Between 18th and 22nd November the group meetings of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) took place in Milan (Italy). These are responsible for the review of the international regulation of lightning protection IEC 62305. This regulation review was performed for its four parts (General Principles, Risk management, Physical Damage to Structures and Life hazards, Electrical and Electronic Systems in Structures). In addition, a general assembly of IEC Group 81 (Lightning Protection) was held.
Aplicaciones Tecnológicas has participated in the whole procedure of the elaboration of this standard, which was first published in 2006 and is now preparing its third edition.
In this year’s meetings, Spain was exclusively represented by Aplicaciones Tecnológicas, S.A. with the attendance of Susana Polo, an expert in lightning protection with over 25 years of experience in standardization.
The third edition of IEC 62305 is expected to be published in the next two years. The previous edition (2012) had some shortcomings that are now being corrected, such as an overcomplicated risk assessment, especially for the calculation of economic loss, or the uncertainty about protection against lateral strikes.
We must remember that IEC 62305 is about protection of structures against lightning, embracing from risk calculation to protection measures against direct and indirect effects of lightning with Franklin rods, conductors, equipotential unions and surge protection devices. This means it establishes the need of installing a lightning protection system, the guidelines for its installation and also includes instructions on the coordination of surge protectors.
For Aplicaciones Tecnológicas, S.A. it is essential to always be aware of the latest changes in standards and the improvements these imply, adapting our products and services in order to offer a general, secure and complete protection to our clients.