BRITISH STANDARD Code of practice for Protection of structures against lightning Protection des constructions contre la Leitfaden far den Schutz von Bauwerken foudre — Code de bonne pratique gegen Blitaschlag SULT BS 6651: 1992 a Ss —_ —s nw eT BE \‘This British Standard, having been prepared under the direction of the General Electrotechnical Standards Policy Committee, was published under the authority of the Standards Board and ‘comes into effect on 16 December 1992 © BSI 1992 First published November 1985 Second edition July 1990 ‘Third edition December 1902 ‘The following BSI references relate to the work on this, standard: Committee reference GEL/106 Draft for comment 91/28736 DC ISBN 0 680 21322 6 Committees responsible for this British Standard ‘The preparation of this British Standard was entrusted by the General Electrotechnical Standards Policy Committee (GEL/-) to Technical Committee GEL/106, upon which the following bodies were represented: AEA Technology ‘Association of Consulting Engineers ‘Association of Manufacturers Allied to the Electrical and Electronic Industry (BEAMA Ltd.) British Broadcasting Corporation British Gas ple British Telecommunications ple Cathedrals Advisory Commission for England Council for the Care of Churches Department of the Environment (Property Services Agency) ERA ‘Technology Ltd. Electricity Association Engineering Equipment and Materials Users’ Association Home Office Institution of Electrical Engineers National Federation of Master Steeplejacks and Lightning Conductor Engineers National Radiological Protection Board National Transcommunications Ltd. Amendments issued since publication ‘Amd. No. [Date * ‘Text affectedContents Committees responsible Foreword Code of practice Section.one, General 0 Introduction 1 Scope 2 Definitions and abbreviations 3 Technical aspects of lightning 4 Effects of lightning strike 5 Function of a lightning conductor 6 Materials 7 Dimensions considerations Section two. Ba 8 General 9 Need for protection 10 Zone of protection Section three, System design 11. General considerations 12 Consultation 13 Component parts 14 Air terminations 18 Down conductors 16 Earth termination network 17 Earth electrodes 18 Metal in or on a structure 19 Structures exceeding 20 m in height 20 Structures with roofs of high flammability 21 Buildings with explosive or highly flammable contents 22 Dwelling houses 23 Fences 24 Trees and structures near trees 25 Structures with radio and television aerials. 26 Miscellaneous structures 27 Corrosion Section four. Construction sites 28 Structures 29 Overhead power lines Section five, Inspection, testing and records 30 Inspection 31 Testing 32 Records Section six, Maintenance 33. Maintenance and upkeep Appendices A Explanatory notes on some of the recommendations of this code B Guidance on the application of BS 6651 € General advice on protection of electronic equipment ithin or on Page Inside front cover 3 Bomvvaae 6 6 70 70 70 n 2 n a BS 6651 : 1992 Tables 1. Recommended fixing centres for conductors 2 Recommended materials for the manufacture of lightning protection components ‘3. Some characteristics of typical materials listed in table 2 4 Minimum dimensions of component parts 5 Minimum thicknesses of sheet metal used for roofing and forming part of the air termination network 6 Relationship between thunderstorm days per ‘year and lightning flashes per km? per year 7 Comparative probability of death for an ividual per year of exposure ighting factor A (use of structure) ting factor B (type of construction) ing factor C (contents or consequential s) 11 Weighting factor D (degree of isol 12 Weighting factor E (type of terrain) 13 Examples of cal:!stions for evaluating the need for protection 14 Relationship hetwesin diameter and mass of electrodes 18 Effective collection area of m 16 Etfective collection area of da 17 Weighting factor F (type of construction) 18 Weighting factor G (degree of isolation) 19 Weighting factor H (type of terrain) 20 Classification of structures and contents 21 Classification of exposure level 22 Location category A (mains) 23 Location category B (mains) 24 Location category C (nisins) 25 Location category C (data lines) 28 Definitions of the waveshape paremeters 1.2/50ps ion) igur 1. Number of lightning flashes to the ground per km?" per year for the UK 2 Typical designs for lightning conductor fixings 3. Map showing thunderstorm days per year throughout the world 4 Details of structures and collection areas 5 Examples of lightning protection systems for brick chimneys 6 Protective angles and zones of protection for various forms of air termination 7 Examples of air terminations and down conductors using handrails, metal copings and reinforcing bars 8 Test joints 9 Typical forms of vertical air terminations 10 Air terminations for a flat roof 11 Air terminations for flat roofs at different levels 12. Air terminations for large areas of roof of various profiles Page 10 " 12 3 SSSSFVeeesan £ eo 15 20 21 22 24 28 a 28 29 30