Lightning Effects on LED-Based Luminaires

This chapter gives an extensive overview into the nature of the environment that luminaires and thus LEDs are subjected to during the event of a lightning stroke. Direct lightning stroke almost always results in instant damage for low-voltage connected devices, except in “extraordinary circumstances” where random components may survive. This is usually not a subject for debate and is not the subject of this monograph. Indirect consequences of lightning strokes, however, can be effectively mitigated as described. This chapter also delves into a realistic expected overvoltage levels for two typical systems, overhead lines and insulated cables, as obtained from lightning studies on a power network supplying power to LED devices and thus justifies the recommendations by several standards. In addition, it shows the importance of an often neglected device—MOV in mitigating attendant surges due to lightning to a level that can be withstood by LEDs and associated devices.