Earthing, Bonding, and Lightning Protection

One of the most important parts of electrical systems is the grounding (earthing) system, which is essential for protecting equipment and installations. By convention, the earth’s mass is considered to have zero electrical resistance, and any system that needs to be grounded must do so through a proper earthing setup. This part of Nirouafza’s electrical engineering services is offered in four main areas: protective and instrumentation earthing, main and supplementary electrical bonding, electronic and passive lightning protection systems, and protection against secondary effects of lightning strikes and switching surges from upstream networks.

Protective and Instrumentation Earthing

To safely discharge fault currents into the ground and establish a return path to the transformer grounding point (or similar) in power distribution and transmission networks, a properly calculated, extensive, and efficient earthing system is essential. The quality of its design and implementation plays a critical role in the reliability and safety of all connected systems. With years of technical experience and involvement in large-scale grounding projects, Nirouafza Electrical Engineering applies the latest standards and practices to deliver effective earthing solutions.

Electrical Bonding

Potential difference is one of the core concepts in electrical engineering and forms the basis of many electrical rules and standards. While this difference in potential enables current to flow between power sources and consumers, it’s not always beneficial. In some cases, it poses serious safety and financial risks to users of electrical systems. To eliminate these harmful voltage differences in metallic structures of buildings and industrial plants, a method called electrical bonding is used. There are two main types of bonding: main bonding, which is applied to the structure itself, and supplementary bonding, which connects other buried or exposed metallic parts to neutralize potential differences.

Lightning Arrester

Lightning is a natural phenomenon that, if not controlled, can be extremely destructive and dangerous. The energy released by a single lightning strike is so high that, if it could be stored, it would be enough to power a small town. To absorb and safely manage this powerful electrical event, a system called a lightning protection system is used. Its job is to safely capture the high-energy surge and direct it in a controlled way into the grounding system. Nirouafza Electrical Engineering has years of experience in designing and implementing both passive lightning protection systems (such as Faraday cages) and active systems (in accordance with French standards), and brings this expertise to every project it takes on.

Secondary Lightning Protection

After a lightning strike is captured and directed into the grounding system through the lightning protection setup, the surge will attempt to find the nearest electrical path to continue its flow. This means that capturing the strike is only the first step; the real challenge is preventing the surge from reaching and damaging electrical and non-electrical infrastructure. This is where surge arresters (SPDs – Surge Protective Devices) come into play. Their role is to block or divert the remaining energy safely, preventing it from passing into sensitive equipment. Proper and technically sound design of this part of the system is critical, as any design flaws can lead to serious damage to downstream components.