Quote:
Originally Posted by Nana2Teddy
So why do you recommend only two LPS companies when there are others available to do the job much sooner as stated by that Middleton homeowner who just had their system installed very quickly?
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Good question. When installing a Lightning Protection System here in the state of Florida and it may be the same in other states, there are:
No state or local certification of LPS installers
No state or local licensing
No building permits with follow up inspections
So, without a Lightning Protection Institute and or UL Certification there is no way to know for sure if the systems are being installed properly. That's not to say that any of these companies are installing improperly, just there is no way know. After having a system installed you can pay for and get UL to come out and certify your installation where they give you a certificate for 5 years but very few do this and it's not necessary if the installers are LPI and or UL certified. Many companies have consumer protection awards, etc, like from the Better Business Bureau but none from technical agencies.
All this said, It would be great to have more qualified LPS installation companies working here in the Villages since the two certified ones are always booked for unreasonably long periods of time every year. Also, additional companies may bring prices for these systems down a little. But the problem with a Lightning Protection System is after it's installed the homeowner has no way of knowing if it was actually installed properly and is going to work. So for example, does each air terminal (lightning rod) have two paths to ground? Does each ground rod have less than 25 ohms of resistance to ground? Is the company using all the necessary UL certified cables and connectors? Are the rods placed on the roof correctly to give the proper coverage? NFPA 780 which is the standard for the Installation of Lightning Protection Systems lists all the necessary requirements. I'm not an inspector but these are some of the things that are listed in NFPA 780 to insure that the system will work.