result in the equipment being stressed from its connection to remote
earth at some distant location through communication wire-lines or power supply wiring and/or from
intrabuilding GPR arising from the voltage drop between power and telecommunication grounds references
(see IEEE Std C62.43 [B23], and Ma and Dawalabi [B29]).
Lightning GPR (LGPR) can result from strikes to objects or direct strikes to earth. Strikes to towers may
have higher probability when towers or metallic structures are present, but sites without towers or metallic
structures can suffer damage from nearby earth strikes.
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IEEE Std 1692 -2011
High differential ground potentials between local equipment and remote power grounds make the power
service conductors a favored discharge path for LGPR currents. Soil conditions have a significant effect on
differential ground potentials. Higher soil resistivity will result in higher differential ground potentials from
lightning strikes to earth. With cloud to ground electric potentials in the magnitude of tens of millions of
volts, an earth strike can be characterized as a current source. When the stroke discharge occurs the current
traveling in the earth will flow regardless of the soil impedance. General application of ohm’s law will
indicate the higher soil resistivity will result in a higher differential ground potential for a given discharge
current.
Sites without towers may experience LGPR effects as much, if not more, than sites with towers as they are
less likely to have extensive grounding infrastructure. Sites at most risk are areas with a higher occurrence
of lightning and high soil resistivity.
5.1 Surge protective devices (SPD) and wire-line
The standard surge protective devices (SPD) in the telecommunications industry, for the termination of
communication wire-line services is the gas discharge tube (GDT). GDTs are also called gas tubes. GDTs
can be found on virtually every telephone pair terminated in homes, buildings, and similar locations. GDTs
are designed to shunt most current to ground. If the magnitude shunted does not exceed a certain threshold
the SPD will help protect equipment, and personnel, from harm.
Most shunting devices, however, do not fully protect network electronic equipment from a GPR or
“outgoing current,” whether induced from lightning or from a faulted power line. When shunting devices
are connected to an elevated ground (outgoing current) during a GPR event, they merely offer an additional
current path off the site to remote earth (the other end).
When SPDs (GDTs, MOVs, ABDs, SCRs, SADs, SASs, etc.) are used as ground shunting devices, they
will not protect equipment from GPR. These devices merely offer an additional path to remote earth
through the communication pairs for any and all outgoing currents.
When there is a GPR event the SPD provides a connection of the communication path in the reverse
direction from which they were intended to operate and increases the possibility of equipment damage to
telephone and power installations.
The most susceptible locations are those where the equipment is located near, or under, towers and/or are
located at a higher altitude than the surrounding area.
Some of the susceptible locations to equipment damages include the Public Safety Answering Point
locations (also called 911 PSAP). The typical 911 PSAP center is a relatively small building under, or near,
a radio tower. This tower is a likely target for lightning. Personnel taking emergency calls coming into the
PSAP may be at a higher risk since they must be at the phones at all times and cannot be off the phones
during lightning storms, as recommended in virtually every telephone book in the United States. For
additional information see ATIS 0600321 [B2].
Whether the site is a 911 PSAP center or a cellular telephone (radio) antenna on top of a mountain, special
protection methods are available and must be used to reduce the risk of lightning damage to equipment and
associated working personnel. Methods will be presented in this Guide to enable engineers to incorporate
them into the general construction design.
Effective protection of sensitive equipment with SPD shunting devices is complex. A well-designed
installation requires coordination of the protection for low-voltage power feeds (ac and dc) with the
protection for telecommunications facilities in order to minimize the effect of intrabuilding GPR. The use
of secondary SPD is recommended to supplement the primary SPD (see ITU-T K.11 [B26]). Surge
resistibility and impedance of the terminal equipment must be compatible with the selected primary SPD.
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IEEE Std 1692 -2011
Finally, secondary and primary SPD must be coordinated to optimize adequate operation (see IEEE Std
C62.43 [B23], ATIS 0600338 [B4], ITU-T K.36 [B27], and ITU-T K.11 [B26]).
Even with a well-designed installation, part of the lightning current will reach the equipment and, in some
cases, can affect service quality and/or cause equipment damage.
5.2 Isolation techniques
To minimize the risk of equipment damage due to energy exchange between grounds, special protection
devices based on isolation techniques are very effective.
The isolation protection techniques are particularly recommended for:
1) The protection of non-interruptible (class A) service (see IEEE Std 487-2007 or IEEE Std 1590-
2009)
2) The protection of sensitive equipment not designed for operation with standard primary SPD
3) Sites exhibiting excessive trouble reports due to lightning activity
5.2.1 Wire-line isolation
Figure 1 and Figure 2 show the value of isolation in communication circuits. 6
NOTE 7 —Reprinted with permission from Duckworth et al. [B10]
Figure 1 —Communications without isolation protection
6
For simplification, power feeding of the isolation device is not shown. Grounding arrangement of a telecommunication room is
much more complex. Grounding standards for telecommunication rooms must be strictly followed to minimize equipment damage.
7
Notes in text, tables, and figures of a standard are given for information only and do not contain requirements needed to implement
this standard.
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NOTE—Reprinted with permission from Duckworth et al. [B10]

Figure 2 —Communications with isolation protection
In some situations, economic considerations based on the cost of the telecommunication equipment to be
protected may be sufficient to justify the cost of the special protection devices. However, isolation does not
solve grounding deficiencies inside the telecommunications room. Isolation devices can be damaged on the
service and/or power supply side due to improper grounding design.
For critical services and sensitive equipment protection through isolation, using optical isolators or
isolation transformers is recommended. Isolators provide a path for a signal, using either optical or electro-
magnetic coupling, but do not provide a dc current path. If there is no path for incoming or outgoing
currents to flow, there will be no current flow. The risk of harm to equipment, cable, or associated working
personnel will be greatly reduced.
In the design of the isolation installation, intrabuilding GPR problems must be addressed (see Cohen [B7],
and Ma and Dawalabi [B29]). The “station” ground of the isolation device must be at the same ground
reference with the protected equipment and ac power neutral and dc ground reference. Without proper
grounding arrangement in the telecommunication room, equipment can be damaged no matter the kind of
protection used (SPD, optical fiber, isolation).
Figure 3 and Figure 4 show very simplified 8 installation examples depicting intrabuilding GPR and the
impact of the ground installation.
8
Grounding installations of the telecommunication room must be investigated in such a case.
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Figure 3 —Example of an acceptable and proper installation. Power, equipment,

