BS EN 10160 STANDARD SERIES
The BS EN/IEC 62305 series consists of four parts, all of which need to be taken into consideration. In essence, structural lightning protection can no longer be considered in isolation, protection against transient overvoltages or electrical surges is integral to BS EN/IEC 62305. Key to BS EN/IEC 62305 is that all considerations for lightning protection are driven by a comprehensive and complex risk assessment and that this assessment not only takes into account the structure to be protected but also the services to which the structure is connected. Updated part 2 is currently under discussion and is expected to be published in late 2012. In 2010 these parts underwent periodic technical review, with updated parts 1, 3 and 4 released in 2011. These parts of the standard are introduced here. More complex and exacting than its predecessor, BS EN/IEC 62305 includes four distinct parts – general principles, risk management, physical damage to structures and life hazard, and electronic systems protection. The BS EN/IEC 62305 standard reflects an increased scientific understanding of lightning and its effects over the last twenty years and takes stock of the growing impact of technology and electronic systems on our daily activities. For a finite period, BS EN/IEC 62305 and BS 6651 ran in parallel, but as of August 2008, BS 6651 has been withdrawn and now BS EN/IEC 63205 is the recognized standard for lightning protection. The BS EN/IEC 62305 Standard for lightning protection was originally published in September 2006, to supersede the previous standard, BS 6651:1999.