Lightning protection system

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kbsparky

Senior Member
Location
Delmarva, USA
My uncle's house got struck by lightning last year, and burned to the ground.

He is getting ready to build a new house, but this time wants a better grounding system, including lighting rods on the roof (can't say I blame him for THAT)!

So, as I prepare the electrical estimate, I want to include things like a ground ring in the footer, and maybe even a secondary outer ring beyond the actual footer, similar to what they install at radio station transmitter sites.

You see, the lightning strike that burned his house down actually struck a nearby tree, and then plowed a path over to the house thru the ground, and got into the crawl space wiring and plumbing systems where it started the fire. An outer grounding ring may have prevented this?

Any thoughts on whether these measures would be practical and effective?
 

steve66

Senior Member
Location
Illinois
Occupation
Engineer
Cutting down the tree would be more cost effective :)

Seriously though, I doubt a ground ring would be cost effective for a house.

It seems like a typical lighting rod system, and proper bonding of all the incoming wiring and piping would be a better solution. Maybe combined with some surge arrestors for the incoming power and telephone and CATV lines.
 

kbsparky

Senior Member
Location
Delmarva, USA
I suspect they will end up being neither. just the nature of lightening.

In any case, if it is not effective what does "practical" mean?

There may be many effective solutions, but hardly practical. I am looking for a solution that would be both practical and effective.
 
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