Electrical Utilities Challenges

Typical Applications
Gas or coal fired generating plants
Hydro and nuclear generating plants
Wind farms & solar arrays
Electrical switching centres and substations
Electrical high voltage transmission systems and towers

Risks, Threats and Opportunities

Service interruptions caused by lightning strikes due to poor or inadequate grounding strategy

and systems
Damage to equipment and infrastructure by power system ground faults
Premature failure of grounding systems built with traditional techniques and materials
Personnel safety hazards due to improper or deficient grounding systems
Sensor and other monitoring and control system failures due to unwanted ambient electrical

noise and EMF radiation that can disrupt equipment and cause service interruptions

Potential Solutions
Improve the effectiveness, robustness and life expectancy of power generation ground planes

with new materials and computer modeled engineering designs

Correct deficiencies in existing building grounding systems to eliminate dangerous ground

loops, mitigate ambient electrical noise and reduce unwanted EMF

Upgrade transmission towers with long-life, ultra low maintenance grounding systems designed

to effectively dissipate lightning strikes or power system ground faults without arcing or other
collateral effects

Next Steps
Review the frequency and cost of lightning strikes to your physical infrastructure and service
reliability. If your related revenue losses and maintenance costs are cause for concern, please
contact us. We will be happy to work with you to assess the situation, either at critical sites or
throughout the network, then offer detailed proposals for effectively correcting those deficiencies
and problems identified.

2008, SAE Inc., All Rights Reserved

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Electrical Protection & Grounding Solutions

Electrical Protection: A Definition
Electrical protection, also widely known as grounding or earthing, is arguably one of the least
understood, most under-rated, yet paradoxically most important elements of modern electrical
systems and lightning protection designs. Without proper electrical protection, personnel are at
higher risk of shock; equipment operation can be negatively impacted by ambient electrical noise;
and electronic and electrical equipment is at risk of damage from voltage and current surges.
It is a basic axiom that power system ground faults will find a path to ground. Therefore, it is
essential to deploy functional electrical protection systems that will safely channel and dissipate
this errant electrical energy to prevent personnel injury and equipment damage.
At their most basic, electrical protection systems are the connection of bonded metallic systems
through engineered, low impedance paths to earth. Alas, much easier said than done

What We Offer
SAE offers the engineering, product and project expertise to provide effective, long-life electrical
protection systems that incorporate:
Over 16 years of proven, real-world experience engineering and building electrical protection

and grounding systems that work

Innovative design techniques and product technologies combining the best of leading-edge

academic knowledge with extensive field experience

Comprehensive solutions that combine high performance external electrodes with surge

protection and effective inside single-point grounding concepts

SAE outside ground electrodes built with a copper core embedded in a Conducrete layer, to

maximize the surface area and the ability to safely and effectively dissipate large amounts of
energy without damage (lightning routinely generates energy levels > 1 Gigawatt)
SAE outside electrodes that feature low impedance, low resistance (R) value, high capacitance

operational characteristics
SAE outside electrodes designed for extremely long lifetimes of 25+ years and maintenance free

operation, and are inherently resistant to theft

Inside grounding systems designed using single-point concepts and techniques that eliminate

damaging ground loops, reduce EMF radiation, protect against power surges from whatever
source, and integrate efficiently with outside electrodes
Inside grounding systems that incorporate properly grounded surge protection devices (SPDs)

on all metallic conductors that enter the building

An engineering design process that integrates site geography, soil characteristics and soil

resistivity data with advanced computer modeling tools to ensure that client electrical
protection and ambient noise mitigation specifications are met or exceeded
Complete installation and project management services for the deployment of electrical

protection and grounding systems

2008, SAE Inc., All Rights Reserved

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How You Benefit

SAE engineered grounding systems provide bottom line benefits to infrastructure owners and
operators and to the environment with:
Improved workplace safety due to reduced GPR (Ground Potential Rise), Step and Touch

Voltages and EMF radiation, and low environmental impact

Better service for end customers/subscribers due to reductions in unplanned downtime or

service outages caused by common damaging electrical effects like power surges and ground
loops
Reduced budgeted operating costs due to maintenance free, long life technology
Reduced unplanned operating expenses due to theft resistant design and damage from

destructive lightning strikes

Improved bottom line financials due to reductions in expensive loss-of-service outages,

improved equipment performance and infrastructure lifetimes, and reductions in budgeted and
unplanned maintenance expenses
Greater flexibility to meet individual client requirements, as our electrical protection systems can

be tailored for specific site or geographic locations and soil conditions

Greater deployment versatility, as effective SAE low environmental impact electrical protection

systems can be safely installed and operated in virtually any geographic environment without
risk of soil, aquifer or air contamination
Reduced project delivery risk and better project visibility when using SAE project services

2008, SAE Inc., All Rights Reserved

Page 3 of 3

Lightning Protection Solutions

Lightning Protection
Lightning protection, as its name implies, offers protection to electrical equipment and systems
from the direct and indirect effects of lightning activity. Lightning protection is a set of features
typically designed into grounding systems at locations subject to lightning damage which pretty
much covers any place on the planet surface! and is essential in high altitude locations, sites with
towers, chimneys or other tall structures.
Truly functional lightning protection systems must be able to dissipate the energy of a direct
lightning strike (> 1 Gigawatt), as well as mitigate the indirect consequences of lightning, notably
electrical surges and pulses. Damaging surges and pulses are generated on power lines, telephone
wires, RF waveguide and other metal infrastructure, from where they can be carried into buildings
and electrical equipment, sometimes traveling surprisingly great distances measured in kilometres.
It is a basic axiom that lightning energy will find a path to ground. Therefore, it is essential to
deploy robust protection systems that will dissipate extreme lightning energies in ways that
prevent personnel injury and equipment damage.
Like electrical protection systems, lightning protection systems are also the connection of bonded
metallic systems through engineered, low impedance paths to earth. It is not uncommon to
combine the two objectives in a single engineered system offering total protection against all
predictable and random electrical events.

