not just a power play

From Rocketlab to Sky Tower, supermarket chains, hospitals and The Warehouse stores across New Zealand – Lightning Protection New Zealand (LPI New Zealand) has a pretty impressive clientele.

But the reason these customers trust LPI NZ’s team and capabilities is that they really shine a spotlight on how important their work is. Because, as our name suggests, lightning protection is our main service offering, ensuring that your electrical equipment is protected from lightning strikes and power surges.

LPI NZ Director Gordan Liutich founded the company in 2009, built the business from the ground up and is proud of where he stands today. From having to move multiple warehouses to expand equipment supplies, to taking part in a very exciting project, the tedium when it comes to protecting important clients and their day-to-day operations from power surges and lightning. There are no days. strike.

One of LPI’s most famous projects sits atop the Sky Tower, the tallest building in the southern hemisphere. And ten years later, it’s time to return to the Sky Tower to take care of some pretty important equipment that needs replacing every ten years.

Due to the location and height of the Sky Tower, it is connected to all sorts of communication equipment such as television stations, mobile phone networks and emergency services. Also, due to its shape, all cables are connected next to each other.

“So if a lightning strike causes damage, it can cut the cable, start a fire, and create a power surge to the surrounding infrastructure,” Luttig explained.

In addition to providing lightning protection to its customers, LPI NZ regularly monitors power supply and quality (harmonic mitigation and power factor correction) to ensure that electrical infrastructure can be contaminated and overheated, leading to serious fires. Checking for possible devices. dangerous. And given how much of modern society relies on connectivity to function, the potential for failure is enormous if equipment such as data centers and communications networks are compromised.

Luetich said he has seen many changes in the industry over the past 14 years, but none more significant than Chorus’ rollout of ultra-fast broadband.

“Lightning strikes, of course, pose the most serious risk, but monitoring and correcting continuous power quality is also important for large power users. It has allowed us to improve the way we perform testing and continuous monitoring.”

For Luetich and his team, the advent of ultra-fast broadband has made it possible to operate multiple power analyzers simultaneously. On the other hand, before the advent of fiber, it was impossible for a system to handle all the data it needed. recorded and communicated.

“About five years ago, you had to spend a lot of time at the customer’s physical location to check their power quality. Now you can use a SIM card to install a power analyzer and You can set everything up from your office via a fiber connection, which is in addition to your broadband connection and will allow you to stop the recording if necessary, for example a large freezer in a supermarket. power down and observe what happens to the power quality as you do so.

“Our customers also have access to this data with alarms that alert them in their own system.”

This was not only convenient for LPI NZ’s team of engineers, but also saved the customer the cost of having people on site for these procedures. Also, for organizations that require UPS (uninterruptible power supplies such as data centers and hospitals), by connecting remotely to the client’s network, potential failures (abnormal power quality) can be tested and identified before they occur. allows quick and easy access to This can be very dangerous in some cases.

“As an example, we are often asked to install permanent monitoring equipment for non-linear equipment loads (LED lights, VSDs, UPS, large video/TV screens, etc.). , there is a risk of power pollution where the cable can overheat and cause a fire or malfunction of sensitive electrical equipment.”

Fiber optics also mean more efficient communication with foreign carriers such as China, Taiwan, Germany, Spain, Croatia, Slovenia and Australia. High-speed fiber minimizes the risk of connection buffering and interruptions. This is especially important when a technician needs urgent on-site assistance from a supplier in Barcelona.

“From remote inventory checks, to communicating with on-the-go sales reps, to even accessing video tutorials for a wide range of equipment, it makes life so much easier for everyone. Sky Tower Lightning Protection As we prepare to upgrade our system, meetings with various consultants will be held online to minimize the time required for travel, parking, etc.”

Story, co-op by Erin Harrison chorus.