[Dusty_Star]

Originally Posted by jrref

I would get the whole house surge protector installed at the circuit breaker panel first.
Pikes has a discount running now till August 1st.
https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...466-post1.html

Thanks very much!

[Altavia]

Originally Posted by CoachKandSportsguy

Couple of questions:

1) i thought that through high speed cameras, it has been proven that lightning starts from the ground from collecting charges from the earth and goes up, which is why bolts end up going through and then above the clouds which air line pilots report.

2) i thought that lightning rods are old technology, which assumes that the building will get hit, so lightning rods create a limited faraday cage around the house, providing a path to the ground "safely"

3) I have read that new technology is built to reduce the buildup of earth's charges to reduce/eliminate the risk of creating a lightning bolt. I remember reading about the reduction from lightning protection on ski lifts and gondolas out west. . and this is the first article i found when googling it. .

https://www.lightningprotection.com/...udy-020513.pdf

just questions from a former working guy

Very interesting. I've noticed the terminators at some power distribution centers but thought they were to keep birds from nesting .

Full system may not be practical for homes from a cost/esthetics protective

[djlnc]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

Yes, but....

The lightning rods provide a "cone of protection" that runs about 45 degrees from top of the rod. If you are within that cone then the lightning rod is the "tallest object on the plain." Even if you are standing only five feet away, if you are outside that cone then the lightning rod does nothing for you.

The rods on your neighbor's house will not protect your house because your house is outside the 45 degree cone.

This sounds very strange to me. A 45 degree "cone of protection" would mean that a one foot tall lightning rod would only protect the area of the roof within one foot. You'd have to have lightning rods spaced at one foot intervals for good protection.

[djlnc]

Originally Posted by CoachKandSportsguy

Couple of questions:

1) i thought that through high speed cameras, it has been proven that lightning starts from the ground from collecting charges from the earth and goes up, which is why bolts end up going through and then above the clouds which air line pilots report.

just questions from a former working guy

I don't know what difference the direction of travel would make - the results are the same.

[CoachKandSportsguy]

Originally Posted by djlnc

I don't know what difference the direction of travel would make - the results are the same.

For detection maybe,
for end results no

There are meters you can put into the ground near soccer fields which will measure lightning potential, so that one can get off the field prior to being a target.

[Altavia]

Originally Posted by djlnc

This sounds very strange to me. A 45 degree "cone of protection" would mean that a one foot tall lightning rod would only protect the area of the roof within one foot. You'd have to have lightning rods spaced at one foot intervals for good protection.

They use something called the rolling sphere method to determine spacing for complex structures.

Rolling Sphere Method Lightning Protection Design in Florida

For a flat roof, looks like the NFPA requires no more than 20-25 ft spacing such that the circumference of the sphere would rest on the air terminals.

[CoachKandSportsguy]

Originally Posted by Bill14564 View Post
Yes, but....

The lightning rods provide a "cone of protection" that runs about 45 degrees from top of the rod. If you are within that cone then the lightning rod is the "tallest object on the plain." Even if you are standing only five feet away, if you are outside that cone then the lightning rod does nothing for you.

Since i knew of a work colleague who was killed inside the cone of protection, I would say i wouldn't trust the theory by testing the execution. .

[jrref]

Originally Posted by djlnc

This sounds very strange to me. A 45 degree "cone of protection" would mean that a one foot tall lightning rod would only protect the area of the roof within one foot. You'd have to have lightning rods spaced at one foot intervals for good protection.

I believe for residental it's 25 ft of protection and the rods have to provide an overlapping pattern.

[jrref]

Originally Posted by CoachKandSportsguy

Couple of questions:

1) i thought that through high speed cameras, it has been proven that lightning starts from the ground from collecting charges from the earth and goes up, which is why bolts end up going through and then above the clouds which air line pilots report.


3) I have read that new technology is built to reduce the buildup of earth's charges to reduce/eliminate the risk of creating a lightning bolt. I remember reading about the reduction from lightning protection on ski lifts and gondolas out west. . and this is the first article i found when googling it. .

https://www.lightningprotection.com/...udy-020513.pdf

just questions from a former working guy

What you reading about is the flow of the electric current once the strike occurs. As someone said, it really doesn't matter since the effect is the same.

There is some new technology taking advantage of the "ionic effect" that lightning rods generate. So when we have a storm and a negatively charged cloud moves over your house, for example, the build up of positive charges at the tips of your lightning rods will create an ionic exchange of charges potentially reducing the chance of a strike. But if the charge build up is large enough, you will get a strike.