and protection device grounds are at the same reference.
Figure 4 —Example of an improper installation. The equipment can be subjected to high-

voltage difference (delta V). The wire inductance and time delay propagation of high
frequency lightning current can create large GPR difference (delta GPR).
5.2.2 AC service isolation
Additional protection for the conditions listed at the beginning of 5.2 can also be offered through complete
ac isolation where the ac utility is temporarily disconnected via automatic methods. Note that ac disconnect
isolation requires protected equipment to have reliable power back-up systems such as battery or generator
equipment for uninterrupted operation during ac isolation.
AC isolation preemptively open-circuits the secondary fault current paths of GPR (see Figure 5 and Figure
6). These secondary fault paths go through the equipment and are a result of momentary GPR events
creating high differential ground potentials and severe ground fault currents. Surge protection devices are
bi-directional and will conduct in the reverse direction when the grounding system is sufficiently elevated
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in potential. When this elevation (rise in potential) occurs on the communication lines it will directly
connect the system electronics to the energized grounding system.
The reactive nature of typical electronic communication system behaves differently at higher lightning
frequencies compared to 60 Hz. Batteries look inductive, wires look inductive, transformers behave more
capacitive, etc. The complexity of performing circuit analysis for a lightning fault condition becomes very
daunting. Therefore lightning fault current paths are created that do not always follow the intentional circuit
paths and are difficult to predict.
The utility power circuits provide a highly conductive path for lightning discharge currents to remote
grounds. When the terminal ground is elevated and the communication line surge protectors conduct, this
condition will put the electronic systems directly in a secondary fault current path. Disconnecting the
electronics from utility power removes this fault current path.
AC disconnect isolation also provides additional protection from power line fault conditions that are caused
by lightning activity. (See further discussion of LGPR in Clause 6). Figure 5 and Figure 6 present
simplified application circuits and LGPR discharge paths.
Figure 5 —Secondary LGPR discharge paths without ac isolation
Figure 6 —Secondary discharge current paths blocked with ac disconnect isolation
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5.2.3 Direct ac isolation method for protection of communication sites from lightning
induced ground potential rise
Consider the following when the use of ac isolation methods is necessary.
 Use best protection practices for lightning protection as described in this document including the
use of single point ground, ac surge protection, and surge protection on wire-line communication
lines.
 Follow NFPA 70 requirements, specifically maintaining a single N-G bond point in the service
disconnect cabinet.
 Keep ground wires as straight as possible and minimize bends.
 Placing the ac isolator between the ac service disconnect switch and the power transfer switch is
recommended.
 Primary ac surge protection is to be located on the line side of the ac isolation unit. Use secondary
surge protection, in L-L and L-N modes, on the load side of the isolation unit. N-G surge
protection mode is not to be installed at the secondary location.
Note that ac disconnect isolation requires protected equipment to have reliable power back-up systems such
as battery or generator equipment for uninterrupted operation during ac isolation.
5.3 Lightning—a major source of ground potential rise
There is a 50% probability that a lightning strike will be approximately 30 kA (see Anderson and Eriksson
0). If the self-inductance of the earth is estimated very conservatively to be 0.5x10-6 H, and considering that
lightning takes the form of a pulse which has a typical rise time of 2x10-7 s, then using V = Ldi/dt yields the
estimated GPR of a 30 kA strike to be 7.5 kV. Higher current lightning strikes or strikes passing through
higher inductance will yield higher values of GPR.
If the inductance of a grounding system is estimated to be 1x10-6 H, then the GPR resulting from a 30 kA
lightning strike will be around 15 kV. Any grounded equipment that is connected to wire-line
communication pairs will then be in jeopardy from outgoing currents seeking a path to remote earth.
In large structures having a large number (1000+) of communication pairs, such as a telecommunications
central office, the GPR effect will be greatly reduced due to the current division in the many multiple paths
(the communication pairs) to remote earth. However, for small structures with relatively few
communication pairs, all the available grounding paths must be considered including wire-line,
multigrounded neutral (MGN), water pipes, building steel, etc. Structures connected to large metallic
infrastructure may have lower GPR values. For smaller structures, the isolation decision depends on many
considerations including equipment characteristics, type of services, and location.
6. Handling lightning strike current

Controlling the dissipation path for lightning strike current requires current redirection through a
combination of current division and current blocking techniques. This approach is an absolute must for
success, because of the magnitude of the current, the resulting surge impedance of any single dissipation
path and the availability of secondary fault current paths through the electronics equipment. Multiple
connections (minimum 4 but 10 preferred) between the tower and a grounding ring will divide lightning
current into smaller segments. This division will ensure that the lightning surges will follow the designated
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paths for dissipation into the earth and thus lower the resulting GPR to the adjacent equipment building
grounding system.
Fault current blocking through automatic ac disconnect isolation requires protected equipment to have
power back-up systems such as battery, uninterruptible power supply, or battery/generator equipment for
uninterrupted operation during ac isolation. AC service is automatically reconnected after the threat has
subsided below an acceptable threshold.
AC isolation periods for LGPR will nominally be several minutes but are automatically extended if the
LGPR threat condition persists. Isolation periods for power line fault conditions will be several seconds,
but also extend if power line conditions do not return to acceptable levels. AC isolation will respond to
power line sags, swells, and short term transients exceeding threshold levels.
Effective ac disconnect isolation requires preemptive detection of impending LGPR events. Detection of
LGPR from approaching storms and of rapidly changing local surface electric fields provides the
indications of imminent threat.
There is no means to predict power-related fault conditions. AC isolation will minimize the stress caused
by extended poor ac power quality. AC power is reconnected to the protected equipment after it stabilizes
within selected thresholds. As a result, the site is not exposed to power recovery transients following a
power service failure.
7. Locating (siting) towers

