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.
