A practical guide for noticing all possible paths where lightning may damage irrigation control equipment.
Irrigation equipment is installed at open places or inside cabins that are, due to their height, preferred lightning strike points. Pump controls, sensors, water timers, counters to optimize the power consumption and other sensitive electronic equipment are often placed inside separate buildings, powered from the substation and connected TO each other with data lines. Overvoltages may be caused by lightning strikes to the structures (having or not external protection), to the lines or even due to cloud-to-cloud lightning. Also by disturbances in power supply or currents coming back from the earthing.
Aplicaciones Tecnológicas, S.A guide, points out the possible sources of damages and indicates the appropriate devices for protection. It is essential to protect both sides of the lines when they run outdoors, as well as co-ordinating SPDs to withstand direct lightning strike but also letting harmless residual voltages for the connected equipment.
Download here the guide of surge protection for irrigation systems