Design engineers attempting to keep transmission losses low, along with the real estate considerations,
usually dictate that the equipment building be as close to the antenna tower as possible. This practice goes
against the design of a reliable and robust equipment system to lightning.
The recommended minimum distance between the equipment buildings associated with nearby antenna
towers is (9 m [30 feet]) in order to minimize the effects of the electromagnetic field associated with
lightning and to reduce the risk of damage to equipment circuits. In general, electromagnetic field strength
drops off as the square of the distance. If real estate considerations prevent the building from being more
than 9 m (30 feet) from its antenna tower, then a Faraday cage (wire mesh) around the interior of the
building should be established. Without a Faraday cage, equipment damage cannot be prevented no matter
how well the equipment is grounded or isolated from remote earth.
The recommended minimum distance between the equipment buildings and the towers also contributes to
keep the LGPR at the tower base from saturating the building grounding system, before a majority of it can
be dissipated.
The two grounding electrode systems (for the tower and for the equipment building) must be bonded
together at one single point. However, a bond of 9 m (30 feet) or more will significantly reduce the
resulting GPR at the equipment building due to the impedance of this lengthy bond. This is one of those
rare exceptions in which a lengthy bond is an advantage in supporting a robust grounding system to
lightning.
8. Grounding (earthing) considerations

Take the following grounding considerations into account to reduce the risk of damages from lightning. An
example of a grounding system is depicted in Figure 7.
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NOTE—Reprinted with permission from Duckworth et al.[B10]
Figure 7 —Example of a grounding system
8.1 Grounding impedance
Use the following steps to design a grounding electrode system.
1) Conduct a four (4) probe soil resistivity test, per IEEE Std 81 [B19], at each proposed tower and
equipment building location to obtain data for an engineering study to design a grounding system
that will meet specified grounding objectives. See items 2) and 3).
2) Hardening against lightning GPR damage requires specially designed tower radial counterpoise
grounding system with a grounding impedance not exceeding two (2) ohms.
NOTE 1— If the objective is not economically achievable, provide the lowest possible ground impedance
value, using radial counterpoises, to minimize the grounding impedance (and thus GPR) as much as possible.
3) Hardening against lightning GPR damage requires an associated tower equipment building
grounding system with a grounding impedance not exceeding two (2) ohms.
4) The total overall site ground impedance (tower and building) should not exceed one (1) ohm.
NOTE 3— This may require significant real estate space if the site soil resistivity is greater than 500 meter-
ohms at the anticipated grounding electrode depth.
5) Measure the final total site grounding impedance, per IEEE Std 81 [B19] using the three (3) probe
method, at the single point ground (SPG) bar, to verify that the site grounding system meets the
specified objectives prior to the electrical connection of the power multi grounded neutral (MGN)
to site system ground.
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8.2 Grounding requirements
Consider the following items when designing and constructing the grounding system.
1) All conductors for the grounding system are to be 2 AWG solid bare tinned copper (SBTC).
2) Use low impedance conductive cement placed around all grounding conductor radial
counterpoises at locations where the soil resistivity is greater than 500 meter-ohms at the
grounding electrode depth.
Follow the items below for the installation procedure:
a) The trench for the radial counterpoise is to be opened to a depth of a minimum of 457 mm
(18 inches) to a maximum of 610 mm (24 inches) or below the frost line.
b) Place the conductor centered in the trench.
c) Then use a 50 mm (2 inches) covering of dry, low impedance conductive cement on top of
the radial conductor. (Moisture from the earth will harden the low impedance conductive
cement within one week).
d) Then, backfill the trench with removed earth, this will then cover the low impedance
conductive cement and radial wire and will level the earth thereby closing the trench.
NOTE 1— Low impedance conductive cement will not corrode, or crack, and is extremely low in resistivity.
Other materials might change resistivity depending on moisture content.
3) All ground rods for the grounding system are to be stainless steel, copper, or galvanized steel and
a minimum of 2.4 m (8 feet) in length and 15.87 mm (5/8 inch) in diameter.
4) All bonds to the grounding system in contact with the earth are to be done by exothermic welding
or irreversible compression connectors listed for the purpose.
5) Provide an external ring ground, which should include ground rods, for the tower and the
equipment building. The ring ground is to be composed of 2 AWG SBTC conductors placed
below the frost line. Also provide a minimum of 4 radial counterpoises each 7.6 m (25 feet) in
length (see Figure 7). This combination of ring grounds and radial counterpoises provides
capacitive coupling of the lightning high frequency current to earth.
NOTE 2— The scheme described above needs a minimum of 30 m (100 feet) for the total combined length
of the radial counterpoises for best results.
6) In corrosive environments, consideration should be given to the use of sacrificial magnesium

anodes against the effects of corrosion (to protect grounding system).
8.3 Radial counterpoises
Place the radial counterpoise conductor in a trench (500–600 mm [18–24 inches] in width) and low
resistivity cement, conductive cement, bentonite, or similar material, around the conductor.
The recommended minimum length of each radial counterpoise conductor is 7.6 m (25 feet). If the desired
resistance to earth is not achieved at this length then use longer radial counterpoise conductors in order to
obtain the desired resistance objective. Bond the radial counterpoise conductor to the tower base and to the
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ground ring conductor using an exothermic weld or irreversible compression connectors listed for the
purpose (i.e., below or above ground use).
The ideal number of radial counterpoises recommended is ten (see Block [B5]. The maximum effective
length of each radial counterpoises (see Block [B5]) is 24 m (80 feet) each. Longer length radial
counterpoises will offer little dissipation improvement because the lightning strike current will not remain
on the radial counterpoises for much over 24 m (80 feet).
In sites with limited space (i.e., real estate limitations or restrictions), the recommended grounding system
is, at a minimum, 60 m (200 feet) of grounding conductors. This includes a ring ground of 12 m (40 feet)
and four radial counterpoises, each 12 m (40 feet) in length.
Placing a ground rod in rocky soil is not always practical (costly and not efficient with high resistivity
soils). The use of radial counterpoises in close contact with the rocky soil and covered by low impedance
conductive cement will provide a less expensive and more efficient solution. Anchoring the radial
counterpoises at the end to minimize movement is recommended.
In all cases, the use of low impedance conducting cement (or a similar low resistivity material) placed
around the radial counterpoises at the time of installation will help reduce the grounding impedance of the
radial counterpoise. The low impedance conductive cement will harden into concrete both protecting
(mechanically) the grounding system (giving it many years of additional life), and giving the system a
much better (lower) ground resistance.
Capacitive radial grounding will dissipate the high frequency current components in lightning. Adding
ground rods to a radial counterpoise ground wire will not significantly improve the dissipation of the high
frequency components in lightning.
Ground rods are most effective at the origination location (tower ring) of the radial ground and dissipate the
low frequency components of lightning, including dc.
Direct radial counterpoises placed off of the tower ground ring away (opposite direction) from the
equipment building. Direct counterpoises placed off of the equipment building ground ring away from the
tower.
Radial counterpoises from one structure (i.e., building) may extend around the structure if they do not get
too close to another structure (i.e., tower) or to the radial counterpoises from that structure. If they get too
close they could originate voltage differences and increase the GPR.
8.4 Grounding conductor requirements in equipment buildings
Consider the following requirements for the grounding conductors in equipment buildings.
 Do not use U-shaped grounding conductor runs.

