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Developing lightning protection
zone concepts with expertise

To secure the availability of wind turbines, the lightning pro-
tection zone concept aims to prevent lightning damage to
mechanical and electric components. This is achieved by
discharging lightning current and controlling surges.

The lightning protection zone concept for wind turbines
described in IEC 61400-24 deals with the topic of lightning
protection for wind turbines including detailed information
on the selection of lightning and surge protection
1)
measures .
As the basis for creating a protection concept, a wind tur-
bine is subdivided into lightning protection zones. One
distinguishes here between external zones (LPZ 0A und 0B)
and internal zones (LPZ 1, LPZ 2…n) . The external zones
2)
of a wind turbine – except the rotor blade – are deter-
mined by way of the rolling sphere method. The subdivi-
sion of the internal zones very much depends on the con-
struction of the individual wind turbine and should be
conducted accordingly.

Having laid down the relevant lighting protection zones,
one can then define the necessary protective measures.
It is advisable to create a lightning protection concept at
the initial planning stage of a wind turbine to avoid later
cost-intensive repairs and retrofitting.
Long experience in the field of lightning and surge protec-
tion and the numerous system tests conducted for the
wind industry have given DEHN the know-how to develop
effective lightning protection systems for wind turbines.
We will assist you in developing a lightning protection con-
cept for your turbine consisting of external lightning pro-
tection, internal lightning protection, equipotential bond-
ing and earthing.

1) IEC 61400-24 Lightning Protection of Wind Turbines
2) LPZ: Lightning Protection Zone

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