Lightning Protection 101
Protecting Your Telecommunication Investment

In this tutorial we'll teach you how to do your best to protect your phone and voicemail system from lightning strikes. First, a couple of lines on lightning. As we all know, lightning is electricity, albeit in great quantity. Electricity, all electricity, is on a constant quest to find "ground". In the instance of lightning, "ground" would be considered the actual earth beneath your feet. Let's make sure we get this straight: the only thing that lightning is trying to do is to get into the "ground" or earth or dirt etc.  So, the situation is this; lightning is absolutely going to get to a source of ground, we just need to make sure that we take precautions so that it doesn't get there by going through your phone system!

Phone systems are especially vulnerable to lightning strikes because not only are they plugged into an AC power outlet, but they are also connected to miles and miles of copper telephone wires outside of your building. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 70% of lightning strikes hit phone systems through their connection to the local telephone company, so that is what we'll concentrate on.  On every cable that comes into any building from the local telephone company, there is a device that is called a "lightning protector". The reason that this device exists is because back in the 1920's and 1930's when phone service was becoming popular, there was a problem. Lightning was hitting phone lines, and because it didn't have a source of ground to go to it would literally come out of the handset and electrocute people, sometimes fatally.

In any event, these "lightning protectors" are actually pretty simple. Your phone numbers run through the lightning protector, and the lightning protector needs to be grounded.  I said, they NEED to be grounded. Simply stated, there needs to be a ground wire, at least 16 gauge, (thickness), that goes from the lightning protector to either a grounding rod or a metal cold water pipe that goes into the ground in your building.

It's really no more complicated than that. Go to your phone closet and have your phone person/company show you the entrance cable and lightning protector. Look for the ground wire. If it isn't there, you need one. If it is, just make sure that it is connected to a grounding rod or a metal cold water pipe.  30% to 50% of the people who receive this tutorial will find their cables not grounded, so make sure you check yours. Also, if you have any cables that go from one building to another, even if they are underground, have your phone system dealer install lightning protection. It's cheap insurance, and it does work.

Keep in mind that power problems and lightning strikes are NEVER completely controllable. If, for whatever reason, you have a really severe strike, even if you have the very best lightning protection available, it will probably still knock out your phone system.

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We hope our tutorial helps you, and if we can be of further assistance or if you have a problem you just can't seem to get remedied, call or email us at tellearn.com, our advice is good and you can't beat our price, because it's FREE!!

Chris Walsh,
Telephone System Learning Seminars,
tellearn.com
1(800) 509-3666