 When conduit is required, place all grounding conductors in nonmetallic conduit only. If metallic
conduit cannot be avoided, bond both ends of the metallic conduit to the grounding conductor.
 Minimize the length of all grounding conductors. Run the conductor as straight as possible
avoiding unnecessary bends, loops, and sharp bends. The minimum bend radius for a 2 AWG wire
is 305 mm (12 inches).
 Place grounding conductors through nonmetallic sleeves in floors, walls, ceilings, etc.
 Keep runs as short as possible.
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8.5 Interior equipment ground ring (IEGR)
1) Consider placing an interior equipment ground ring (IEGR) to facilitate common bonding of
equipment and to minimize passage of lightning current through equipment (racks).
2) Place the IEGR as close to the same height as the building entrance panel (hatch plate or
bulkhead), typically 2–3 m (7–8 feet).
3) Bond the IEGR to the master ground bar (MGB) which is then bonded to the exterior single point
ground (SPG) bar.
4) Construct the IEGR of 2 AWG stranded or solid bare conductor mounted in an open loop, that is,
open at one point, around the perimeter of the room at the recommended height. See item 2).
5) Bond items to the IEGR using 6 AWG conductors.
6) Bond all equipment frames directly to the MGB when the IEGR is not used.
7) When protection against radio-frequency interference is necessary, bond metal objects such as
door frames, air conditioners, electrical boxes, cabinets, water pipe, etc., to a closed loop ground
ring. This ring is typically referred to as a halo ring. Do not bond a halo ground ring to fire
protection systems or to any electronic equipment whatsoever (see ATIS 0600334 [B3]).
8) The halo ground ring is only bonded to exterior building ring ground through the MGB.
9) Bond the MGB directly to the single point ground.
8.6 AC power grounding electrode
Consider the following items when designing the ac power grounding electrode.
1) The ac service grounding must meet the requirements of NFPA 70 National Electrical Code®
(NEC®) and any other applicable local code.
2) A conductor must be placed from where the ac power service ground is derived to the metallic
water pipe system (if present).
3) Bond the ac power service entrance panel board neutral to the tower building’s MGB.
4) Bond the ac grounding electrode (ground rod) at the meter to the SPG bar.
8.7 Coaxial cable, waveguide, and building entrance panel (BEP)
Consider the following items when grounding the cables entering the structure.
1) Ground the coaxial antenna cable shield and waveguide to the tower, at the top and bottom of the
tower, and every 15 to 20 meters (50 to 75 feet) in between.
2) Place the bottom grounding kit for the cable shield at the bend where the coaxial cable and
waveguide transition from the vertical to horizontal.
3) Route all antenna cable and waveguide into the equipment building through the BEP. Ground the
cable shields to the BEP.
4) The preferred coaxial cable entrance into the equipment building and off of the tower is at ground
level for both. This design eliminates the need for large copper straps required to ground the BEP,
and intercepts the tower magnetic field.
5) The BEP at the equipment building is to be grounded to the building ring ground on outside of
building and to the MGB inside the building.
6) Place SPDs on the coaxial cable just before the coaxial cable enters the BEP.
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8.8 Communication facility isolation from a lightning induced ground potential rise
Consider the following when addressing the isolation of communication circuits into the facility.
1) Isolate from remote ground all wire-line (i.e., metallic) communication facilities, i.e., copper pairs
that may enter an equipment building.
2) Do not use standard communication pair shunting protection, such as GDT or carbon type primary
protectors to protect equipment at lightning GPR locations. They are too slow and will allow the
lightning surge to pass by and damage equipment. Primary solid state hybrid SPD may be used to
protect against residual surges (surges passing through the isolation equipment).
3) NOTE—In some cases, primary gas tube protectors in combination with secondary solid state
elements may provide adequate protection.
4) Ground the metallic shields of wire-line communication cables entering equipment buildings to
the single point ground location when wire-line isolation is not used.
NOTE—NFPA 70 requires the grounding of cable shields entering buildings. NFPA 70 also requires primary
protection for wire-line conductors.
5) When fiber optic cable is used to provide communications services use all-dielectric cable with no
metallic strength members or metallic shield. Place the cable in a PVC conduit (Schedule 80) with
a minimum diameter of 50 mm (2 inches). Locating should be done with electronic (frequency-
based) devices or passive reflectors external to the optical fiber cables (see IEEE Std 1590).
8.9 Single point ground
Consider the following when designing a single point ground.
1) Place a copper ground bar at the single point ground location (in the earth or on the equipment
building).
2) Provide suitable access (a hand hole) for the bar installed at the single point ground location to
allow for future inspection, maintenance, etc. when placing the bar in the earth instead of on the
equipment building.
3) Damage to equipment in buildings may be minimized by providing a Faraday cage in the
equipment building’s concrete walls utilizing the rebar within the concrete. A Faraday cage is
established by electrically connecting the rebar cage, ¼-inch rebar at every rebar intersection, with
203 mm (8 inch) rebar spacing on all four building sides including the roof, and bonded to ring
ground.
4) Use tinned copper bars when the ground bars are placed in exterior locations. Tinning provides
corrosion protection. All connections to ground bars are to be made using two-hole lugs.
8.10 Installation of ground rods and bonding requirements
Consider the following when installing ground rods and determining bonding requirements.
1) Place all ground rods in undisturbed soil and below the frost line.
2) Provide suitable access (a hand hole) for the ground rods placed at each corner of the ground rings.
The hand hole will allow future inspection, maintenance, etc., of the ground rods without digging.
3) Bond external ring grounds to any metal object or structure, including fences, within 2 m (6 feet)
of the ground ring.
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4) Bond any fences, including fence posts, to the ground ring

