Hospitals and healthcare facilities play a crucial role in saving lives, operating around the clock to provide essential medical care and life-saving procedures. Their uninterrupted functionality is vital, as these institutions are integral to community health and safety. With the increasing reliance on advanced medical technology, the need for effective surge protection has never been more critical.

The integration of modern medical technology and advanced construction techniques is essential for hospitals, which prioritize patient safety and care. These facilities are not just buildings; they symbolize hope for patients and their families. By creating safe environments that support medical staff, hospitals play a vital role in saving and restoring lives. Ensuring these institutions are equipped with the latest advancements is crucial for delivering the highest quality of healthcare.

Consider the catastrophic effects a power outage or direct lightning strike can have on a hospital. Such incidents can disrupt critical medical equipment, putting lives at immediate risk. The impact goes beyond financial loss; human lives are invaluable.

This highlights the necessity of implementing preventive measures for lightning and surge protection. These measures are essential for ensuring patient safety and maintaining operational stability in healthcare facilities.

An effective lightning protection plan for hospitals includes key elements like equipotential bonding, surge protection, earthing, and external lightning protection. Each component is crucial for ensuring safety. Equipotential bonding prevents dangerous voltage differences, while surge protection shields electrical equipment from sudden spikes. Earthing guarantees electrical safety, and external lightning protection directs harmful strikes away from the building. Together, these measures create a reliable defense against electrical hazards, allowing hospitals to operate safely and without interruption.

Given that hospitals have numerous interconnected systems and equipment, strategic design of their lightning protection is essential. By dividing the building into different risk zones, targeted measures can be applied where they are most needed, improving overall safety and operational reliability.

Inner zones, such as LPZ 1 and LPZ 2, are specifically designed to mitigate electromagnetic impulses from lightning strikes. Surge protective devices (SPDs) are installed in these zones to protect sensitive electrical equipment, including medical devices, from damage caused by power surges.

This zoning concept goes beyond protecting the building from direct strikes. It aims to prevent damage to vital electrical systems, ensuring the continuous operation of essential hospital services during thunderstorms or lightning events.

External lightning protection  

The IEC 62305 standard provides a comprehensive framework for designing and implementing effective lightning protection systems. This international standard outlines essential components and best practices to safeguard buildings and their occupants from lightning strikes.

At the core of any lightning protection system is the air-terminal system, strategically installed on the building’s roof. These terminals serve as the primary interception point for lightning strikes, safely directing energy to the ground. The intercepted lightning current is transferred to earth terminals via a network of down conductors, which are meticulously routed to ensure efficient energy dissipation into the ground.

Maintaining adequate separation distances between conductors and other structural elements is crucial for the system’s effectiveness. This separation prevents side flashovers and sparking, which can damage the building and its systems. Proper spacing ensures that lightning energy is safely conducted to the ground, protecting internal systems and occupants.

In situations where maintaining recommended separation distances is challenging, high-voltage-resistant and insulated conductors can be utilized. These specialized conductors allow for safe installation in tight spaces while ensuring the system operates efficiently without compromising safety.

By adhering to the principles outlined in IEC 62305, buildings can establish a robust and reliable lightning protection system that meets the complexities of modern infrastructure, ensuring maximum safety for both the structure and its occupants.

Importance of Surge Protection

Surge protection plays a vital role in any comprehensive lightning protection system. While lightning often strikes the exterior of a building, it can induce surges that significantly damage sensitive and costly medical equipment inside, disrupting modern building infrastructures.

Three-Stage Surge Protection Principle

In hospitals, professionals commonly implement a three-stage protection principle to ensure thorough surge protection:

Type 1 Surge Protectors: Install these at the main entrance point of the building, where the power supply enters. They effectively handle large surges directly from lightning strikes, preventing these surges from entering the building’s electrical system.

Type 2 Surge Protective Devices: Position these at downstream sub-distribution boards. They protect the building’s internal electrical networks by managing surges that have passed through the Type 1 devices, thus safeguarding critical circuits and electrical distribution systems.

Type 3 Surge Protectors: Install these close to terminal devices and sensitive equipment. Their primary role is to shield individual devices from any remaining surges that might escape the previous stages. This ensures that essential equipment, such as computers, medical devices, and communication systems, remains protected from potential damage.

Comprehensive Surge Protection Strategies for Hospitals

The interaction between the three stages of surge protection creates a robust defense system that significantly reduces the risk of surge-induced interference and damage throughout the hospital. Each stage plays a specific role in managing different levels of surge energy, ensuring effective protection for every aspect of the hospital’s electrical system.

Moreover, surge protection must be tailored to the unique features and systems of each hospital. In the following sections, we will explore the specific requirements and strategies for safeguarding the main systems within a hospital environment.

