Maybe you have such a question—— Is the lightning arrester and lightning rod the same? What role do they play in the circuit. In fact, the difference between the two words is completely different in principle and function.

left: lightning arrester;      right:  lightning rod

The principle of lightning arrester and lightning rod is completely different. Lightning arresters are used to protect electrical appliances and circuits，it can protect important objects that are concentrated. The lightning rod is used to guide the lightning，which has the function of protecting live equipment such as power transmission circuits,

The lightning rod is actually a thunder leading device, and the lightning rod is generally higher than all protected objects. The top of the lightning rod is a metal tip, the bottom of the lightning rod is well connected to the grounding grid, and the grounding resistance is generally below 10 ohms. In thunderstorm weather, due to the strong distortion of the top tip on the electric field, the nearby thundercloud is attracted to discharge the tip of the lightning rod, and the charge of the thundercloud is neutralized through good grounding, thereby protecting other objects from lightning strikes.

The lightning arrester is actually a kind of excellent nonlinear resistance. The resistance is very small at high voltage and very high at low voltage. At present, the lightning arrester is generally a zinc oxide arrester, and the main component is a zinc oxide valve disc. The lightning arrester is connected in parallel with the protected equipment in the power system. In normal condition, the leakage current is very small, and the operation of the system will not be affected. When the system is in an overvoltage condition, the arrester exhibits a low resistance to discharge energy, while limiting the amplitude of the system voltage to ensure that the insulation of electrical equipment is not broken. That is, when the line current or voltage suddenly becomes large, the arrester can disconnect the circuit in time to protect the electrical appliances in the circuit from damage.

Till now you must know the difference between the lightning arrester and the lightning rod. If you have any questions about the transmission and distribution lines, you can contact us on the website, and we will try to make a reasonable answer for you.