Talk of The Villages Florida - View Single Post - To all retired electricians and electrical engineers. Do Lightning Rods work?
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Old 08-06-2021, 11:53 AM
GrumpyOldMan GrumpyOldMan is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DonnaNi4os View Post
I’m no electrician but it seems to me that the height of a lightning rod would make you more susceptible to a strike. It’s like carrying an umbrella in a thunderstorm, your risk increases as opposed to wearing a raincoat. I had SECO put a whole house surge protector when I purchased my home but soon learned that was just the beginning. Despite a surge protector on my TVs I recently lost my flat screen after a storm. I learned that the cable line also needed a surge protector at the point of entry. Now I have a surge protector on everything including my garage door opener, microwave, garbage disposal, etc, anything powered by electricity. SunKool was here a week ago for my regular maintenance and told me that I should have a surge protector on my ac unit so I agreed. Truth be told, you can attempt to avoid costly surges but if lightning strikes anywhere near your home you can still have your appliances toasted. My prayer is that I don’t get the kind of strike that would burn down my house. I do not intend to get lightning rods installed and I am not a gambler.
True, but that is the point of the lightning rod, to "take the hit". It is intended to be the most likely thing to be hit and too shunt that current down into the ground into LONG rods that are driven into the ground.

If your house gets hit and not the lightning rod, then either you won the lottery or you got taken by an incompetent installer.