Training & Development
Professional Development Hours
You want to maintain your license as a professional engineer? You still need a few more Professional Development Hour (PDHs)? DEHN is offering CEUs/PDHs on a wide range of topics regarding lightning and surge protection. Check out our topic offerings and register today for our no-fee courses!
Please note: Minimum of 10 attendees per course
Topic Offering
Learn more about our five Highlight topics:
Lightning is Awesome! – Introduction to the fundamentals of lightning protection
This session introduces the physics of lightning propagation and how a well designed system offer protection against the risk of fire.
The seminar presents the basic physical parameters of lightning step leader attachment, charge content, peak current, rate of change and energy. These parameters are used to define lightning protection levels and how that level influences the Pillars of Protection. These air terminals, down conductors, earth termination, separation distance and equipotential bonding principles are presented along with illustrative examples to help build the fundamental understanding of lightning protection.
Bond That Metal Stuff! - AC power safety, static discharge and surge protection
Bonding for safety, function and surge protection is presented along with best practice examples and explanations.
Grounding and bonding are essential for lightning protection and safe electrical equipment operation. They form the columns of the earth termination system and equipotential bonding for the pillars of protection. These principles are presented along with design details and both good and bad examples. The concepts of separation distance between metal elements and surge protection of energized wires are presented to show how these concepts all stich together.
Surge Protection and Earthing
The seminar will introduce surge protection design, device selection, application, earthing design and site inspection to be sure it is installed correctly.
Electrical surge protection and earthing are considered in relation to their important role in the pillars of protection. Detailed examples of electrical power and data communications protection are provided. Earthing system design and installation examples are presented to give real world insight into the problems observed and how that will impact critical operations.
Inspection and Solving Surge Protection and Earthing Problems
This seminar covers site inspection methods to evaluate earthing, bonding and surge protection problems with real world examples.
Mysterious problems with tripping and electronics failures can often be traced back to broken grounding wires or lack of surge protection. This session will offer methods and examples of site inspection techniques that are useful to determine root causes of site problems. Several examples of both bad mistakes and best practice configurations are presented to help build basic inspection skills. The obvious problems can sometimes be the hardest to find and this session will help create a solid background for trouble shooting.
Practical Earthing Measurement Methods for Design and Verification
This session will show several useful examples of meaningful/accurate site measurements and use in calculations/designs. Apart from that it will serve as a primer for deeper dive into specific disciplines of earthing and soil measurements.
The following areas are covered:
- Job Safety
- Site Considerations and Complexities – Specific Power and Industrial Application Guidelines
- Clamp On Loop and Resistance Readings – Useful for Trouble Shooting and Verification
- Earth Resistivity – Schlumberger Methods – Modeling and Design
- Earth Electrode Impedance to Soil – Fall of Potential/TAGG Methods – Verification
- Measuring Transient Impedance to Earth
- Measurement Accuracy and Confounded Results
- Visual Indicators – Boots on the ground!
Complementary Courses
Pillars of Lightning Protection – how industry standards guide the selection and design of a protection system
The seminar provides a look at the lightning protection standards and how air terminals, down conductors, grounding and bonding are selected.
An Introduction to standards to IEC 62305 and NFPA780 is provided along with a brief explanation of some of the key differences. The pillars of protection showing air terminals, down conductors, earth termination, separation distance and equipotential bonding principles are presented. Several detailed design examples are shown as a reference. Earthing and grounding for ac power safety, static discharge and lightning protection is discussed.
Expert Applications of IEC Methods for Water/Waste Water Lightning Protection Open configuration options
The seminar will introduce the Features and Benefits that are important for decision-makers to consider in the design and implementation of lightning protection at water/wastewater facilities.
The entire process of risk control, selection of protection measures, system design, and installation for water treatment plants is covered in detail. The IEC methods are illustrated showing how risk calculations drive the lightning protection level and how that influences material selection, air terminal placement, earthing electrode design, and separation distance. Examples of electrical surge protection applications and project flow from start to finish are provided.
Expert Applications of IEC Methods for Solar Field and PV Plant Lightning Protection T
The seminar will introduce the Features and Benefits that are important for decision-makers to consider in the design and implementation of lightning protection Solar Field and PV facilities.
The entire process of risk control, selection of protection measures, system design, and installation for PV fields is covered in detail. The IEC methods are illustrated showing how risk calculations drive the lightning protection level and how that influences material selection, air terminal placement, earthing electrode design, and separation distance. Examples of external lightning protection of solar arrays and inverter equipment are provided. Examples of electrical surge protection of DC systems and project flow from start to finish are provided.
