Lightning protection cost and opinions
 

I have read many threads about lightning protection with great interest.

One thing that stands out for me is range of cost. I have read 'someone whose posts I trust' had it done for $600. I have read that Triangle will do a home for under $1200 (I am having them out next week to look at job).

Yesterday I met with someone from a well respected company. In summary the estimate was $2050 for a Wisteria (1600 sq feet). They stressed:

• using copper wire everywhere except where aluminum is required by code,
• using only UL approved parts that exceed code for everything
• included bonding CSST gas lines
• three down connectors to ground rods
• going through soffit instead of around gutter

I will update thread when I get a comparable quote from Triangle, but preparing for them to say $1200 based on others experiences.

I am curious if people with more experience in the field can explain why the cost can fluctuate so widely. This may help me be prepared with questions to ask both companies.

For me, the deciding factor on who installed the system was that the contractor I used had the installation inspected and certified by a UL inspector after they were done. You can use all the UL approved pieces you want, but if the system isn't properly placed and grounded, are you really protected?

$2,000 is high by about $500.

the materials are about $450 if you buy them online, it really isn't rocket science anyone handy can do it.

Too much BS about it's complexity, just Google it. :read:

Now as far as having the system? hands down in this area.

I put lightening rods in the same bucket as swamp land in southern florida

I believe the difference in costs is the marketing philosophy of the two firms that you are considering. One comes to your home and does a presentation and estimates the cost of installing the system based on your roof configuration including any pool screen cage. The other advertises in the POA Bulletin for any home under 2,100 square feet for $1,295. In most cases they do not come to your home to do an estimate unless you exceed the square ft area to be protected. Their price includes aluminum wiring which is perfectly permissible by the national standard on lightning, NFPA-780. If you choose copper conductors the cost will be more by about $300+.

The important thing is you are considering firms that are listed by Underwriters Laboratories and their installers have passed the closed book exams offered by the Lightning Protection Institute. Door-to-door solicitors will have low-ball prices but will not meet the UL and LPI criteria. Buyer beware!

If anyone would like to learn about the science behind lightning protection systems that has evolved over the last 263 years and why they are effective and widely used throughout the world may wish to sign up for the Lifelong Learning College's course, Lightning Tips for Villagers. Dr Martin Uman's book, The Art and Science of Lightning Protection, is one of the key references for this course. Dr. Uman has been studying lightning at the University of Florida for over 40 years.

when looking to buy a home look for one with a neighbor that has lighning rods.

Our next door neighbor has them and I thank him every time I see him.

Our next door neighbor has them and we had a nasty hit!

I used Triangle for mine and the charge was $1295. I believe that is their advertised price for a house 2100 sq ft or less. That's what they charged me.

BTW, your house will NOT get hit because the next house has rods. That is NOT how they work. They direct the lightning into the ground not the surrounding homes. Triangle explained this all to me and also my brother who is an electrician and worked at NASA for 30 years working with lightning rods there.

Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts. I hope to talk to Triangle this week.

From reading it seems the three companies with credentials and customer satisfaction are A-1, Triangle and Central. Someone else deserve a mention?

After talking to a couple of companies and some light reading, I find it fascinating how little I knew about lightning protection. Do not get me wrong, I know almost nothing still, but at least have a '5th grader' understanding of how the system protects the home.

Do I 'personally' need lightning protection? I am on the fence, but like any insurance it does give some peace of mind. My 'swing vote thought' is my belief that my wife and I will feel (and likely be) safer during a severe storm under the protection of a properly installed system.

Q: Will Homeowner's Insurance give a lower rate if you have lightning rods?
A: No.
If their actuaries don't think the "science" is worthwhile, why should i? :confused:

My neighbor has them and my house was hit by lighting big time.

I think it is a very valid question/point. Obviously insurance companies are calculating risk and probability and have decided it does not financially make sense to them.

Why are we considering it?

A properly designed and installed lightning protection system combined with adequate lightning surge arresters is virtually 100% effective in protecting a building, its contents, and most importantly, its occupants from lightning related damage or injury. There are three national standards groups that publish standards covering components and proper installation practices and methods.

The above is a quote from the site FAQ. It nicely states why my wife and I are considering it. Bolding the text above was done by me and not that way in the original article.

It will not be the first insurance I have had to pay for and hope to never have to use.

From "Lightning & Surge Protection" on SECO Energy faq page;

Lightning & Surge Protection:

Is there any other lightning protection used in Florida for houses other than an indoor surge protection system, like lightning rods or ground rods?
Lightning rods, more correctly called air terminals (or Franklin rods after the inventor), are used in Florida. There are several companies located in Lake and Marion counties in the telephone directory listed under "Lightning Protection Equipment." Most electrical contractors should also be able to make a recommendation. SECO does not recommend any specific provider or vendor. Correct installation is the key and it is expensive. Lightning rods are by design a device that attracts lightning. When installed correctly to code, they divert the stroke to ground. The problem is that many people do not want to spend the money necessary to make secure connections from the rod to a sufficient size down lead cable to a proper ground with proper connection, or to pay to have them routinely inspected. Therefore what happens is the rod attracts lightning, and it sees the internal house systems as a better "route to ground" and ends up dissipating throughout the home causing major damage.

