Lightning Rods Installed today by Triangle
 

Very happy with the job Triangle Lightning Protection did today installing Lighting Rods on our home.
We heard the the guys who do the power point presentation, and write the articles on lightning in the POA news, last month on our state being the Lightning Capitol of America, and were convinced it was the right thing to do.
I personally was struck by lightning when living in Ormond by the Sea Florida many years ago.
Triangle did a great job today they dug 2 holes to install grounding rods on the side and back, and replaced the soil, my landscaping cloth and the rocks, properly re-sloped the earth, and I cannot tell the ground was ever disturbed. They snapped a chalk line on the house, and after installing the cable used our hose, and sprayer, and promptly washed the chalk off. Bobby and his dad own the company.
They install the wiring so it can not be seen from the entryway of the home.
It took about 3 hours for the installation, and they will call to get the different companies to come out and flag your yard before hand.
They advertise $1195.00 for any home 2100 sq. ft. or less. We are happy with the price, and the peace of mind from a fully accredited company.
They hooked a cable to the DishNetWork dish as well.
In 20 or so years when we need new shingles, we just call Triangle, and they will come out before the shingles are replaced, measure the installation on our roof diagram it out, remove it, store the pieces and then will come back after the new roof is installed, and put your parts back on the roof for only the cost of labor.

In a closed thread LIGHTNING said: "For the best results use an installer that is UL listed and their workers have been qualified by exam by the Lightning Protection Institute. Do not be misled by a prospective vendor telling you they use UL listed components - this is not the same as the firm being UL listed. Those firms known to be working in this area are A-1 Lightning, Triangle Lightning, and Central Lightning."



I highly recommend Triangle their phone is 352-483-7020

What kind of cable did they use to attach to the grounding rods and was it braided?

Great idea we are in the lightening capital

I had mine done for $600 but $1195 is still fair.

Shocked :22yikes: more people here don't have them installed.

can you take pics of some of details?

Ps: it not required that the installer be UL listed and their workers have been qualified by exam by the Lightning Protection Institute.

In fact you can do it yourself for $400 in UL materiels

Detail Photos
 

Aluminum on roof connecting to copper via a clamp that keeps them separated with stainless steel, and of course copper to copper grounding rod.

Won't let me download many at a time, so here are more.
Click on photos to enlarge.

Yes, It is braided copper.

I don't like the way they just wrapped the cables around the gutters.

Mine are placed thru the gutters much nicer less noticeable install


also you said " today they dug 2 holes to install grounding rods on the side and back"

In the pics they are just pounding the rods in the ground the normal way it's always done what was dug up?
please explain

We moved into a villa with lightening rods. When we first started looking for a house, we decided that the lightening rods were going to be the first purchase so were happy that this place already had them. However, I have heard several times from different people that they 'don't really work' and are a waste of money! During a lightening storm, I know I feel a bit safer! (even the Village salesperson said that same thing..)

it always hard to prove a negative!

they work

The grounding rods are recessed see photo of rod in hole.
We don't mind them being over the gutters, and are very happy with it.

Check the past articles on lightning in the POA newsletter online.

Any Villager considering installing a lightning protection system (lightning rods) or would like to be educated on the subject may wish to attend the Tuesday, March 17th Property Owners Association (POA) monthly meeting, 7 PM, at Laurel Manor. Representatives of Triangle Lightning will be making a presentation followed by Q&A. All residents are welcome and you do not need to be a POA member to attend.

Interesting subject, does lighting travel from air to ground, ground to air or both? To the best of my knowledge, lighting will do what lighting wishes to do, its one of natures 900 lb gorillas. The net is a wonderful source of information, but always remember, vacuum salesmen sell vacuums. Do due diligence before writing a check. Effectiveness of lightning rods or do a google search on what you want to know. Good luck.

Wouldn't it be a better presentation if it wasn't made by a vendor but by an independent engineer or someone that has no skin in the game?

:thumbup:

I'm hoping my neighbors have them installed. Let them attract the lightning to their homes!

The current thinking is that lightning rods don't actually attract lightning so the presence of lightning rods on your neighbor's house does not offer you any protection. In the event that lightning was going to strike your house, lightning rods (and their cables to the ground) offer a discharge pathway to the ground instead of the energy discharging through the house structure to the ground.

I agree your neighbor will not protect you.

We have them. Have lived in The Villages or Tampa since 1983. Lightning is horrendous in this area. I believe all Rec Centers have them.

No, all the rec centers do not have lightning rods. Specifically, Manatee and Eisenhower don't have lightning rods. I haven't seen any neighborhood pools structures with them either. The firehouse across from Eisenhower doesn't appear to have them either.

Anyone that wishes to do his or her due diligence should visit The Villages Library on Belvedere Drive and check out University of Florida's Dr. Martin Uman's book The Art and Science of Lightning Protection. Dr Uman has been studying lightning for over 40 years.

If you would like to attend a class based on Dr. Uman's book see page 53 under Science in the current Lifelong Learning Catalog.

One of the myths that dates back to Benjamin Franklin's time is that lightning rods attract lightning and therefore they should be avoided. Over 260 years of experience and science debunks this commonly held and often repeated myth. See page 17 the aforementioned Uman book.

We've had lightening rods for many years now, it jut made me feel better....LOL However as far as the rods attracting lightening let me just say, we had a very tall queen palm next to the house and last year lightening found it! Killed the tree and ran into the ground to cable , even with whole house surge protector killed a number of electronics in the house because it came in through cable and phone line. Just my experience.

This is an example of a random lightning strike where the palm was struck. It is unlikely that the LPS on your home played any role it. Lightning is highly UNPREDICTABLE!

The term "whole house" surge protection is a misnomer. To prevent surge damage to sensitive electronic equipment in the home you need primary and secondary surge protection for appliances and the electronics that you value.

PRIMARAY SURGE PROTECTION is when you have your electric utility install a surge protection device on your electric meter or you engage a licensed electrician to install a surge protection device on your electric panel. Many people believe that you are now protected from surges including those induced by lightning. You are not totally protected as demonstrated in the description in your post. You also need secondary surge protection.

SECONDARY SURGE PROTECTION is when you your install point-of-use and power strips on your appliances and electronics such as computers, TVs, garage door operators, microwave ovens, etc. This will protect the electronics where the surge comes into your home through cable, satellite, and telephone lines. This is why SECO gives you a starter set of surge protection devices if you contract with them for primary surge protection.

I guess you can consider the palm tree to be your lightning protection system ;-).Taller structures are generally hit first. My home owner's insurance policy does not provide a discount for lightning rods. I assume, from an actuarial point of view, it doesn't make sense to do so. I also find it interesting that they are not part of the building codes but there are a number of hurricane features such as roof tie downs, wind loading requirements for windows, and reinforcements for garage doors in the building codes. This actually surprises me as the cost during new home construction would be minimall and FL has some pretty good building codes. The odds of getting hit would appear to be relatively low as we seem to hear about 1 home being hit per year out of 55,000 homes in The Villages. That, however, is little consolation if it is your home. I guess you can think of lightning rods as insurance and insurance generally lets you sleep better at night. Lightning rods appear to be relatively rare in The Villages - as far as I can tell there are none in my Village.