Safeguarding a Mission-Critical Data Center Against Lightning Risks
Client Background
The client is a Tier-III data center supporting mission-critical workloads for sectors including cloud computing, banking, fin tech, and government services. With an operational scale spread across thousands of square feet and multiple megawatts of IT load, the facility serves as a backbone for uninterrupted digital services.
As a high-availability operation, the data center is bound by 99.999% uptime requirements (five-nines SLA), where even a few seconds of downtime can translate into massive financial, reputational, and contractual losses. Ensuring resilience against electrical and environmental threats was therefore a non-negotiable priority.
The Challenge / Risk
Data centers are uniquely vulnerable to lightning strikes due to both their infrastructure layout and operational criticality.
Sensitive IT and networking equipment—servers, switches, and storage arrays—are highly prone to surges.
Grid integration points, transformers, and switchyards represent entry points for transients.
Backup systems like UPS banks and diesel generator (DG) sets, often located in open yards, face high exposure.
Tall structures such as cooling towers and communication masts increase strike probability.
The site was situated in a high lightning density region, where India averages 16.3 lightning events per square kilometer annually, among the highest in the world. With climate change intensifying storm activity, the risk had grown even sharper.
For the operator, this risk was not theoretical. Past events in similar facilities had led to costly equipment damage, forced shutdowns, and EHS concerns. Moreover, the facility was bound by IEC 62305, IEEE 80, NBC 2016, and Uptime Institute Tier standards for compliance—making protection both a regulatory and business imperative.
Objectives
The project objectives were clearly defined:
Ensure uninterrupted uptime, protecting SLA commitments.
Safeguard sensitive IT equipment, networking gear, and supporting power infrastructure.
Protect workforce and operators under stringent EHS compliance.
Align protection systems with both global and Indian standards for resilience.
LPES International’s Approach
LPES International stepped in not just as a vendor, but as a strategic protection partner. With 20+ years of specialized expertise and 500+ global deployments, our approach was built on four integrated layers of defense.
Key interventions included:
Comprehensive Risk & Threat Assessment: Evaluating exposure across IT halls, power infrastructure, and structural components.
Grounding Grid Analysis & Step/Touch Voltage Study: Ensuring safe fault current dissipation and worker protection.
Surge Protection Deployment: Installing SPDs at multiple zones, aligned with LPZ methodology under IEC 62305, ensuring cascading surge control.
Air Termination & Bonding Network Design: Engineering lightning capture points and integrating them into the facility structure.
Structural Integration & Documentation: Custom solutions adapted to the data center’s unique design.
HSE Audit Support & Compliance Documentation: Providing verifiable proof of safety adherence.
Turnkey SITC Execution: Covering Supply, Installation, Testing, and Commissioning under strict quality assurance.
Execution & Field Force Stories
The project posed unique execution challenges:
High soil resistivity required advanced grounding design.
Dense server halls and operational continuity made it critical to avoid downtime during installation.
Large-scale power infrastructure demanded precision in SPD placement and coordination.
Our field force, trained in mission-critical environments, worked seamlessly with the client’s facilities team. Using cutting-edge techniques, including advanced grounding analysis and precision SPD deployment, LPES executed the project without disrupting ongoing operations.
A safety-first culture guided every step, with stringent compliance to both international safety standards and the client’s internal HSE protocols.
Results & Impact
Quantitative Outcomes:
Zero lightning-related outages since deployment.
Significant reduction in surge-related incidents and near-misses.
Qualitative Outcomes:
Enhanced operational confidence for the client.
Assurance of full compliance with IEC 62305, IEEE 80, NBC 2016 standards.
Protection of SLA commitments, ensuring seamless continuity of mission-critical services.
Client Perspective
Conclusion / Takeaway
This case underscores a vital truth: for data-driven industries, lightning protection is uptime protection. With tailored engineering, robust execution, and compliance-backed solutions, LPES International once again demonstrated its role as not just a vendor, but a strategic protection partner.
As data centers continue to scale in India and globally, resilience cannot be left to chance. Lightning is not random—its risks can be engineered against.