Expert Applications of IEC Methods for Power Generation Facility Protection
The seminar will introduce the Features and Benefits that are important for decision makers to consider in the design and implementation of lightning protection power generation facilities.
The entire process of risk control, selection of protection measures, system design and installation at power generation plants is covered in detail. The IEC methods are illustrated showing how risk calculations drive the lightning protection level and how that influences material selection, air terminal placement, earthing electrode design and separation distance. Examples of external lightning protection of combined cycle turbines water cooling towers are provided. Examples of electrical surge protection of electrical generation and controls systems along with project flow from start to finish are provided.
Data Center Lightning Protection Concepts Interactive Seminar
This seminar explains how step leader propagation provokes an electric field in order to use the rolling sphere method to place air terminals, down conductors and earthing system connections for a safe lightning protection system for data centers.
The entire process of risk control, selection of protection measures, system design and installation at data centers is covered in detail. The IEC methods are illustrated showing how risk calculations drive the lightning protection level and how that influences material selection, air terminal placement, earthing electrode design and separation distance. Examples of external lightning protection and the application of surge protection devices on critical electrical infrastructure at data centers are provided.
DEHNdetect – Protection for Wind Turbines – Lightning Detection and Protection Techniques
The features and benefits of the DEHNdetect lightning detection product line is presented.
A basic problem has emerged in the wind turbine industry based on the nature of lightning strike effects. Long duration strikes with relatively low amplitude ICC events are being measured and shown to cause damage that is otherwise not recorded. The DEHNdetect can now be used to both record these events and show customers, operators and owners where the source of damage is and what specific event caused it. The system employs sensors and converters to both log the data and store it on the cloud for easy retrieval. The data can be used to prove the source of damage and schedule maintenance in a timely and efficient manner.
Hospital Lightning Protection Concepts Voice of Experts Interactive Seminar
This seminar explains how step leader propagation provokes an electric field in order to use the rolling sphere method to place air terminals, down conductors, and earthing system connections for a safe lightning protection system for hospitals and medical facilities.
The entire process of risk control, selection of protection measures, system design, and installation for hospitals is covered in detail. The IEC methods are illustrated showing how risk calculations drive the lightning protection level and how that influences material selection, air terminal placement, earthing electrode design, and separation distance. Examples of isolated external lightning protection and the application of surge protection devices on critical electrical infrastructure in hospitals are provided.
Electric Vehicle Comprehensive Approach for Lightning Protection for Charging Stations Voice of Experts Interactive Seminar
This seminar explains how step leader propagation provokes an electric field in order to use the rolling sphere method to place air terminals, down conductors and earthing system connections for a safe lightning protection system for electric vehicle charging stations.
The entire process of risk control, selection of protection measures, system design and installation for charging equipment is covered in detail. The IEC methods are illustrated showing how risk calculations drive the lightning protection level and how that influences material selection, air terminal placement, earthing electrode design and separation distance. Examples of isolated external lightning protection, equipment earthing and the application of surge protection devices on critical electrical infrastructure for electric vehicle charging stations are provided.
LPS per NFPA 780 with UL 96/467 Materials
- UL 96 Tables
- Terms and Definitions
- Current Titles and Revision dates
- Explicit Examples of Arrangements per standard for parapets and chimneys
- Practical Trade Experience and PPE
- Product Familiarity
- Blue Print Reading Precise scale examples with architectural rulers – algebra and ratios
- Application of each down conductor per 100ft around the perimeter
- How the standards are related and used by customers
- NFPA 780 table of contents
- UL 96 table of contents
- UL 467 table of contents
- DUS & LPI Membership
- LPI 175 / 177 table of content
Software Designs for Grounding Remediation of Lightning Transient Problems for Solar Fields
- Challenges, approach, solutions for 75MW PV Plant
- Introduction of PV facility
- Problems they were facing
- How we developed the solution using software modeling
- What was our design
- How we installed/implemented it
- Positive results after the installation
Many solar farms have been constructed that suffer from a fundamental flaw in the earthing system.
Although the earthing is safe for DC power generation and 60Hz power transmission, these plants do not endure the transient environment.
The symptoms appear as unrelated inverter tripping or similar faults that cause disruptions or reduction of generation capacity.
But the actual problem is not in the inverter at all, it is a fundamental flaw in the earthing connections that directs all fault and transient energy directly into the inverter.
Earthing Modeling Software is used to simulate the problem and design the solution to meet IEEE 80 requirements. Actual field installations have shown 80 to 90% reduction of events as per design goals.