If lightning strikes something that is not a good conductor of electricity, it heats up and causes a fire. That is why a grounded lightning rod works… it provides a path of least resistance for electricity to travel to the Earth without damaging the home…or at least reducing the damage.
A lightning rod is a device which is used to divert electricity from lightning into the ground, where it can dissipate harmlessly, rather than damaging structures and trees or injuring animals which happen to be walking around above the ground.
Why do lightning rods work?
Lightning rods provide a low-resistance path to ground that can be used to conduct the enormous electrical currents when lightning strikes occur. If lightning strikes, the system attempts to carry the harmful electrical current away from the structure and safely to the ground.
That is a question we get a lot and the short and simple answer is yes, absolutely! Lightning rods can protect buildings from direct lightning strikes, but for protection from harmful electrical surges and fires caused by lightning entering a building, a full lightning protection system is needed.
A frequent question we ran across in our research was “Does my home need a lightning rod?”.
Not every home needs lightning rod protection . Isolated houses and houses in elevated, exposed areas run a greater risk of lightning strikes, but tall structures and tall terrain features nearby could give a home good passive protection. Sorry, the video player failed to load.
The NFPA has maintained a standard for lightning protection for 100 years. The standard is continually updated and edited to incorporate new findings.
Lightning rods (and the accompanying protection system) are designed to protect a house or building from a direct lightning strike and, in particular, a lightning-initiated fire. Note that lightning protection systems do not prevent lightning from striking the structure, but rather intercept a lightning strike, provide a conductive path for the.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of lightning rods?
Lightning rods can save you such loss if you reside in any of the prone states. The pros of lightning rods are many that need your attention, especially when your house isn’t insured., and low cost. The pros of lightning rods are that they can be a viable and low-cost option for those households and buildings insured by companies. It provides a.
You see, There is a lot of disagreement in the lightning protection industry. The system that seems to have the endorsement of most authoritative organizations is to the old standby grounded rod system, which even has codes written around it.