Streamer Inhibiting Electrodes and Conductors

Engineered Space Charge Shielding
Lightning Protection Equipment

It was previously understood that the grounded object played little to no role in the lightning attachment process, that lightning hits whatever it wants as soon as comes within a certain distance to any grounded object.
In recent years it has been shown that the grounded object plays an important role, it launches an upward connecting leader that rise up to meet the descending lightning leader and that this represents a significant portion of the object’s lightning attractive distance or the measure of it’s vulnerability to a lightning strike.
Furthermore the length of the upward connecting leader is influenced by intrinsic qualities of the grounded object like it’s height above ground, it’s overall dimensions and it’s electrical/geometrical characteristics.
It has been shown by numerous scientific sources that objects that produces increased discharge activity during the slowly varying DC-like electric field due to the slow build up of charges in the clouds, that precedes a lightning strike, will be more resistant to the impulsive type peaks that are impressed upon the grounded object due to the appearance of a descending lightning leader. This makes the grounded object less prone to launching upward connecting leaders, thereby reducing the lightning attractive distance.
Engineered Space Charge Shielding is NOT lightning elimination, it is reducing an object’s propensity to produce upward leaders. When influencing the height or dimensions of the object is not an option, Engineered Space Charge Shielding is a viable, technically valid option.
A Streamer Inhibitor is a lightning air terminal or long conductor that is specifically designed to maximize the production of electric discharges and predictably reduce the risk of a direct lightning strike to an object or structure.

Streamer Inhibitors meet or exceed all requirements stipulated by NFPA 780, UL96 and IEC 62305.