FAQ’s and Old Wive’s Tales (OWT)

Wrong

Lightning strikes don’t actually “make up their minds” where they will strike until the strike leader is within approximately 150’ of ground or a grounded object. In most cases, this will probably be the tallest object in an area - but - as witnessed by this photo – not always.

Not always. Lightning strikes can have one of several effects subject to the nature of the strike (its current and voltage values) and subject to the type of structure that is hit.

• Fire: a lightning strike to a high resistance, combustible substance, i.e. a wood framed house can easily start a fire if the current flow is high enough and the duration long enough.
• Explosive effect: If the strike is of high current but short duration, the effect can be explosive in nature; shattering wood framing or masonry walls and stacks as shown in these photos.
• Electrical: Lightning currents can enter a building’s wiring and communications system causing melting, fire and/or destruction of solid state/computerized or low voltage systems. A device designed to operate 5, 12, 14 volts etc doesn’t stand a chance against a lightning strike with up to one million volts.

The cost will vary dependent upon:

• Materials used. Copper or aluminum components and cabling are allowed per lightning protection codes. Aluminum will be less expensive.
• Concealed versus exposed installation. Lightning protection systems can be installed on an existing building’s exterior (A skilled installer can do this in a very inconspicuous way), or mostly built into the structure in a concealed manner for a new construction project. This will likely be slightly more costly due to some additional labor.
• Size and design of the house. A large home with several dormers and chimneys will obviously cost more to protect than a basic single ridge ranch design. In general terms, however, the cost of the system seldom exceeds 1% of the home’s value.

Wrong

Lightning strikes can penetrate metal up to 3/16” thick. Metal roofing and siding are not permitted by code to act as part of a lightning protection system. Grounding or bonding metal siding is not lightning protection by any means.

Wrong

Modern construction and materials in reality make buildings more vulnerable.

• Structures are more often located in open, exposed suburban areas
• Traditional lightning targets like large trees and overhead power lines are not as prevalent or may not be present at all in new development areas with underground services.

• Plastic plumbing and mechanical lines have eliminated prior alternative paths to ground for lightning strikes to buildings
• Electrical equipment within the building is much more sensitive due to the widespread use of solid state computer chips in many systems such as security, garage openers, TVs, microwaves, computers and phones where in the past much tougher mechanical switches and relays were used.

Wrong

The lightning protection industry is alive, growing and more effective than ever before. Many years ago, at an industry meeting, one of the “old timers” summed up the probable basis for the above misconception. His explanation was that the industry was no longer using the tall elevated and often ornamental rods” that were traditional for previous generations on barns, farmhouses and other rural structures. By the time he stated this, the industry had been able, based on scientific research and updated general knowledge about lightning, to reduce the size of the rods to a 10” minimum height with many portions of the systems now able to be concealed within the building itself. This major shift in visual impact is probably the basis for this misconception. The number of buildings with protection systems installed has been increasing for several years.