Biral celebrates 10 Years of Thunderstorm Detection Technology

Photo by courtesy of Observator Instruments

Biral, the leading meteorological experts, has announced that it is celebrating the 10-year anniversary of its innovative BTD Technology. Since the summer of 2012, when Biral’s prototype BTD-300 detected its first thunderstorm, Biral’s own  BTD-300 has detected ~140 thunderstorms within 20km of its home in Portishead, UK.

The evolution of the BTD-300 Lightning Detector

The BTD-300 is used in land-based applications and was designed to meet the needs of national and international airports. With a detection radius of 83km (51 miles), a single sensor will reliably provide warnings for any airport, wind farm or large industrial site. Its real-time output can be taken into any control or monitoring system, used to initiate alarms or warnings and to track the path of a storm cell. Its hard-wired connection means that it is reliable, even in the worst storms.

The BTD-350 was then developed specifically for installation off-shore on marine platforms, oil and gas rigs, vessels and at off-shore wind turbine parks. It features a strengthened vibration resistant design with extensive use of both stainless steel and marine grade paint technology, to ensure a long life in the harsh marine environment.

For example, when mounted on a marine substation, one BTD-350 can offer advance warnings of an approaching electrical storm to even the largest of off-shore wind farms. When mounted onto a service or support vessel, it becomes a mobile warning system which can be used at any wind farm, offering protection to all staff at that location.

The birth of the BTD-200 Complete Lightning Warning System

Another milestone this summer is five years of the BTD-200, the newest edition to the range, after the first thunderstorm was detected by the prototype back in 2017.

This complete, simple to install and use lightning warning system reliably detects the local presence of all forms of lightning out to a range of 35km (22 miles) from the sensor.

The BTD-200 lightning warning system is a modular system. It is designed to operate out-of-the-box but is also expandable as requirements grow or change. The essential system comprises a lightning detector which is placed outside, whilst a PC located indoors runs the supplied Lightning Works software.. The system includes a power supply and (optionally) the cabling to connect to the power and the host PC.

Applications where the BTD-200 is already warning of the presence of thunderstorms include those in the leisure industry, where there is a risk to both customers and staff at outdoor events.

Speaking on the milestones, Nathan Neal, Marketing Director at Biral commented, “2022 is a great milestone year for BTD technology, with its results only accelerating year on year. The BTD products are being sold around the world and we are excited to keep branching out into new industries and bolstering our presence in those we already have a strong reputation in.”