Meteorological equipment specialists Biral has seen great success from its BTD-200 self-contained, standalone lightning warning system in applications and industries all around the world.
Following its use in leisure and industrial settings, Biral has recently been concentrating on targeting the entertainment industry, which includes the likes of theme parks and water parks.
The BTD-200 lightning warning system gives advanced warning of overhead lightning risk using its professional-grade detection system which is designed for leisure, sports and outdoor activities. Aside from sites like golf courses and open-air venues, this also includes theme park sites, whose entire business depends on safe weather conditions.
In amusement parks all over the world, policies are in place to ensure the safety of the hundreds or in some cases thousands of visitors that pass through their doors each day. Well known parks, like those located in Florida, are equipped with lightning detectors so that rides can be closed and evacuated if bad weather approaches. But although unpredictable, UK weather is deemed not as severe as that of overseas, meaning many British theme parks don’t have anything installed that would sense an incoming storm.
Many UK sites may believe such a system is unnecessary, but with 300,000 lightning strikes hitting the ground every year across the country, theme park owners are being encouraged to have such equipment in place.
In the majority of applications, the lightning warning system is used to help protect people and equipment from the dangers of a lightning strike by providing advanced warning of a storm’s approach. This is all the more important in areas where large numbers of people are outside across a wide area (such as a golf course). Detectors which rely on lightning detection alone are only effective if the storm is already producing lightning at some distance before moving closer towards the detector. If the first lightning strike of the storm is overhead, then these types of systems give no advanced warning and therefore no protection.
The BTD-200 lightning warning system is a complete detection and warning system which has been developed from the Biral range of professional aviation grade lightning detection systems. It reliably detects the local presence of all forms of lightning out to a range of 35km (22 miles) from the sensor. Designed to be installed and set up by non-technical staff, it comes with a power supply and the essential PC application ‘Lightning Works’, for monitoring and warning personnel of approaching thunderstorms.
The Lightning Works software alerts the staff and managers to threats in real time, allowing them to review and manage the situation and to staff to the potential danger. It can also activate warning sounders automatically if required. Lightning Works Messenger then works seamlessly with the BTD-200 and automatically sends out both email and SMS text messages to any number of recipients.
Further information is available from Biral on +44 1275 847787 or contact us.
NOTE TO EDITORS:
Established in 1975 Biral is a leading manufacturer of meteorological instruments and supplies the international market with one of the largest ranges of products available. Its scope extends from sensors to measure wind, temperature, precipitation, visibility, solar radiation and other standard parameters to present weather sensors and complete weather stations. The company’s products can be used across a diverse number of applications in the aviation, oil and gas, marine and wind energy markets as well as for roads and highways. Biral is also a specialist in the design, manufacture and supply of particle analysis and climate research instruments for science, industry and the environment.