Grounding a Church Steeple

[hillbilly]

Hello
It's been a while..actually more than a while since I posted on this forum.

I've been retired now for about 2 years.
I had a second heart attack, and I just can't do the climbing and crawling anymore.

My question concerns a Steeple installation on a old church that I attended as a child, and I have been asked a question concering it's installation.

The old (80 years +) church is all wood frame with a asphalt shingle roof.

The church has purchased a aluminum framed Steeple with wood exterior siding.
The Steeple came with a #4 bare grounding conductor welded to the aluminum frame.

I was asked what to do with the grounding conductor.

My opinion is that since the church is wood frame with wood siding and has a wood framed roof with asphalt roofing that nothing needs to be done to ground or bond the aluminum framing.

I said that they should simply leave the #4 grounding conductor coiled up inside the steeple in case the roofing was ever converted to metal or a electric light was added to the Steeple.

I can't see how the aluminum framing can be any type of lighting risk.
It's more or less like having metal roofing on a wood building.

Am I correct?

Any replies any appreciated
thanks
steve

 

[GoldDigger]

The problem with your analogy is that the spire stands a lot taller than the roof of a building.
It is not likely to become energized from AC, so an EGC connection will not be required (or is there lighting in the spire???)
But it is likely to be involved in various lightning events. If at all possible, you would like to entice that current to stay outside the building.
Consult a lightning protection specialist, since that is not a matter for a general electrician.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

 

[kwired]

Even if this were wood framed, doesn't mean it would never be struck by lightning.

Even though it is higher than the rest of the roof doesn't mean the far end of the roof will never be struck by lightning.

If lightning protection is required is a different story but if it is being provided you likely have other equipment on the rest of the roof providing protection to the entire building.

I agree with Golddigger - contact a lightning protection specialist. If you do connect that to something and don't do it properly it maybe causes more harm than if you just left it unconnected. The thousands of volts involved in a lightning incident will find paths that people accustomed to using low voltages never even think of.