[NJblue]

Originally Posted by cgalloway6

UL certifies products, I don't think they will ever certify a person or their capability. Maybe he meant UL certified lightning rod protection devices - if there is such a thing and installed by a licensed electrician.

No, he specifically said installers must be certified and at the time said that there was only one such installer in the TV area. I wouldn't expect a regular electrician to be trained in lightning suppression.

Edit:

Here is what UL says:

How the UL Lightning Protection Inspection Certificate Program works:

UL has made the process of obtaining an Inspection Certificate quick and easy. UL field representatives visit your location to check your lightning protection system after it has been installed. Initial inspections can take between one-hour and an entire day, depending on system complexity. UL Lightning Protection Inspection Certifiates are issued within 48 hours of the completion of the inspection or after variances are corrected.
• After the system has been installed, the UL Listed installer completes and submits the certification application.
• Your lightning protection system is assigned to a UL field representative who inspects the installation and instantly communicates the results electronically to UL and the installer.
• If necessary, a letter detailing any variances is issued to the installer. After variances are corrected, the installer resubmits the application for re-inspection. In some instances, system designs and variance corrections can be reviewed electronically.
• The UL Listed installer forwards the certificate to the premise owner, and posts the certificate on this Web site providing proof that the lightning protection system is in compliance with UL, NFPA, or U.S. government standards.
• Certificates must be renewed every five years.
• Contact your installer if the building changes structurally or if modifications have been made to the system during the five-year period that the certificate is in effect. Your installer can repair or modify the system and make arrangements to have it re-evaluated by UL to determine its continued compliance with lightning protection standards. This is required to maintain your certificate!

So, clearly there are UL listed installers.

From reading through the UL documentation and its complexity, I think those who plan to DIY are literally playing with fire.

[jimbo2012]

Well I don't think a fire chief would otherwise.

In researching this I find that te layout is all detailed online, the installation is fairly easy.

I like the roof rods that go thru the roof so the cables don't show on the roof.
Everything is attached in the attic where it is accessible.



Here's just one site with info and parts, if you figure it out the cost is under $500 for almost any home in TV.

A home owner is permitted to install the protection.





Just my opinion.

[NJblue]

Jimbo,

Perhaps your view of Chief Tucker's concerns are valid in the sense that a fire chief tends to be on the cautious side. However, don't you think that a company that sells lightning rod equipment to the public for DIY installation is equally suspect in terms of making it sound simple? When it comes to lightning, I think I would err on the side of "cautious" rather than cheap.

[jimbo2012]

I understand your point completely, but when such an instillation doesn't require special tools or equipment to put together and satisfaction of building something your self makes sense it is worth considering if you're handy.

Look if you can find someone to do at a reasonable price let us all know, but seeing the way contractors quote around here I doubt it.

Life is about choices.

[Lightning]

History and research shows that you get no benfit from your neighbors lightning protection system. This is just another myth about lightning that we try to combat in our Power Point presentations to Village clubs, organizations, and area church groups.

[Rebel Pirate]

Originally Posted by TomSpasm

I've lived in Central Florida since 1984 - 20 years in the Tampa Bay area, 6 years in Sarasota, 1 year here. I have never met anyone, or know anyone who knows anyone, who's house has been damaged, much less burnt down by lightning.

Could it happen? Yes. Is it a smart investment? No. Just my opinion...

Insurance is a tool for financially "hedging your bet" in advance of a low-probability, high-impact event. You can buy it from a company that spreads the risk around to a large number of policy holders, or in some cases you can purchase/install hardware that reduces the risk of the adverce event.

Just because it's never happened to us, or a family member, or a friend doesn't reduce the risk. I've got a friend who built his home about 50 miles from the coast line on the gulf coast and didn't want to pay the exorbitant premiums the insurance companies wanted to charge. (He built his home himself...without a mortgage.) Since he didn't have a mortgage company to tell him insurance was a requirement, he chose to not have insurance. A hurricane destroyed his home. He rebuilt in the same spot...smaller this time. Still didn't buy insurance; he figured since it had already happened to him once, he was "good" for the rest of his life. A couple years after he rebuilt, another hurricane destroyed his home for a second time. He's rebuilt again...smaller home again (he's running out of money)...and now he has insurance.