5) Bond openings across the fence (i.e., gate posts) to the ground ring.
6) Place a flexible bonding strap from each gate post to the movable gate section(s).
9. Grounding (earthing) tower and equipment
9.1 Single point grounding
Single point grounding (typically at the BEP) helps minimize equipment damage from lightning. The GPR
resulting from lightning is a wave of voltage rise, or current surge that passes through a grounding system.
If all equipment is bonded to the grounding system at one location (single point), then every metallic object
rises and falls in potential together.
Single point grounding also helps to minimize touch potential thus increasing the level of personnel safety.
9.2 Ice bridge
The ice bridge is to be isolated from the tower with an isolating bracket and/or air space as the ice bridge
leaves the tower (see “R56 Manual” [B30]). Angle the ice bridge upward from the tower to the building so
that the tower-end is lower than the building-end.
The ice bridge is to be grounded to the tower grid via its support legs only.
The objective is to eliminate a path for the lightning current toward the equipment building as well as
minimizing possibility of current loops using the ice bridge (see “R56 Manual” [B30]).
9.3 Building entrance panel
Coaxial cables, waveguide, antenna wires, etc. typically enter the equipment building through a building
entrance panel (also called a bulkhead panel or waveguide hatch). The BEP is made out of solid copper or
stainless steel. The installation and proper engineering design of the BEP reduces the risk that lightning will
enter the equipment building on any entrance cables coming from the antenna tower.
The height above ground level at which the tower cables pass into the building through the BEP is
comparable to a voltage divider circuit. As an example, if the voltage over the height of a tower struck by
lightning is approximately 250 kV, at one tenth the tower height, the voltage on the tower cables would be
about 25 kV.
Consequently, the best location for the BEP is at the base of the tower in order to ensure the lowest level of
voltage on the entrance cables. This cable entrance at ground level also enables all equipment in the
building to be grounded at the base or floor level. This results in minimum equipment voltage stress and
maximum safety to personnel.
If the BEP is placed high above the base of the tower (4.5 m to 6 m [15 feet to 20 feet]), then all equipment
grounding within the building must be made at this height. Thus, equipment racks must be isolated from the
floor and grounded at ceiling (BEP) level to minimize lightning current from passing through the
equipment in order to get to ground. Grounding of the BEP to building ground requires the use of two 2/0
AWG (or coarser) conductors with sufficient separation between the two to minimize mutual impedance.
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Bond the exterior of the building entrance panel to the coaxial cables and/or waveguides and to any other
metal structure, such as a transmission line support frame (ice bridge). Connect directly to the external
building grounding system with a lead in a downward direction.
All coaxial cables and/or waveguides are to be bonded to the tower’s grounding structure. Bond the interior
of the building entrance panel to the interior grounding system.
10. Entrance cables

A lightning strike to a grounding system produces an elevated GPR. Any equipment bonded to this
grounding system, and also connected to wire-line communications, may be damaged from outgoing
current seeking remote earth. Personnel working at this equipment may be susceptible to harm because they
could be in the current path of this outgoing current.
The equipment damage from a lightning strike may not be immediate. Sometimes equipment is weakened
by stress and primed for failure at some future time. This condition is called latent damage and leads to
premature mean time between failures (MTBF) of the equipment.
The best engineering design is the use of all-dielectric optical fiber cable for communications. A properly
engineered and installed all-dielectric optical fiber cable will provide immunity from most of the effects of
fault-produced GPR and induction. Isolation, then, is no longer a requirement since physical isolation is
inherent in the optical fiber itself. The all-dielectric optical fiber cable may need to be placed in PVC
conduit if it is necessary to protect it from rodents.
However, when wire-line facilities are used, an engineering design solution to protect this equipment is to
isolate the wire-line communications from remote earth. This is accomplished using optical isolators and or
isolation transformers. This equipment is housed together, mounted on a non-conducting surface in a non-
conducting cabinet, and is called the high-voltage interface (HVI).
The HVI isolates the equipment during a GPR and minimizes any current flow from a higher potential
grounding system to a lower potential grounding system providing protection to personnel and equipment
from the effects of current flow on the wire-line.
Other isolation solutions involving microwave radio are also possible.
11. AC power surge protection

The building ac power supply is also susceptible to the effects of a GPR. Since the neutral and ground wire
of a power entrance facility must be bonded (required by NFPA 70) to building ground, a rise in potential
of the grounding system will place a surge on the neutral and ground wire. This surge will radiate, not only
throughout the building, but also away from the building on the incoming power cables. In some cases, the
elevated potential of the neutral and ground wire may actually be greater than the potential of the power
(phase) wires.
The resulting surge on the power wires may damage building equipment power supplies, other powered
equipment parts, or weaken equipment parts for future failure (latent damage). However, the facility
entrance power supply is much more robust a system than the communications system, and its protection
using a shunting system is very effective (in most situations) in protecting the associated building
equipment.
Provide Class C type SPDs that contain all-mode discrete component (L-L, L-N, L-G, and N-G) on the line
side of the transfer switch for both the ac service entering the building and the generator service.
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In addition to a protected power entrance facility, there may also be the need to protect secondary ac power
panels throughout the building with Class C or Class B type SPDs containing all-mode discrete
components. This protection is to minimize the magnitude of the power surge that may get past the main
power panel to address services that may leave the building for lights and security cameras.
11.1 Protecting ac services entering and exiting the building
Provide SPDs that contain all-mode discrete component (L-L, L-N, L-G, and N-G) on the line side of the
transfer switch for both the ac service entering the building and the generator service.
If no transfer switch exists, provide SPDs that contain all-mode discrete components on the ac service
entering the building.
Provide SPDs that contain all-mode discrete components on any ac service exiting the building.
11.2 Surge protective devices (transient voltage surge suppression)
SPDs should be installed at the service entrance or in the service entrance panel on the load side of the
main fuse or breaker that is suitable for location in Category B environment. The SPD should meet the
national requirement for installation in this location. In most applications the device should have a lightning
discharge current capability of 10 kA or a value appropriate to the expected lightning risk. Critical circuits
and equipment should be protected with SPDs suitable for Category B or Category C environment in
accordance with IEEE Std C62.41.1 [B23]. SPDs suitable for Category C environment use should be
limited to areas that are at least 10m distance from the service entrance panel (See UL 1449-2006 [B35] for
additional information on SPDs).
Consider the following items when selecting SPDs (TVSS):
The SPD should be chosen to provide surge voltage protection to the downstream equipment.
a) Service entry protection panels

