ᐅ Equipotential bonding for satellite systems must be installed separately.

Dipol always provides the best explanations on this, maybe he will still chime in...

Let's see,
I just want to know if I'm on the right track,

My electrician got back to me. He said that for lightning protection systems, separate installation is necessary, but not for satellite systems. I couldn't find a clear statement about this in the VDE.

Waiting for Dipol.

Satellite dish on the roof, 4 coaxial cables plus 1 (thick) PE cable in the basement. The grounding conductor was attached directly to the large block in the technical room at the foundation earth electrode connection tab with a screw. Only this way does it make sense.

Redsonic schrieb:

My home savings contract pointed out to me during our new build that the equipotential bonding for the grounding of the satellite system must not be installed together with the other electrical wiring. The green-yellow conductor now runs through our bathroom bundled in a large cable assembly all the way down.

The standards recommend that antennas should no longer be grounded directly in protected areas such as lightning protection zone LPZ 0B, but instead be protected according to current technology with separate lightning rods.

Direct grounding with at least 16 mm² (0.02 inch²) copper, 25 mm² (0.04 inch²) aluminum, or 50 mm² (0.08 inch²) lightning conductor wire is still permitted according to recognized technical rules (i.e., the minimum standard). However, in the fortunately rare event of a direct lightning strike, partial lightning currents inevitably couple into the antenna system and the connected devices.

The risk of surges entering via the supply lines is significantly higher, which is why surge protection according to DIN VDE 0100-443:2016-10 and DIN VDE 0100-534:2016-10 is, in my opinion, even more important than an external lightning conductor.

Redsonic schrieb:
Must the grounding conductor for the satellite system be routed separately? I pointed this out to the electrician, but nothing has been done. Time is pressing now because the plumbing team is preparing the floor for the underfloor heating and the cables will soon be covered.

Unfortunately, it is common installation practice that grounding conductors, usually 16 mm² (0.02 inch²) copper, are installed indoors by installers lacking awareness of lightning protection technical issues and routed dangerously close to lightning rods. They are often connected with mostly unsuitable connectors that lack certification according to test standards at class H = 100 kA (Links are not permitted in this forum).

The example images in IEC 60728-11, which governs antenna safety, mandate sufficiently insulating equivalent separation distances when lightning protection conductors and separate lightning rods are used. A grounding conductor of usually 16 mm² (0.02 inch²) copper connected directly to the antenna mast is by no means safer and is even heated more than a 50 mm² (0.08 inch²) lightning conductor wire. Nevertheless, no example image of direct grounding includes a separation distance marked with the designation "s".

In 2012, I proposed in the responsible standards committee DKE/K 735 to update the example images for direct grounding to reflect physical realities and to show separation distances there as well. Since electricians were not considered capable of calculating equivalent separation distances, it was at least decided that external lightning conductors would be mandatory. However, this decision was not incorporated into IEC 60728-11:2016.

Even before the latest IEC 60728-11 became effective in Germany as DIN EN 60728-11 (VDE 0855-1):2017-10, a revision was announced. Hopefully, this will clearly require separation distances also for grounding conductors of antennas.

SUMMARY:

• Lightning current-capable grounding conductors for roof antennas should be installed without dangerous proximity to people and other wiring, which usually requires external lightning conductors.
• Touchable grounding conductors must be installed in PVC conduits with a wall thickness of 3 mm (0.1 inch) according to IEC 60728-11.
• A chain is only as strong as its weakest link; grounding clamps and HES (equipotential bonding clamps) not certified according to test standards at class H provide only questionable protection and are not standard-compliant.