Lightning Protection Systems

[03Lightningrocks]

I know there are surge protection systems that can reduce damage to electronics in the home. I am not sure how much protection they offer if your home takes a direct strike. I have heard of lightning rods for years but am wondering if they are 100% effective. I have seen full grown trees split in half by lightning. It does not surprise me that a direct strike would set the roof on fire.

[Jusme]

Lightening rods can be effective in preventing damage to homes. They have a grounding cable that runs to a copper grounding rod in the ground. This directs the charge directly to the ground, preventing the charge from going through the structure. Most commercial buildings have them. There are also lightening arrestors that can be attached to the main panel box.

[chamberc]

Early this morning my neighbor’s house was stuck by lightning which set the roof on fire. He and his family are fine. The roof has significant damage as does one of the second floor bedroom ceilings. The Frisco F.D. responded very quickly; job well done.

This is the second lightning strike with fire damage in as many years in my neighborhood. After the first strike, various neighbors around the subdivision had lightning protection systems installed. Do these systems really work, what is the cost, and are there any other alternatives to protecting a home against lighting strikes?

Whole home surge protectors will do nothing for a nearby or direct strike to protect electronics.

Enterprise grade Rack mounted UPS's will do nothing to protect connected electronics.

True lightning arrestor systems for a normal home will run between $50k and $80k and will end up costing more than the average lightning strike causes.

If you want to protect from line voltage issues, a whole home surge protector will work, but true protection from nearby and direct strikes is big dollars.

[parabelum]

Have a Antifa pig stand next to your house with a lightning rod during the storm. Tell him/her it will rain free weed or something like that.

[NotRPB]

Lightning has 1 goal, to transfer charged electrons to/from ground via shortest path of least resistance.
To protect yourself, have a Ham Radio Operator move next door with a big properly grounded antenna tower so you're in the "cone of protection"


In accordance with ARRL & commercial broadcasting Station recommendations, personally I have trenched down below earthworms the entire perimeter of my house at the drip line, installed 250 feet of #2 AWG solid bare copper wire as a PERIMETER GROUND RING attached to 20 four-foot ground rods and Four 8 Foot ground rods and 50 feet of 3/4 inch copper pipe & used 250' of #4 AWG buried bare copper wire to bond all antennas metal fences, metal hand rails anything a person could touch so that lightning doesn't move through feet, heart hand (You don't want a difference inn POTENTIAL) etc (DO NOT BOND GAS SERVICE NOR IN MOST INSTANCES WATER PIPES THESE DAYS) Each antenna has a gas discharge tube on the coax under the antenna, grounded to mast, and a #10 AWG wire on the GDT going down the mast where at the ground end of coax I add a Array Solutions I.C.E/ Morgan Mfg type arrestor with at least #10 going to a ground rod on the perimeter ground. Prior to entering the house, outside the wall I have a 3'x4' aluminum plate with numerous Array Solutions I.C.E/ Morgan Mfg type arrestors one for each coax, a common #2 ground going to the perimeter ground+ ground rods and all bonded to the service entrance with #2 and #4 AWG bare buried wire.

Next I have 3.000 feet of #14 bare copper wire I'll bury for radials for a butternut vertical aluminum 30' tall antenna I just got. those will be buried shallower and attach to the ground system but as a return for the ground side of the signal/coax not as lightning protection ... (People say if I get a direct hit my whole yard will be copper plated,,, but ... less mowing)

Sorry if you're experiencing a penny shortage.

P.S. disconnecting coax from radios is a bad plan, a friend heard, saw & smelled his radio die as a spark jumped across the disconnected coax to his radio. It has jumped across rooms to reach electrical outlet ground wires after shattering glass jars people put the coax into, no one was in between the coax & outlet that time as it jumped but someone could have been a conductor.


GOAL:
Give lightning an easy short low resistance path to ground OTHER THAN THE HOUSE.
That said ... weather does what it wants to do.

Lightning will get to ground, around you or through you... it'll get there.