I lived on Cape Cod for many years. One winter during a heavy snowstorm, we experienced a dramatic lightning storm. A neighbor and good friend who lived about 3 blocks away had his home struck by lightning. It did significant damage but luckily he was home at the time and was able to extinguish the fire himself. (The paper on the paper-backed fiberglass insulation caught fire.) If he hadn't been home the house would have burned to the ground.

Just because I've known people who have suffered some of the low-probability, high-impact events doesn't make it more likely it will happen to me. Just because you've never known anyone to suffer any low-probability, high-impact event doesn't make it less likely it will happen to you.

Insurance decisions should be based on likelihood of occurence (based on data) and the impact on you personally (based on data). How likely is it to occur? What is the impact on you if the unthinkable happens?

As I was retiring and contemplating whether a unique life-insurance product (that's available to only those in my industry) was a good investment I had a prophetic discussion with a friend/co-worker whose retirement date was a month after me. He said "How long do you plan to live? It's a great investment if you're going to die next month and a bad investment if you're going to live for another 40 years. So how good are you at predicting your future longevity?" We both bought the insurance. Six months later he died of a heart attack. That life insurance was a great investment for him. I hope to live long enough to make my life insurance decision a terrible investment.

Given that we're in the lightning capital of the US, I'll invest in whatever I can to protect my house from lightning...and will still hope it's never hit thus making my decision a bad investment!

[cappyjon431]

Not to be a Doubting Thomas, but where can we find the substantiation to the "fact" that seven homes in TV have burned to the ground in the last eight years due to lightning? I am certainly not saying it is not true, but I would like to see the evidence myself instead of relying on heresay and putting out hundreds of dollars for lightning protection. Perhaps I am cynical, but...

I have spent decades of my life in areas where the lightning storms were much worse than here (Bahamas, Belize, Panama) and the building codes were less restrictive than here and have only seen one home destroyed by lightning. In addition, I've spent over twenty years in south Florida (where they also have some pretty nasty lightning storms) and six years in Gainesville (just up the road) and do not know nor have ever met anyone whose home was destroyed or damaged by lightning. I am not saying it never happens, there is no doubt that it does, but I am saying that in my personal experience, the threat appears to be overstated. I certainly would like to see the evidence of these homes being destroyed--perhaps it would be enough to sway my opinion.

ADDED: I was curious so I thought I would do a little quick online research. A fascinating and well written article can be found here: http://www.bellaloopers.com/Document...LH07072007.pdf. The article raises some interesting points and does claim that two homes were destroyed by lightning in TV in 2006, although interestingly enough the documentation for this claim was not provided in the article's reference section.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by cappyjon431

Not to be a Doubting Thomas, but where can we find the substantiation to the "fact" that seven homes in TV have burned to the ground in the last eight years due to lightning? I am certainly not saying it is not true, but I would like to see the evidence myself instead of relying on heresay and putting out hundreds of dollars for lightning protection. Perhaps I am cynical, but...

I have spent decades of my life in areas where the lightning storms were much worse than here (Bahamas, Belize, Panama) and the building codes were less restrictive than here and have only seen one home destroyed by lightning. In addition, I've spent over twenty years in south Florida (where they also have some pretty nasty lightning storms) and six years in Gainesville (just up the road) and do not know nor have ever met anyone whose home was destroyed or damaged by lightning. I am not saying it never happens, there is no doubt that it does, but I am saying that in my personal experience, the threat appears to be overstated. I certainly would like to see the evidence of these homes being destroyed--perhaps it would be enough to sway my opinion.

ADDED: I was curious so I thought I would do a little quick online research. A fascinating and well written article can be found here: http://www.bellaloopers.com/Document...LH07072007.pdf. The article raises some interesting points and does claim that two homes were destroyed by lightning in TV in 2006, although interestingly enough the documentation for this claim was not provided in the article's reference section.

Cappyjon, Len Hathaway who wrote this article is "Lightning" that posts on here and who writes articles about Lightning for the POA Newsletter and he is one of the two men who gave the presentation I attended at our village potluck. I think if you were to contact the POA that they have probably kept track of the seven homes that burnt down here in the last eight years. I personally have seen with my own eyes the remains of three in the last four years.