 Service entry protection panel must be UL 1449 [B35] listed and tested to IEEE Std C62.45-
1992 [B25].
 Capability shall be bi-directional and treat both positive and negative impulses.
 For low-voltage ac power circuits the SPD installed at the entrance panel should have a
protective level rating low enough to prevent insulation failure and misoperation of the
equipment it is intended to protect (at least an maximum continuous operating voltage
[MCOV] rating of 150 V for 120 V service) and a protective level rating of less than 6 kV.
Effective response time shall be 20 nanoseconds or less to 8/20 μs waveform.
 Suppression shall be line to neutral, except delta configurations.
b) Sub-protection panels
 Sub-protection panels shall operate as a totally coordinated system with the service protection
panel and shall be listed to the latest issue of UL 1449.
 Unit shall not short circuit power flow that would cause an interruption of power to load.
 Downstream SPDs should have a current impulse discharge rating of at least 1.5 kA and a
protective level rating low enough to prevent insulation failure and misoperation of the
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equipment it is intended to protect (at least an MCOV rating of 150 V for 120 V service).
Effective response time shall be 5 nanoseconds or less to 8/20 μs waveform.
 Suppression shall be line to neutral, line-to-line, line-to-ground, and neutral-to-ground using
discrete components, except delta configurations.
12. Personnel safety considerations

At least the following recommendations should be considered for the safety of personnel:
1. Personnel should not work on a tower or in the equipment building during an electrical storm.
2. The use of SPDs with failure indication is recommended and any noted damage to SPD (TVSS)
equipment in the equipment building shall be repaired or replaced immediately prior to any other
work attempted.
3. Consideration should be given for a minimum of two maintenance personnel working together at
locations prone to lightning strike activity.
13. Equipment building lightning protection system

Consider the following when designing a lightning protection system for the equipment building.
1. Protect equipment buildings with a traditional lightning protection system using air terminals, etc.,
when they are considered exposed to a direct lightning strike.
2. Follow NFPA 780 and/or UL 96A [B34] to protect exposed equipment buildings.
20
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IEEE Std 1692 -2011
Annex A
(informative)
Bibliography
Bibliographical references are resources that provide additional or helpful material but do not need to be
understood or used to implement this guide. Reference to these resources is made for informational use only.
[B1] Anderson, R. B. and Eriksson, A. J., “Lightning Parameters for Engineering Applications,” Electra
No. 69, pp. 65–102, Mar. 1980.
[B2] ATIS 0600321, Electrical Protection for Network-Operator Type Equipment Positions, Aug. 2010. 9
[B3] ATIS 0600334, Electrical Protection of Communications Towers and Associated Structures, Nov. 2008.
[B4] ATIS 0600338,-2004, Electrical Coordination of Primary and Secondary Surge Protection for Use in
Telecommunications Circuits, 2004.
[B5] Block, R. R., The Grounds for Lightning and EMP Protection, 2nd edition. Minden, NV: PolyPhaser
Corp., 1993
[B6] Brashear, K., Lightning and Surge Protection of Modern Electronic Systems, San Antonio, TX: ILD
Technologies, LLC , 2007.
[B7] Cohen, R. L., et al., How to Protect Your House and Its Contents from Lightning. IEEE Guide for
Surge Protection of Equipment Connected to AC Power and Communication Circuits. New York, NY:
IEEE Press, 2005. 10
[B8] DeCarlo, B. A., Rakov, V. A., Jerauld, J. E., Schnetzer, G. H., Schoene, J., Uman, M. A., Rambo, K.
J., Kodali, V., Jordan, D. M., Maxwell, G., Humeniuk, S., and Morgan, M., “Distribution of Currents in the
Lightning Protective System of a Residential Building—Part I: Triggered-Lightning Experiments,” IEEE
Transactions on Power Delivery, vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 2439–2446, Oct. 2008.
[B9] Duckworth, Jr., E. M., “Guide for Protection of Equipment and Personnel from Lightning,” Journal
of Performance of Constructed Facilities, Aug. 2002.
[B10] Duckworth, Jr., E. M. and Duckworth J. S., “GPR-Expert—Ground Potential Rise Protection Using
a High Voltage Interface.” http://gpr-expert.com/. June 15, 1998.
[B11] Frydenlund, M. M., Lightning Protection for People and Property. New York, NY: Van Nostrand
Reinhold, 1993.
[B12] Hart, W. C. and Malone, E. W., Lightning and Lightning Protection. Gainesville, VA: Interference
Control Technologies, Inc., 1988.
[B13] IEC 62305-1-2006, Protection Against Lightning—Part 1: General Principles. 11
[B14] IEC 62305-2-2006, Protection Against Lightning—Part 2: Risk Management.
[B15] IEC 62305-3-2006, Protection Against Lightning—Part 3: Physical Damage to Structures and Life
Hazard.
9
ATIS publications are available from the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions, 1200 G Street NW, Suite 500,
Washington, DC 20005, USA (http://www.atis.org/).
10
IEEE publications are available from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 445 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, NJ 08855,
USA (http://standards.ieee.org/).
11
IEC publications are available from the Sales Department of the International Electrotechnical Commission, Case Postale 131, 3,
rue de Varembé, CH-1211, Genève 20, Switzerland/Suisse (http://www.iec.ch/). IEC publications are also available in the United
States from the Sales Department, American National Standards Institute, 11 West 42nd Street, 13th Floor, New York, NY 10036,
USA.
21
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IEEE Std 1692 -2011
[B16] IEC 62305-4-2006, Protection Against Lightning—Part 4: Electrical and Electronic Systems Within
Structures.
[B17] IEEE, IEEE Standards Dictionary: Glossary of Terms & Definitions, New York, NY: Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 2008. 12
[B18] IEEE Std 80™-2000, IEEE Guide for Safety in AC Substation Grounding.
[B19] IEEE Std 81™-1983, IEEE Guide for Measuring Earth Resistivity, Ground Impedance, and Earth
Surface Potentials of a Ground System.
[B20] IEEE Std 142™-2007, Recommended Practice for Grounding of Industrial and Commercial Power
Systems.
[B21] IEEE Std 1100™-2005, Recommended Practice for Powering and Grounding Electronic Equipment.
[B22] IEEE Std 1428™-2004, IEEE Guide for Installation Methods for Fiber-Optic Cables in Electric
Power Generating Stations and in Industrial Facilities.
[B23] IEEE Std C62.41.1™-2002, Guide on the Surge Environment in Low-Voltage (1000 V and Less)
AC Power Circuits.
[B24] IEEE Std C62.43™-2004, IEEE Guide for the Application of Surge Protectors Used in Low-Voltage
(Equal to or Less Than 1000 V, RMS, or 1200 V, DC) Data, Communications, and Signaling Circuits.
[B25] IEEE Std C62.45™-1992, IEEE Guide on Surge Testing for Equipment Connected to Low-Voltage
AC Power Circuits.
[B26] ITU-T K.11 (01/2009), Principles of Protection Against Overvoltages and Overcurrents. 13
[B27] ITU-T K.36 (05/1996), Selection of Protective Devices.
[B28] Lightning and Insulator Subcommittee of the T&D Committee, “Parameters of Lightning Strokes: A
Review,” IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 346–358, Jan. 2005.
[B29] Ma, J. and Dawalabi, F. P., “Modern Computational Methods for the Design and Analysis of Power
System Grounding,” Proceedings of Powercon ’98 International Conference on System Technology, vol. 1,
pp. 122–126, Aug. 1998.
[B30] Motorola14, 15 Communications Enterprise, “The R56 Manual,” Standards and Guidelines for
Communications Sites. Document number 68-81089E50, 2005.
[B31] National Lightning Safety Institute, Lightning Costs and Losses from Attributed Sources.
http://www.lightningsafety.com/nlsi_lls/nlsi_annual_usa_losses.htm, Apr. 2008.
[B32] Rand, K. R., Lightning Protection and Grounding Solutions for Communication Sites. Hayden, ID:
PolyPhaser Corp., 2000.
[B33] Sunde, E. D., Earth Conduction Effects in Transmission Systems. New York, NY: Dover
Publications, Inc., 1968.
[B34] UL 96A, Installation Requirements for Lightning Protection Systems. 16
[B35] UL 1449-2006, Standard for Surge Protective Devices, 3rd edition.
[B36] Uman, M. A. and Rakov, V. A., “A Critical Review of Nonconventional Approaches to Lightning
Protection,” Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, Vol. 83, pp. 1809–1820, Dec. 2002.
12
IEEE publications are available from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 445 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, NJ 08854,
USA (http://standards.ieee.org/).
13
ITU-T publications are available from the International Telecommunications Union, Place des Nations, CH-1211, Geneva 20,
Switzerland/Suisse (http://www.itu.int/).
14
Motorola is a registered trademark of Motorola Inc.
15
The following information is given for the convenience of users of this standard and does not constitute an endorsement by the IEEE
of these products. Equivalent products may be used if they can be shown to lead to the same results.
16
UL standards are available from Global Engineering Documents, 15 Inverness Way East, Englewood, CO 80112, USA
(http://global.ihs.com/).
22
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IEEE Std 1692 -2011
Annex B
(informative)
Lightning protection guide checklist for risk management
B.1 Key considerations for the application of this Guide
 Use current division and current blocking to control the dissipation of lightning strike current on
an antenna tower grounding system through multiple paths.
 Separate the antenna tower from the equipment building by a minimum of 9 m (30 feet).
 Use only a single point grounding system for the equipment building.
 Use a bulkhead panel/waveguide hatch for all coaxial cable entry into the equipment building.
 Coordinate the location of the (1) bulkhead panel bond, (2) power and telecommunications entry
bond, (3) bond between antenna and equipment building, at the single point ground connection,
and (4) building master ground bar.
 Use ac power surge protection at main power entry and critical secondary panels.
B.2 How to use this Guide
Use the NFPA 780 risk assessment guidelines to determine the lightning risk to the structure. Additionally,
in order to determine the potential for equipment damage or destruction and personnel injury or death from
a lightning strike, perform the following risk evaluation. Count the number of items from the list below that
describe conditions at your location:
 Lightning damage has occurred here before.

