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Protecting people and Bluetti AC500 units from indirect lightning strikes

ForestBaker

New Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2023
Messages
5
Location
Portola, CA
I'm looking for advice on whether I should add an earth ground to our totally off-grid setup. We've got 3 cabins with metal roofs/siding and I want people to be safe if there is an indirect lightning strike near any of the cabins. They are located on a the side of a mountain and we get occasional thunderstorms.

Based on YouTube research, my understanding is that an indirect lighting strike can charge a building and it's contents.

Here are my questions:
  1. If there is an indirect strike near a cabin and it reaches the cabin, if the the energy doesn't have an easy path back to the earth, it could ark across a room and someone inside could get hurt/killed. Our cabins are metal buildings and the electronics in the cabins are bonded to the metal frame of the cabins. However, the cabins are lifted on wood and concrete blocks. Would these serve as a good path for the charge to get back to earth? Or would people be safer in the cabin if I connected the frame to a ground rod at each cabin?
  2. If there is a strike near our shed, the energy could overcharge electronic equipment. I've got Bluetti AC500 inverters and batteries in the shed that have floating neutral/ground. I'm wondering if I need to protected them from overcharging by incorporating a grounding rod at the shed.
  3. Lastly, if there is an indirect strike near our solar panels and they get charged, can I assume it would most likely use the metal poles they are mounted on as a path back to the earth? And it's not likely it would travel along the PV wires that connect to the inverters in the shed?
Overview of setup:
  • Solar panel array mounted on metal poles with 2 separate PV runs that go to a...
  • Shed with 2 Bluetti AC 500 inverters and batteries
    • One AC500 inverter powers a panel in the shed (for lights & outlets) and 1 RV outlet panel
    • The other AC500 inverter powers 2 RV outlet panels
  • 3 RV trailers with metal siding that are lifted onto concrete blocks and plugged into RV outlet panels on wooden posts
Thanks in advance!


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