The discharge of electrical charges in clouds results in currents such as lightning and flashes. Contrary to popular belief, these are not different words for the same phenomenon, but electrical currents with distinct characteristics.

A lightning flash (şimşek) is a temporary light in the form of a broken line formed when electricity discharges between the base of a cloud and the ground, between two clouds, or within a single cloud. A lightning strike (yıldırım), on the other hand, is a current with a much higher interaction level and requires a lightning rod for protection.

Lightning and Lightning Rods
A lightning strike is the electrical discharge between the sky and the earth, consisting of a flash and thunder. In essence, every lightning strike is a type of flash, but not every flash is a lightning strike. To explain it more simply, it is accurate to call a lightning strike the most dangerous type of flash that occurs between a cloud and the ground.

Lightning occurs more frequently in rainy and forested areas. The best protection element developed for this issue to date is the “lightning rod” (paratoner). These are positioned at the highest points of tall buildings and especially mosques to ensure that the extreme current generated by the strike meets the ground with minimal damage. They are used in all tall and newly constructed buildings.

While lightning rods direct the strike to the ground with minimal damage, there are also surge arresters (parafudr). Surge arresters work much like lightning rods but within the internal electrical system, protecting the structure against overcurrent by short-circuiting the excess current to the ground. Although some surge arrester importers in Türkiye claim that arresters are a solution against the overvoltage caused by lightning, reputable switchgear manufacturers clearly state in their training sessions that surge arresters do not prevent overvoltage in the system and that different products exist for this purpose.

The fact that surge suppressors are mandatory under the regulation for preparing electrical internal facility projects, combined with the fact that arresters cannot prevent overvoltage, has drawn significant attention to Trimbox.

“Trimbox” is a unique product in the world, manufactured in our country (Bursa). Trimbox protects the devices in the system by damping the overvoltage between the two ends of the conductor. If the overvoltage is beyond what Trimbox can damp or turns into a continuous surge (such as a transformer explosion), Trimbox still protects the devices in the system but must be replaced with a new unit.

When lightning meets the ground—whether via a lightning rod or not—it enters systems from the soil or electrical lines within a 1.5 km radius, causing devices to burn out.

Trimbox prevents device burnouts and fires by blocking electrical extremes generally described as overvoltages, such as flashes and lightning, transformer explosions, power flickers, and sudden voltage surges.