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Why your home needs lightning protection

Lightning protection is a critical component of home safety. It prevents electrical surges from entering your home and damaging electronics, appliances, and other electrical components, potentially saving you thousands of dollars in repair and replacement costs. Lightning protection also guards against fire outbreaks, as overloaded circuits and sparks can cause fires. With a comprehensive lightning protection system, your home is guaranteed to be more secure and safe in the event of a lightning strike.

Let’s face it, so many homeowners neglect to install lightning protection. For some reason, this threat seems more and more elusive, and measures to protect against thunderstorms – an unnecessary waste of time, effort and money. Our tips site will tell you why and when lightning protection is needed.

Why your home needs lightning protection

Indeed, in comparison with the times of the USSR, less attention is now paid to lightning protection. If in the Soviet-style instruction RD 34.21.122-87 there was an indication of objects requiring protection from class III lightning, then in the new instruction SO 153-34.21.122-2003 there is not a word about summer cottages and private houses..

According to statistics, today most of the lightning strikes occur at industrial facilities, in particular, power transmission line masts, TV towers, and other high-rise buildings. And residents of private houses think that the thunderstorm will not affect their housing. But don’t be overconfident!

Fire due to lightning strike

There are three good reasons to consider installing a lightning rod in your home:

  1. Possible claims of the insurance company. Let’s say you decide to insure your home against natural disasters. The decision is absolutely correct and far-sighted. However, you did not install lightning protection. This may be a reason for the insurance company to refuse to pay you in the event of a fire, damage to the roof or chimney due to a lightning strike. The insurer will say that you did not take the necessary protection measures and are guilty of the situation yourself.
  2. Don’t forget about global warming. Forecasters claim that thunderstorm activity on our planet is increasing, lightning strikes more and more often. And even in regions where severe thunderstorms were rare, today one cannot feel absolutely protected. Meteorologists warn that thunderstorm activity will continue to intensify year after year.
  3. A lightning strike does not always cause a fire. However, even if the lightning activity did not lead to ignition, it can damage all electronics and damage the wiring. There are a lot of such cases! Burnt TVs, refrigerators, smartphones charged during a thunderstorm – there are thousands of such situations every year. Agree, it is also very unpleasant, because electrical appliances are not cheap. Just for the sake of this, it is worth putting lightning protection on the house – it is much cheaper than buying a new television panel.

Active lightning protection at home

Now let’s figure out which houses are at risk:

  • Located in regions where thunderstorm activity exceeds 10 hours per year. In our country, these are all regions, excluding the Far East and the Far North! The farther south, the more often thunderstorms rage. Even in central Russia, thunderstorm activity, according to the latest observations of meteorologists, ranges from 40 to 80 hours per year. And, as we already wrote, it will grow.
  • Houses that are on a hill or stand alone in a field. Such buildings will account for all the discharges of lightning electricity.
  • The tallest houses in a particular area. If your cottage is three stories high and rises above one-story neighbors, you just need lightning protection. In addition, the presence of high-altitude points on the roof – antenna, chimney, spire, weather vane, lucarne, pinnacle increases the risk of a lightning discharge.
  • Houses with metal, iron or copper roofs. Yes, such roofing will literally attract thunderstorm electricity, unlike conventional slate and ceramic tiles..

Lightning protection on the roof of the house

As you can see, in the risk zone, almost all private houses and summer cottages, no one is 100% insured against a lightning strike. Therefore, we are sure that you should not neglect the installation of a lightning rod, especially since you can do everything yourself, the portal gave you instructions for installing lightning protection.

If you are ready to spend money, you can buy a modern, recently appeared on the Russian market, an active version of lightning protection – a lightning rod, which is equipped with a special ionizer. True, only specialists who have received the appropriate certificate can install such protection..

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Comments: 1
  1. Josiah Cooper

    Why is lightning protection necessary for homes? What dangers does lightning pose to homes and how does lightning protection help mitigate these risks?

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