 Personnel are located here and use the equipment at this location.
 This location is associated with an antenna tower that is within 15 m (50 feet).
 This location is in an area of the country that has 30 or more thunderstorm days per year.
 This location uses ac power, and does not have surge protected power panels.
 This location uses wire-line telecommunication services which have not been isolated using optical
isolation or isolation transformers.
 All equipment in this location is not bonded together at one single point on the building grounding
system.
 This location has coaxial cables that come directly into the building without going through a
bulkhead panel/waveguide hatch.
 The associated antenna tower at this location does not have a grounding system made up of at least
60 m (200 feet) of buried bare ground conducting wire with multiple paths (minimum of 5, each 12
m [40 feet] in length) away from tower base.
 This location has coaxial cables that enter at ceiling height (4.5 m to 6 m [15 to 20 feet] above
ground level), and all equipment grounding is done at floor level or below.
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IEEE Std 1692 -2011
The number of items above that apply indicates your equipment and personnel risk:
Number of Items Equipment and Personnel Risk

2 or fewer Low
3 to 5 Moderate
6 to 8 Severe
9 or more Critical
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IEEE Std 1692 -2011
Annex C
(informative)
Basic concepts for lightning protection of structures
This informative annex presents basic concepts for the electrical protection recommendations associated
with the protection of structures housing communication equipment from the effects of lightning.
Protection of towers are excluded from this annex.
Lightning is a natural phenomenon that causes millions of dollars in damages to communication equipment
each year due to high-voltage surges and transients.
There is no practical effective way to protect structures housing communication equipment from direct
lightning strikes. However these structures may be protected by observing the following items:
1) Capture the lightning strike.

