You are correct; 7 homes destroyed by lightning in 7 years. All had CSST gas lines. However, in NO case did the fire dept report state that gas was a contributing factor. The Study Group on Lightning (volunteers) have talked to 6 Villagers who experienced indirect lightning (nearby but there may be no physical evidence of a strike) that engerized all piping leading to a pin hole leak in the CSST gas line and fire. All homeowners were home, went to attic to investigate, found fire burning, called the FD or shutoff the gas and the home was saved.

Indirect lightning impacting sensitive electronic equipment is more common (there is no known source of stats) but less severe than a direct strike that can destroy your home. In this case you may wish to consider PRIMARY protection on the incoming electric service (SECO/Progress Energy) on your meter or a surge protection device (SPD) on your electric panel by a licensed electrician. Then for surges that come into your home through other systems (telephone/cable/induced into electrical system) you should consider SECONDARY protection for your sesitive electronic equipment (computers,TV,microwave, irr controlers, garage door operators, etc) in the form of SPD that you plug into a 120 v outlet.

According to NOAA, Centrla Florida experieces on average 80 thunderstorm days per year while the Tampa Bay area experiences 100. This makes Florida the Lighting Capital of the USA but not the world. There are places in the world that experience twice as much as Florida.

Lightning Protection Systems (LPS) commonly called lightning rods are not inexpensive if they are designed, installed and maintained according to the national standard on lightning and installed by an Underwriters Laboratories and Lightning Protection Institue "listed" installer.

The following are estimates that The Study Group on Lightning use in our Power Point presentations: Villa $1300-1700; Ranch $1800-2100, Designer, $2000-3000, Premier $2500-3500. There are firms working in The Villages that will charge far less but you do not know what you are getting in a buyer beware market place. Always get at least two bids and ask for evidence of general liability and workers comp insurance.

lightning
 

Many years ago The Daily Sun interviewd Chief Tucker reagarding the installation of the rods etc and he felt it was not necessary....then I drove by one of the fire houses and saw them installed on the roof....I chuckled.

Lightning, you are an expert in this field...do you have them installed?

Lightening... Thank you for the information.
 

Lightening, your posts have been enlightening and I am glad our house doesn't have gas and I worry about the homes that do have gas.

I think that I heard that there will be nothing but all electric homes from here on in and Hadley was one of the first villages to be all electric.

I know that the danger of a fire still exists in an all electric home and the danger of a lightening strike is there too.

Could you tell us if you had lightening protection installed? And could you PM me as to who who chose?

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?

Of course, but first take a measuring tape and make sure that the distance from your roof tip is further away from the storm clouds than your neighbor's is! :a20:

Ground Rods
 

Does anyone know if the installers "meggar" the ground rods to 25 ohms or less? Less than 25 ohms would give your best protection. Most utlity Co use this standard for their grounding needs.

Our home inspection showed we have CSST gas pipes and they are properly grounded with a copper clamp to the outside ground. I am still in the mind to put lightning protection in as, overlooking the 7th on Stirrup at Glenview we seem to be a "high point" in the area. I was thinking of putting and old 1 iron on the roof because "even God can't hit a 1 iron"

Sir Lightning please advise. We would spare no expense and make sure it is UL and all....

We definitely will be installing surge protection at the main box and inside. Anything else to ease our feeble minds?

Thanks

Lightening Rods
 

My brother world for LIPA (Long Island Power Authority) and said the exact same thing. A big thanks to our neighbor for installing them
:agree:

From the Discovery Channel
 

"As you can see, the purpose of the lightning rod is not to attract lightning -- it merely provides a safe option for the lightning strike to choose. This may sound a little picky, but it's not if you consider that the lightning rods only become relevant when a strike occurs or immediately after a strike occurs. Regardless of whether or not a lightning-rod system is present, the strike will still occur."

OK folks do what I did and google the question "lightning rods, do they attract lightning". I finally got tired of the true experts saying no way and wanted you all to see for yourselves.

The bottom line is "if ligtning is heading for your structure the rods act as a path of least resistence and will safely take the million or so volts away from structurs, wiring etc."

9 out 10 dentists agree the 10th guy doesn't know squat.....

:boom:

Lightning Protection Systems (LPS)
 

Thanks for your comments. I am pleased that you found the information to be of value in your decision making for your home.

True, the new homes north of 466A are all electric. However, gas pipes have been instaled in 466A and it appears that gas may be used when home contruction begins south of 466A. We have no idea if CSST gas pipe will be installed in the attics.

You are also correct that the chance of lightning striking an all electric home is no different than a home with gas.

I did my due dilligence following the destruction of two homes near me in 2006 and had a LPS installed by a UL "listed" contractor. In my case I got $1000 from the 2007 CSST gas pipe class action lawsuit to offset the cost of the installation.

To learn more about this and related subjects see the back issues of the the Lightning Matters columns in the POA Bulletin that can be found on line at the POA web site.

I don't if Google brought up University of FL professor Dr. Martin Uman's book, The Art and Science of Lightning Protection but you can get the book in The Villages Library and see page 17. Lightning rods do not attract lightning - they give lightning a safe path to ground. They have been around for 259 years and used on nearly every building at Sumter Landing, every building at Disney, and by the FAA, NASA, and many others.

Great observation about lightning rods on fire headquarters on Bonita! We understand that the contract also calls for LPS on the new fire headquarters currently under construction south of 466A.

Yes, I have a LPS and Primary and Secondary surge protection as discussed in my other posts.