Lightning Rod Installation On Metal Roof

It is faulty logic to assume that a metal roof attracts lightning strikes similarly to a lightning rod because lightning rods are not made to attract lightning.

Lightning rod installation on metal roof.

When considering a metal roof for your home please keep in mind that while metal conducts electricity it does not draw or attract it. When lightning is ready to discharge it will whether there is a metal roof handy or not. The only way to protect a building is with a properly designed and installed lightning protection system lps. There are many types of finials such as solid poles hollow poles flat strips or even bristle shaped and although copper and copper alloys are the most common materials used in the construction of lightning rods a number of different conductive metals can be made into a rod.

Lightning rods are typically installed around the perimeter of flat roofs or along the peaks of sloped roofs at intervals of 6 1 m or 7 6 m depending on the height of the rod. Nor do metal roofs protect a building against lightning. When a flat roof has dimensions greater than 15 m by 15 m additional air terminals will be installed in the middle of the roof at intervals of 15 m or less in a. The most obvious above roof components are air terminals formerly called lightning rods.

Metal roofs do not attract lightning strikes. Lightning hits the hi. Harger president ceo harger lightning grounding grayslake ill. Apart if lightning rods are over 24 tall.

Still the type of roofing is one of several risk factors. Lightning strikes on metal roofs are an understandable concern for homeowners considering an upgrade to a metal roof. Extensive research on lightning protection reveals that metal roofing is no more likely to attract a lightning strike than any other type of conventional roofing material. Lightning is a powerful destructive force of nature and will strike a building regardless of its type of roofing.

Also harger feels it is imperative that the installation contractor follow the roofing manufacturer s requirements when it comes to attaching. They must be located at the highest points on a roof. Because metal roofs are by definition made out of metal you might be concerned about lightning and wonder whether you need to attach a lightning rod to your metal roof. Depending on the building s size and configuration additional air terminals are required around the roof perimeter at intervals not exceeding 20 feet within the field of the roof on rooftop.

A metal roof should never have copper lightning protection components installed on it unless the roof metal is copper says mark s.