Premier Technical Services Group Ltd (PTSG) has been contracted to deliver a lightning protection system at one of London’s most ambitious regeneration projects.
Formerly occupied by a plant for the manufacture of town gas, the 88-acre Southall Waterside is today a much-reduced site is used for the pressure reduction and storage of natural gas, whilst the remainder is being redeveloped for mixed-use by Berkeley Group, with a range of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments.
As with a great many other projects in PTSG’s lightning protection portfolio, the Group’s electrical services engineers install a system which protects the buildings within the development and all occupants in the event of a lightning strike.
While the intensity of a lightning strike can make them appear as thick bolts across the sky, the actual width of a lightning bolt is only about 2-3 cm. The average length of a lightning bolt is about 2-3 miles.
The charge carried down this small channel is so intense that the temperature of the lightning reaches 30,000°C – that’s five times hotter than the surface of the Sun.