What We Offer
SAE lightning protection technology shifts the unpredictable destructive effects of a lightning
strike from the realm of an act of God to a controlled, manageable event. To obtain maximum
protective performance, SAE lightning protection systems are designed around the core of our
highly effective, low impedance grounding systems, and offer:
An engineered combination of low impedance, high efficiency external ground plane design,

inside single point grounding designs and layers of surge protection that has consistently proven
to work effectively in some of the most lightning prone areas on earth
Robust external electrodes featuring low impedance, large conductive surface areas that provide

superlative ground contact and the ability to repeatedly and safely dissipate lightning strike
energy without damage
External electrode networks correctly oriented to best match to actual lightning behaviour

patterns, thus maximizing the dissipation of energy, while reducing flash arc-over and the risk
that lightning discharges will seek more agreeable alternate paths through sensitive
equipment
Engineered single point grounding systems augmented by layers of surge protection that

effectively isolate equipment racks from electrical surges penetrating from outside sources
Purpose built products to monitor and record lightning strike behaviour and initiate alarms
An engineering design process that integrates site geography, soil characteristics and soil

resistivity data with advanced computer modeling tools to ensure that client lightning
protection specifications are met or exceeded
Complete installation and project management services for the deployment of lightning

protection systems

2008, SAE Inc., All Rights Reserved

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 All of the beneficial and desirable characteristics inherent to our low ambient noise, high

performance grounding systems (Link to Grounding & Electrical Protection page (C103))

How You Benefit

SAE engineered lightning protection systems provide exceptional value to infrastructure owners
and operators and to the environment with:
Improved workplace safety due to lower risk of flash arc-over and violent equipment damage
Low impedance, high performance system that isolates and protects electrical equipment and

systems against lightning related failure

Improved customers and subscribers service due to significant reductions in unplanned

downtime or service outages caused by lightning activity

Reduced maintenance costs due to theft resistant, long life system design built to manage and

dissipate multiple lightning strikes without damage

Improved bottom line financials due to reductions in expensive loss-of-service outages and

reductions in budgeted and unplanned maintenance expenses

Greater flexibility to meet individual client requirements, as our lightning protection systems can

be tailored for specific site or geographic locations and soil conditions

Greater deployment versatility, as effective SAE low environmental impact lightning protection

systems can be safely installed and operated in virtually any geographic environment without
risk of soil, aquifer or air contamination
Improved lightning event tracking and visibility, especially at remote and other important

designated sites, that can aid maintenance operations and planning

Reduced project delivery risk and better project visibility when using SAE project services

2008, SAE Inc., All Rights Reserved

Page 5 of 5

Electrical Noise Mitigation Solutions

Ambient Electrical Noise: A Definition
Ambient electrical noise is produced by unwanted voltages and currents often present on power
circuits and signal lines, and can play havoc with sensitive digital equipment like CO telecom
switches and modern manufacturing machines. Caused by a variety of sources like EM fields,
electric motors, mechanical switches and other devices also connected to the electrical system,
ambient electrical noise can be a major risk to electronic and electrical equipment if not managed.
Electrical systems installed without proper grounding, and/or with ground loops are at risk of
producing excessive EMF radiation and ambient electrical noise that can disrupt equipment
operations in unexpected ways, resulting in costly downtime and loss of production.

What We Offer
SAE offers the engineering, product and project expertise to provide effective protection systems
to reduce ambient electrical noise and eliminate their costly disruptive and destructive effects:
A proven track record of analyzing and solving real-world ambient electrical noise problems,

then providing electrical noise mitigation systems that work

Innovative design techniques and product technologies combining the best of leading-edge

academic knowledge with extensive field experience

Comprehensive electrical noise mitigation solutions that combine high performance external

electrodes with surge protection and effective inside single-point grounding concepts
SAE outside electrodes that feature low impedance, low resistance (R) value, high capacitance

operational characteristics
Inside grounding systems designed using single-point concepts and techniques that eliminate

damaging ground loops and mitigate ambient electrical noise by reducing the impact of EM
fields, power surges and voltage spikes.
An engineering design process that integrates site geography, soil characteristics and soil

resistivity data with advanced computer modeling tools to ensure that client ambient noise
mitigation specifications are met or exceeded
Complete installation and project management services for the deployment of electrical noise

mitigation systems

How You Benefit

SAE engineered grounding systems provide bottom line benefits to infrastructure owners and
operators and to the environment with:
High performance, low ambient noise characteristics that ensure electrical equipment and

systems operate properly, with fewer failures and longer lifetimes

Better service for subscribers due to reductions in unplanned downtime or service outages

caused by common damaging electrical situations like power surges and ground loops
Improved bottom line financials due to reductions in expensive loss-of-service outages,

improved equipment performance and infrastructure lifetimes, and reductions in budgeted and
unplanned maintenance expenses
Reduced project delivery risk and better project visibility when using SAE project services
2008, SAE Inc., All Rights Reserved

Page 6 of 6