I wired our whole previous house 15 years ago. I have a pretty good idea of what's involved.

Maybe...

It's the inconvenience and time to process the claim and replace any of your: major appliances, TV's, garage door openers, fans, HVAC, tankless water heater, SPA/Pool eqpt., etc.

Handful of house lightning strikes / fires in TV last year..........................say, 5 out of 75,000 or .0000667.

:posting:

...and at $3,000 a pop that's $225,000,000

makes you wonder why only two companies are installing?

and why building code in Florida doesn't insist on all new builds being protected during construction

At five per year that’s 15,000 years (growing each year by 600 years for new construction).

While you’re adding requirements for safety features that will cost everyone but benefit few, don’t leave out sprinkler systems, generator backups, and possibly hurricane-proof safe-rooms.

Much higher probability of having a kitchen fire.......

"The kitchen is the most common area for home fires to start, with an estimated 44% of all residential fires originating there. This is due to cooking being the leading cause of house fires. While this high percentage suggests a significant risk, the overall chances of a house fire in any room are still relatively low, with less than 1% of homes experiencing a fire annually. "

If my house get struck it go up like bundle of bottle rockets with cheap yellow wrapped gas pipes 2 1/2 foot off roof. IMO those pipes should have NOT been routed in attic off floor of attic and especially not cheap corrugated yellow code hose.

I’m very lucky I could easily be in that less than 1%….:shrug:

Actually, they’d be installing new things. Like when the insurance company replaced my roof, which they themselves determined needed replacement - not me what do I know about roofs? I got a brand new equivalent replacement. Now they’re happy and they are still my insurance company.

Chances of you walking outside and being struck by lightning is more likely than your house being struck with trees that are higher etc. Up north my neighbor, who is a musician, and wears metal nose and ear piercings got stuck by lightning twice the same day while walking home. Just a small strike but the piercings burned him. Since then he decided to get tattoos to look “cool” instead.

...and to cover up the burn scars - I hope he had lightning bolt tattoos!

At times we had 3-4 houses at same time in different villages since 2004.

Once Lighting hit ground 5 houses from us. Jacobs said it traveled through the ground killing our irrigation box. Not sure how rods would have worked for that. Can’t make neighbors spend $3,000 for an in case lighting strike.

Have hard enough time getting $20 to replace CPR pads. :1rotfl::1rotfl:

This is what many don't understand. From a high-level, when you have a storm and ice crystals, etc, are moving around in the clouds over your home, they are developing a strong negative charge. Conversly, you home, trees, and you if you are outside develop a positive charge. When the charge between the cloud system over you home and any of the things I mentioned is strong enough, there will be a connection, i.e. lightning strike. This is why homes are struck eventhough there were tall trees, a tower, etc,. near by. All lighting rods do is create the best charge so if there is a connection it will hit the rod and be transferred safely to ground vs hitting anywhere else on your home or you if you are outside. And yes when a connection is made the current is incredibly high but the duration is extreemly short which enables the Air Terminal (lightning rod) and it's connecting cables and ground rods to pass the charge safely to ground. If you understand these details of the strike you can see you won't get an incredibly large bolt that will over-power the lightning protection system. Lightning is not some large power source randomly striking the ground like a star wars laser system. There needs to be a recepter for the attraction and connection to occur. Also want to mention, in some cases a lightning rod can "bleed-off" charges over your home to prevent the connection or strike. I've personally seen this occur.

As far as that person's irrigation system getting burned out via a strike down the street, correct, a lightning protection system on your roof would have not prevented that. You need a good whole house surge protection system to protect the devices in your home from these events. And don't forget if you have cable, you need a surge protector on the feed coming into your home as well since a high percentage of induced surges come in from that feed. If you have fiber you don't need to worry about that.

At the end of the day, although getting hit by lightning is a very low probability, if and when it does happen it will be a life changing event for you and your close neighbor and you will be regreting not spending the $3,000 ish one time cost to protect your home and your family give we live in the lightning capital of the USA.

Good question, the cost would be significantly lower if done during construction. And the cables could be under the roof.

It's like insurance but preventative.

LPS is required for hospitals and schools.

The Villages installs LPS on all critical infrastructure.

Below are example lightening strikes from a very small storm yesterday.

The Weather Club often have free LPS seminars this time of year. Check with them.

The cost to install a lightning protection system is relatively inexpensive compared to the value of your home and the cost to repair or replace it if it ever gets struck and burns down. Especially if you are a snow bird.

From what we have seen, if you are home when your house gets struck and you call the fire department ASAP, there is a good chance they will be able to save your home. But if you are away, then you are relying on your neighbors to notice the fire and call the fire department and by then it's usually too late and the fire most likely will burn down your home.

At the fire at Winiford recently, it was interesting in the Villages News article, they specifically said the fire department got there and prevented the huge fire from spreading to adjacent homes. This meant by the time they got there the house was lost and they focused on collateral damage. That's my interpretation from that comment in the article.

So, If you want to take your chances, remember these people below felt the same and and lost the gamble. Every home here in the Villages should have Lightning and surge protection given we live in the lightning capital of the USA. If your home gets hit by lightning, it will be a life changing event for you and your family.