Lightning rods do not attract lightning, but if lightning is going to hit your structure or house, it will hit
the lightning rods and divert the lightning safely into the ground. Trees do not protect from lightning because of the dangerous ground charge that accompanies
the lightning strike and travels through the building. With all the metal and electrical service in the modern house, it is a much better target than a tree. Also trees are very poor conductors. Wood does not conduct
electricity. That is why when lightning does strike a tree it does damage. If it were a good conductor, the lightning would pass right through the tree and go safely to ground without leaving any sign of damage to the
tree. Also, you can have side-flash from lightning striking a tree. That means that lightning will not only strike the tree but a second lightning leader will arc to your house nearby. This can happen hundreds of feet
away.Television antennas DO NOT protect from lightning strikes and are a good target. TV antenna grounds are not adequate to safely conduct a lightning bolt to the ground. Ground rods need to be at least ½ inch
diameter, 8 feet long and copper clad and must be buried 10 feet into the ground. In other words, dig a 2 foot deep hole and pound the top of the ground rod down to that level so the bottom of the ground rod is 10 feet
below you, then cover the rod with soil after it is connected to the conductor cable with a proper ground rod clamp. Electrical house ground and ground rods do not ground your house. They are intended to
give your electrical system
a ground in order to work. If lightning is going to hit your roof, it must travel through the house before it gets to the ground. Lightning loves to find a way into your electrical system once it strikes your house. You need a UL approved Lightning Surge arrester in your breaker panel. One that is made to take lightning strikes, not just electrical surges. The electrical surges people refer to that think they are talking about surges from lightning are actually spikes or surges in the electrical service leading to your electric meter. When your power goes out during a storm for example or maintenance and then suddenly comes back on, that is a surge in electricity and that is the most common surge people refer to but are mistaken thinking they mean lightning surges. Those surge arrestors commonly referred to don't protect against lightning surges of millions of volts. Same thing goes for the "plug-in" electrical strips with surge protection. Those are not meant to take lightning strike surges, just power surges. A true lightning protection surge arrestor made for lightning strikes will take the strong blow of lightning strikes to the entire electrical system in the house and most good ones will have a LED light to show you when it is no longer functioning. These can sometimes withstand 4-6 lightning strikes and continue working. Some of these also carry a $25,000 warranty from damage provided a licensed electrician installs it. They generally can only be bought from reputable lightning protections retailers, not from your local electronics store.
Only lightning rods connected to the heavy lightning conductor cable will safely conduct the lightning to the ground. Lightning will follow the easiest path to ground with is the lightning conductor cable. Lightning
is like water. It will not flow up hill and will take the easiest path to get to where it needs to go if you direct it that way. |