2) Conduct current to ground (earth).
3) Dissipate current into ground.
4) Bond all grounding conductors.
5) Protect from surges on incoming ac power line and on telecommunications (data/signal line).
A systematic approach includes grounding and bonding, lightning and surge protection to safeguard and
protect the structures and the equipment inside them.
The first item involves capturing the lightning strike at the strike point. In order to accomplish this capture,
the structure must have a dedicated lightning protection system that includes air terminals at key locations.
The second item involves directing the lightning current to ground (earth) via the down conductors. The
down conductors are cables designed to conduct safely the lightning current to earth.
The third item deals with dissipating the lightning current into the structure’s low impedance grounding
system. A low resistance grounding system is not sufficient since the lightning surges are impulses of very
short time duration.
The fourth item deals with the electrical bonding of all the separate equipment grounding points
(telecommunications, electrical, and metal objects) to create one equipotential ground plane. During a
lightning strike the equipotential ground plane will ensure that all the equipment will rise to the same
potential, as the ground potential goes up, thus minimizing equipment damages.
The fifth item involves the electrical protection of all the entry points (ac power line and
telecommunications) to the facility. This involves placing SPD on all outside lines that come into the
structure. These lines, whether aerial (overhead) or underground, can bring the lightning surges into the
structure unless properly protected.
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IEEE Std 1692 -2011
Annex D
(informative)
Power-line isolation: theory and application
D.1 LGPR and equipotential planes
The ideal prevention of LGPR is provided by an equipotential plane. This ideal can be approximated within
shelters and cabinets that are configured with a single point ground.
However, the ac power line provides a reference to lower potential ground during a LGPR event.
The safety ground between the shelter or cabinet and the power neutral ground presents a high inductance
relative to the rise time of the LGPR wave form. Vertical grounds characteristic of most shelters and all
cabinets also react inductively to the mid-range frequencies of lightning. (See DeCarlo et al. [B8] for
additional information.)
Consequently, the bi-directional conductivity of grounding and the signal cable or antenna SPDs create a
secondary fault path on the power circuits between the shelter or cabinet and the power neutral ground.
Refer to 5.2.2 and Figure 5.
Enhanced radial grounding at a tower site will mitigate the LGPR severity, but creating an equipotential
plane between the shelter and power-neutral grounds is not feasible. Blocking the fault current through the
ac service by preemptive disconnection of the ac power is the only certain protection for this fault path.
D.2 LGPR detection and isolation activation
The ground strike discharge radiates high voltage through the earth’s surface, referred to as lightning
ground potential rise (LGPR). The severity and range of earth-bound LGPR is determined by the lightning
current characteristics and soil resistivity.
The LGPR radiated by approaching lightning storms is detectable several miles distant by a grounded
dipole or flat-plate detector. The detection sensitivity is adjustable to limit the detection range to
threatening conditions.
The detector controls a contactor in series with the ac service. The response time of the contactor activation
must be less than 20 ms to preempt threats posed by near-proximity strikes.
D.3 Back-up power and rectifier implications
Continuous operation is maintained by standby power systems (battery plant and generator if present) until
ac power is automatically restored after the threat has passed.
The disconnection period is selectable. Subsequent lightning threats during the disconnection period refresh
the count-down timer.
To minimize generator cycling, the disconnection period may be extended, the isolation timing can be
coordinated with the automatic transfer switch (ATS), and generator timers and the contactor may be
installed on the load side of the generator.
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IEEE Std 1692 -2011
Re-connection of the ac service should be timed at the 0 voltage cross-over to mitigate power recovery
transients and in-rush current.
D.4 Power line transient protection
Direct or near-proximity strikes to power lines induce severe transients that may overwhelm protective
systems. Detection of LGPR radiated by approaching lightning storms allows preemptive disconnection of
the ac service, effectively isolating the site equipment from lightning induced power-line transients.
AC power is automatically re-connected after the power stabilizes within selective power quality
thresholds.
27

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IEEE Guide for the Protection of

IEEE Power Engineering Society

IEEE Guide for the Protection of

Power Systems Communications Committee

Approved 16 June 2011

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

Copyright © 2011 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

PDF: ISBN 978-0-7381-6671-1 STD97120

Secretary, IEEE-SA Standards Board

Laws and regulations

Updating of IEEE documents

Percy E. Pool, Co-Chair and Technical Editor

Ron Baysden Jean DeSeve Dan Jendek

William J. Ackerman Ronald W. Hotchkiss Donald Parker

Richard H. Hulett, Chair

Masayuki Ariyoshi Jim Hughes Gary Robinson

Satish K. Aggarwal, NRC Representative

3. Definitions acronyms, and abbreviations ................................................................................................... 2

4. Overview and background .......................................................................................................................... 3

6. Handling lightning strike current .............................................................................................................. 10

7. Locating (siting) towers ............................................................................................................................ 11

8. Grounding (earthing) considerations ........................................................................................................ 11

9. Grounding (earthing) tower and equipment.............................................................................................. 17

10. Entrance cables ....................................................................................................................................... 18

11. AC power surge protection ..................................................................................................................... 18

12. Personnel safety considerations .............................................................................................................. 20

13. Equipment building lightning protection system .................................................................................... 20

Annex A (informative) Bibliography ........................................................................................................... 21

Annex C (informative) Basic concepts for lightning protection of structures .............................................. 25

Annex D (informative) Power-line isolation: theory and application........................................................... 26

Accredited Standards Committee C2-2007, National Electrical Safety Code (NESC). 1

NFPA 70, 2008 Edition, National Electrical Code (NEC). 4

3. Definitions acronyms, and abbreviations

3.2 Acronyms and abbreviations

ABD avalanche breakdown diode

4. Overview and background

This Guide includes discussion on the following topics:

 Lightning effects on grounded towers, buildings, and equipment (Clause 5)

 Improper or insufficient grounding

5.1 Surge protective devices (SPD) and wire-line

5.2 Isolation techniques

The isolation protection techniques are particularly recommended for:

5.2.1 Wire-line isolation

Figure 1 and Figure 2 show the value of isolation in communication circuits. 6

NOTE 7 —Reprinted with permission from Duckworth et al. [B10]

Figure 1 —Communications without isolation protection

NOTE—Reprinted with permission from Duckworth et al. [B10]

Figure 3 —Example of an acceptable and proper installation. Power, equipment,

Figure 4 —Example of an improper installation. The equipment can be subjected to high-

5.2.2 AC service isolation

Figure 5 —Secondary LGPR discharge paths without ac isolation

Figure 6 —Secondary discharge current paths blocked with ac disconnect isolation

Consider the following when the use of ac isolation methods is necessary.

5.3 Lightning—a major source of ground potential rise

6. Handling lightning strike current

7. Locating (siting) towers

8. Grounding (earthing) considerations

NOTE—Reprinted with permission from Duckworth et al.[B10]

Figure 7 —Example of a grounding system

8.1 Grounding impedance

Use the following steps to design a grounding electrode system.

8.2 Grounding requirements

Follow the items below for the installation procedure: