Should I Install a Lightning Rod?
Is a lightning rod necessary for my home? This is a frequently asked issue, and the answer is not always straightforward. In this part, we’ll look at the characteristics that may indicate whether or not your home need lighting protection.
How Lightning Rods Work?
A single lightning bolt has a voltage of between 100 million and one billion volts. Lightning rods are designed to intercept this energy and provide a safe conduit for lightning current to go to the earth. They do not reduce the probability of your home being struck, but they do give a straight path to the ground, protecting your home from fire, explosion, and electrical surges caused by lightning strikes.
How Many Homes Are Equipped with Lightning Rods?
Because lightning strikes are a rare hazard to residential properties, the majority of homeowners forego lightning protection. However, lightning strikes are increasing in frequency. Lightning-related claims increased approximately 10% between 2015 and 2016, with June and August continuing the busiest months.
How Frequently Are Homes Struck by Lightning?
According to the most recent available statistics, fire departments in the United States react to an average of 22,600 lightning-related fires each year. According to a recent Insurance Information Institute survey, the top ten states for homeowner’s insurance lighting losses in 2016 were…
- Ten thousand three hundred and eighty-five lightning claims in Florida
- Texas has 9,098 lightning-related claims.
- Georgia: 8,037 lightning-related injury claims
- 5,956 lightning-related claims in Louisiana
- 5 889 lightning claims in North Carolina
- 4,764 lightning-related claims in California
- Alabama: 4,294 lightning-related injury claims
- 3,870 lightning claims in Illinois
- Arkansas: 3,422 lightning-related injury claims
- 3 331 lightning claims in Virginia
Should I Install a Lightning Rod?
Lightning is the most often encountered weather danger statistically. Despite popular belief, lighting CAN hit the same location twice: The Empire State Building is struck around 100 times per year, however most households do not experience this increased frequency. Installing a lightning rod is advised if you live in a very tall home, have trees taller than your home within 10 feet of its structure, or reside in a region with a high rate of lightning strikes. They can cost several thousand dollars, which is why many homeowners consider the remote possibility of a strike a risk worth taking in order to save money. Because it takes only a second to spark calamity, according to Rainbow International, a Neighborly firm, many homeowner’s insurance policies grant credits for lightning protection, classifying it as “protection for the whole external perimeter of the property.”
Which Types of Lightning Protection Qualify for Insurance Credits?
To learn more about incentives for these typical lightning protection components, contact your local insurance directly…
- Lighting rods: Also referred to as ‘air terminals,’ these vertically installed aluminum/copper rods are spaced evenly to intercept strikes.
- Principal conductors: These braided aluminum/copper cables are used to link lightning rods to the earth.
- Grounds: These rods, pushed down into the soil, act as a diversion for deadly lightning currents. (Installation of certain soil types may need specialized equipment.)
- Bonds: Metallic roofing components and grounded building systems are connected to the main conductor through bonds, preventing lightning from leaping between things.
- Protection of trees: Trees that are higher than your home enhance the chance of a hit. Equipping them with lightning protection can help decrease the risk of being struck by lightning.
- Protectors, suppressors, and arrestors against surges: These surge protectors, which are installed on your home’s electrical panel, provide additional safety for your electrical system and valuable gadgets from lightning and other surge-related damage.