Securing a good, low resistance ground rod connection in Florida is hard to do and requires professional assistance to achieve using precision ground measuring equipment. Typically at SECO we will often drive 70 foot, or multiple rods, in a grid configuration and in a few places 90 feet of rod with connections cad-welded to the rod in order to achieve a ground below 30 ohms. Therefore the single 6-8 foot rod purchased at a hardware/electronic type store is virtually useless with undersized and poorly clamped wire tied to it and it can cause more problems than without. Most communications towers (cellular, broadcast stations and virtually all government complexes) at major locations utilize a device called a dissipation array which deters lightning from wanting to strike a structure in the first place. This technology also requires a good ground grid around the complex and proper low resistance grounding. Normally this would not be seen utilized on a residential home. If you look at a broadcast tower and see a circular device on top with many little wire brush like spikes coming out of it, that is a dissipation array. For more information and practical solutions, contact Customer Service to schedule a visit to discuss things that you, as a homeowner, can do to enhance your in-home protection system, such as our surge protection program, common point grounding and insuring that outlets are properly wired with a ground attached to the proper terminal in electrical sockets.

Another thing to keep in mind when trying to compare Florida weather to that of the northern states is that we live in the highest lightning strike region of the nation, the actual center of which is located near Lakeland, Florida. Only one place in the world, a section of Africa, is higher. Therefore, you will find the lightning strike activity in our area more vicious and more frequent than experienced anywhere else in the U.S. This means that what might work in other areas may not be sufficient or work here at all.

There is no scientific evidence that supports the claim that you receive a benefit from a neighbors lightning protection system. Lightning is highly unpredictable. We have seen a home here in The Villages destroyed by a lightning strike and fire where the next door neighbor and the home across the street both a had lightning protection systems.

Another myth is the home owner that has a large tree that towers over the home with the mistaken belief that lightning would hit the tree and not the house. On Sept 5, 2014, a home in Mira Mesa was struck with ensuing fire rendering the home uninhabitable for six months. A large tree towers over the home and provided no lightning protection benefit to the home. Again, you need to have a healthy respect for nature because lightning is unpredictable!

The web site you reference is a commercial business. A better source is the Lightning Protection Institute at lightning .org and the National Fire Protection Association.

seems your dr uman also is connected to a commercial endeavour

Triangle Lightning did my 2B/2B, patio villa, approx 1100 sq ft, for $1025.

It was worth it, for my peace of mind. I would feel really terrible if I were hit with lightning and didn't do everything, to protect myself.

As I drive around The Villages now, I check out lightning systems. One question I will ask a qualified installer is how it is to code to wrap the wire around a gutter to attach to the down wire?

Now that I am an expert :D, the code seems clear about this, yet I see homes done by reputable installers using this wrap around technique. I see some that wrap around a gutter do not look like it keeps that 90 degree minimum. Something I am missing or something will learn along the way I assume...

The picture came from the site: http://www.uscg.mil/petaluma/TPF/ET_...s/NFPA_780.pdf

This has been explained to me by someone who actually is an expert. They never bend the wire in such a way that does not exceed requirements in code.

In fact Triangle will not do it any other way. Per his words, I am not a roofer and not interested in putting holes in your roof.

We had a complete lighting protection system installed on our home (Begonia) 4+ years ago. Yes, it has copper rods, down-lines, and 5/8" x 20' ground rods. What my system has that I don't see mentioned on this forum is protection of the secondary wiring systems (i.e., irrigation system, phone/cable system, etc.) (We don't have gas lines in our area.)
Often the lighting damage you hear/read about is TV's, garage door openers, irrigation controls, wired & wireless phones, computers, and so forth. This is often the result of lightning hitting the ground nearby and entering through one or more of these secondary wiring systems. We had a neighbor where the lighting clearly entered via the irrigation wiring. The control box exploded but not before it surged the 120VAC. Took out one of two garage door openers, TV, microwave AND the electric golf cart. Yes, it somehow got through the cart charger and fried the mother board.
Anyway, when talking to any of these lightning protection companies, ask them about 1) bonding of everything metal within 10' of the system into the system; 2) their plans to protect all the secondary wiring systems. If you get that "deer in the headlights" look. Move on.

Dave you sure about 20' rods?
that length is hard to transport in fact

if so how did anyone get high enough to bang them into the ground?

Most are 8-10'

The holes are actually drilled thorough the roof overhang and therefore are not drilled where they penetrate into any part of the living space. It adds to the cost because special fittings are used to make the transition of the wiring off the roof and routed down the exterior of the home into the driven ground rods. Some homeowners prefer this method as they don't like the aesthetics of the conductors wrapped around the gutters.