[Lightning]

Originally Posted by gongoozler

My best friend is an electrician from NY and he said the secret is to have your neighbors put lightening rods on their homes. He said, who would want to attract lighting to directly hit their home and for that reason he does not have the rods on his home. Does that make sense?

This is a common myth about lightning rods. According to Dr. Martin Uman who has studied lighting at the University of Florida for four decades, lightning rods DO NOT attract lightning they merely give it a safe path to ground. His latest book, The Art & Science of Lightning Protection, can be found in The Villages Library. See page 17.

[Lightning]

This week (March 27-31, 2011) there was considerable lightning in our area. Does anyone know of any direct lightning strikes impacting people or homes or indirect lightning strikes impacting appliances/electronic equipment? The Study Group on Lightning is always interested in learning from experience. Lightning events are not being reported in the newspaper.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by pooh

No you don't really need them. It's sort of a crap shoot...your home might or might not get hit. If it does, the rods will direct the strike to the ground. There's lots of lightning in this particular area of Florida and it does hit things. Saw a tree on one of the golf courses that was hit...tree was pretty damaged. Saw a palm tree that had been hit, top was all burned. My friend who lives on the golf course, has seen it hit the ground. It hit the utility box not far from her house and that was a hit heard extremely loud and clear by our neighborhood. It was so loud I felt we had been hit! Cable went out, phone went out. Telephone service was out for some for almost a week, lots of underground wiring had to be replaced. Having the system makes me feel better, but I have not idea if it will ever have to do what it's designed for.

bumping this thread

[Fourpar]

Have you ever noticed that just about all commercial buildings in central Florida have lightning protection? And that includes The Villages. Do you really think the developers would invest in lightning protection if there wasn't sufficient reason? I don't, and I put a system on my house...and sleep a lot better having done so.
There are a whole lot of places to research this topic on-line. Spend a few hours with google if you really want to know more than just amateur opinions. Then make up your own mind.

[The Villager II]

Lightning rods will attract the strike. Sometimes that is away from your attic vent and sometimes away from your palm tree. It is a crap shoot.

[HelenLCSW]

We are moving from Miami --lots of vertical lightning-- lived in Tampa, the lightning capital of the world, I think --never knew anyone who installed lightning rods on individual homes. I suppose anything is possible no matter how unlikely. Just stay away from the golf course during lightning storms --that's actually where the possibility of your suffering lightning damage is more likely to occur.

[Lightning]

A common myth is that FL. is the Lightning Capital of the World. FL is the lightning capital of the USA but not the world. There are countires along the equator that receive twice as much lightning as does even the Tampa Bay area in this state.

There are several humdred homes protected with a lightning protection system (LPS) commonly called lightning rods. About 800 LPS were installed under the CSST gas pipe class action lawsuit in 2006 alone.

[Fourpar]

Originally Posted by Lightning

A common myth is that FL. is the Lightning Capital of the World. FL is the lightning capital of the USA but not the world. There are countires along the equator that receive twice as much lightning as does even the Tampa Bay area in this state.

There are several humdred homes protected with a lightning protection system (LPS) commonly called lightning rods. About 800 LPS were installed under the CSST gas pipe class action lawsuit in 2006 alone.

You are right. The combination of lots of lightning and CSST gas lines are a very good reason for protection. As I said in earlier post, if you are really interested in the pros and cons (if any) of purchasing a LPS for your home do your own research. There are a lot of opinions expressed here and elsewhere about lightning, but most are only that, opinions. And many offering those opinions have no idea what they are talking about.

Here's a question for those who think there is no need for LPS here. Why do The Villages no longer offer gas in new housing? (They quit after Hadley, I think) Think maybe it could be because of the CSST issue? Hmmmm. Research, and pay attention to the credibility of your sources!

[Lightning]

I will will accept The Villages explanation that there was a TECO supply issue for not offering gas to the new areas and not the CSST gas line fire- safety issue. The latter continues to be in my opinion an unresolved fire-safety issue. Last year a phase one report was issued by the reseach arm of the National Fire Protection Association. It is a 264-page baseline study. It calls for a series of tests in a follow on phase two study. Hopefully, this will be undertaken this year so we can determine how this product can be safely used under lightning conditions.

[Fourpar]

Lightning,
There have been enough links between CSST, Lightning and fires to convince me to install LPS. Here are two (of many available) informative links that may spark your interest on the topic:
http://hawkeyehomeinspects.com/docum...ST-DANGERS.pdf
CSST Settlement - Frequently Asked Questions
And if in your opinion it is an "unresolved issue", okay for you. It is certainly not an absolute cause and effect issue, but there are enough pointers to make a case for installing an LPS in a home with CSST.