Furthermore, the interconnected nature of modern systems implies that a failure in any central component can disrupt the entire system. This reality underscores the necessity of implementing robust protection strategies specifically for server rooms. Moreover, these strategies should not only cover the servers themselves but also include essential support systems, such as uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), fire extinguishing and alarm systems, and air-conditioning and cooling systems. By addressing these critical areas, hospitals can enhance overall reliability and ensure uninterrupted operation.

Ultimately, to ensure the continuous and safe operation of these components, protection against surges is vital. The IEC 62305-4 standard offers guidelines for implementing protective measures that reduce the risk of failure in electrical and electronic systems within buildings.

A comprehensive protection strategy should include:

-Earthing and Equipotential Bonding: Establishing a common ground for all conductive parts to prevent dangerous voltage differences.

– Spatial Shielding: Using barriers to shield sensitive equipment from electromagnetic interference.

– Cable Routing/Shielding: Ensuring cables are routed and shielded to minimize exposure to surges.

– Coordinated Surge Protectors: Installing surge protectors to manage and mitigate surge energy.

For optimal protection, it is advisable to designate server rooms as Lightning Protection Zone 2 and design them as a Faraday Cage. This approach helps create a shielded environment that protects against external electrical disturbances.

Figure 2: Lightning and Surge protection of a hospital

Additionally, all incoming and outgoing electrical lines must be equipped with surge protectors. By doing so, this proactive approach not only ensures a robust defense against potential failures but also significantly contributes to the overall resilience of the system. Furthermore, implementing these measures enhances the safety and reliability of the electrical infrastructure, thereby providing greater peace of mind for all users.

Main distribution board  

The LPESventil and LPESshield series provide essential protection for the power supply at the main incoming supply. Specifically, these spark-gap-based combined arresters feature an integrated lightning current-carrying backup fuse and maintain a low voltage protection level of UP ≤ 1.5 kV (including the backup fuse). Moreover, they effectively extinguish mains-following currents up to 100 kArms. In addition, these devices protect the power supply of low-voltage consumer installations through a multipole type 1 + type 2 spark-gap-based combined arrester, adhering to EN 61643-11 standards. Consequently, this comprehensive protection ensures both safety and reliability in electrical systems.

LPESguard series For protection, the Type 2 surge arrester has an integrated MOV and gas discharge tube for AC and DC.

Protection of terminal devices  

LPESflex: The installation team mounts the type 3 LPESflex arrester directly at the terminal device. It is ideal for installation in cable ducts and installation boxes. Other places of installation are possible.

Information & Technology

LPES Rapid Series: The LPES Rapid series serves as a versatile surge protection device specifically designed for LSA technology (LSA-PLUS/LSA+). This system effectively combines lightning current and surge arresters for telecommunication systems, as well as for measuring and control applications.

LPES Vario Series: The LPES Vario series features a compact combined arrester tailored for security surveillance systems, equipped with BNC and RJ45 connectors. Video surveillance systems play a crucial role in monitoring both the interior and exterior of a facility. Moreover, lightning protection ensures the integrity of surveillance cameras, enabling continuous monitoring even during thunderstorms. Consequently, this protection not only preserves security footage but also maintains monitoring capabilities when they are most needed.

LPES Patch Series: The LPES Patch series functions as a universal surge protection device for GBit Ethernet applications and Power over Ethernet (PoE) compliant with IEEE 802.3, up to PoE++/4PPoE. This device is ideal for structured cabling systems up to class E. For network equipment, including servers that process and store data, I highly recommend using a PoE+ surge protector. This device effectively safeguards network equipment from power surges that could disrupt data flow and system operation. Additionally, power strip surge protectors with multiple socket outlets mounted on server racks protect terminal devices from unwanted surges, ensuring that all connected equipment remains secure and operational.

LPES Ductor Series: The LPES Ductor series protects communication and measuring devices within automation and heating systems. The base component, which includes a plug-in module, mounts directly onto the electronic components of heating and air conditioning systems or heat pumps. Moreover, measuring and control systems are vital for ensuring accurate real-time data and monitoring patient conditions. Surge protectors act as the first line of defense against voltage spikes that could compromise the integrity of these systems.

Surge Protection in Server Rooms

To ensure a reliable and efficient environment for hosting vital IT infrastructure, effective surge protection in a well-designed server room considers several critical factors. Key elements include power, cooling, and network equipment.

In a hospital setting, maintaining a stable power supply is crucial for the smooth operation of various systems. Therefore, modern hospitals typically incorporate backup power supplies to ensure continuity during power outages. Furthermore, surge protection devices safeguard both the primary power supply and Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) systems. This additional layer of protection helps prevent damage and ensures reliable operation during critical moments.

Comprehensive Security System Protection

LPES provides lightning and surge protection for all aspects of the hospital’s security systems. Specifically, whether addressing access control, video surveillance, or emergency lighting, this protection enhances the facility’s safety and ensures the continuous functionality of critical systems during adverse weather conditions.