[pooh]

Originally Posted by cappyjon431

Not to be a Doubting Thomas, but where can we find the substantiation to the "fact" that seven homes in TV have burned to the ground in the last eight years due to lightning? I am certainly not saying it is not true, but I would like to see the evidence myself instead of relying on heresay and putting out hundreds of dollars for lightning protection. Perhaps I am cynical, but...

I have spent decades of my life in areas where the lightning storms were much worse than here (Bahamas, Belize, Panama) and the building codes were less restrictive than here and have only seen one home destroyed by lightning. In addition, I've spent over twenty years in south Florida (where they also have some pretty nasty lightning storms) and six years in Gainesville (just up the road) and do not know nor have ever met anyone whose home was destroyed or damaged by lightning. I am not saying it never happens, there is no doubt that it does, but I am saying that in my personal experience, the threat appears to be overstated. I certainly would like to see the evidence of these homes being destroyed--perhaps it would be enough to sway my opinion.

ADDED: I was curious so I thought I would do a little quick online research. A fascinating and well written article can be found here: http://www.bellaloopers.com/Document...LH07072007.pdf. The article raises some interesting points and does claim that two homes were destroyed by lightning in TV in 2006, although interestingly enough the documentation for this claim was not provided in the article's reference section.

Here's info on two Cappy..... The Villages Voice
Will see if I can find more on the others.

[cappyjon431]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

Cappyjon, Len Hathaway who wrote this article is "Lightning" that posts on here and who writes articles about Lightning for the POA Newsletter and he is one of the two men who gave the presentation I attended at our village potluck. I think if you were to contact the POA that they have probably kept track of the seven homes that burnt down here in the last eight years. I personally have seen with my own eyes the remains of three in the last four years.

Thanks Gracie. The POA sounds like a good starting point for gathering information.

Perhaps my cynicism stems from the fact that our local media is often reluctant to publish such "negative" information about TV and I am curious as to where this information was actually obtained. Fire department? Insurance companies? Even if a house burns down, without a report from the fire inspector it is still questionable as to what caused the fire. Lightning is certainly possible, but so is burning something on the stove, smoking in bed, faulty wiring, etc. I can't help wanting to dig a little deeper and find out the source of this supposed factual information--it's just not my nature to believe everything I hear or read. It doesn't mean it's not true, it just means I want to know where the info comes from, especially if it is contrary to my life experiences.

The article I cited above (from Mr. Hathaway) did bring up a very valid point--while the risk of a lightning strike is small, we all have a certain amount of risk that we are willing to live with. It is higher for some people than it is for others. Even if I accept the claim of seven houses in eight years, and assuming 60,000 homes in TV (just throwing this number out as the average number of homes in TV over the last eight years), this comes out to less than one house a year out of 60,000 houses. I'm no math wiz, but I think that comes out to a .00166% chance of my house being hit. Personally, I'm willing to take that risk and in the very unlikely event that my house burns down, I am covered by my homeowners insurance. It is a risk I am willing to live with.

[buggyone]

Personally, I am very happy that my re-sale home came with lightning arresters already on it. One more advantage of a re-sale is that something you normally might not buy is already on the house.

[Lightning]

There will be presentations for the Civil Discourse Club on Aug 20th and repeated on Aug 27th. Also check the Life Long Learning Catalog for a presentation on Aug 16th

[Lightning]

Please note that they have been installed on the new fire HQ on Morse Blvd and the former HQ on the fire station on Bonita Blvd.

[NotGolfer]

I wouldn't be a "doubting thomas" as I just heard on the local tvnews that Florida had over 1 million lightening strikes last year. We definately are the lightening capital of the world. We've been here 3 years and I believe I've heard of at least 3 homes burning here in The Villages from such occurances.
Read about it in The Sun.

[Lightning]

Seven house destroyed by lightning in the last eight lightning seasons:
2004 Royal Oak
2005 Calumet
2006 Poinciana (Kennsington)
2006 Poinciana (Golden Ridge)
2008 Sunset Ridge
2009 Virrginia Trace
2009 Sunset pointe
All reports are available from the VFD as they are public records.
The above does not count the six near misses of homeowners finding fire burning on their CSST gas line in the attic and shutoff the gas and the home was saved.