That’s interesting about your neighbors—sounds like the metal roof itself held up, but the electronics took the hit. I’ve always heard that metal roofs don’t actually attract lightning, but if they do get struck, they’re supposed to disperse the energy better than, say, asphalt. Still,
—I’m with you there.“Maybe grounding plays a bigger role than people realize?”
When we had ours put on (midwest, lots of storms), the installer just followed standard code too. No extra grounding or anything special for the metal. I asked about it and he basically shrugged it off, said the house’s main ground was enough. I’m not totally convinced though. Seems like if lightning does hit, you’d want a clear path to ground that doesn’t run through your wiring and fry everything inside.
Has anyone actually added extra grounding rods or a lightning protection system after the fact? I keep wondering if it’s overkill or just cheap insurance compared to dealing with fried appliances and insurance headaches.
- Had a metal roof put on one of my rentals a few years back—installer gave me the same “main ground is fine” spiel.
- Midwest storms are no joke. Lost a couple TVs and a fridge to a nearby strike last summer. Insurance covered most, but it was still a pain.
- Looked into adding lightning rods after that. Local electrician said it’s not required unless you’re on a hill or have a tall structure, but honestly, I’d rather be safe than sorry (and keep my tenants happy).
- Ended up putting in an extra ground rod just for peace of mind. Cost wasn’t crazy—cheaper than replacing appliances, that’s for sure.
- Not sure if it’s overkill, but I sleep better when the thunder rolls in now.
- One thing I learned: surge protectors only do so much if lightning wants to party with your wiring...
Metal roofs actually don’t attract lightning, but if your place does get hit, the metal helps spread the energy out. Still, I’d say adding that extra ground rod was a smart move. Surge protectors are great for small surges, but direct strikes are a whole different animal... I’ve seen folks lose whole breaker panels even with “good” grounding. Peace of mind’s worth a lot when those storms roll through.
“Surge protectors are great for small surges, but direct strikes are a whole different animal...”
That’s been my experience too—seen a couple houses with “all the right stuff” still get fried during a bad storm. Does anyone here have lightning rods on their metal roofs, or is the extra ground rod usually enough? I always wonder if insurance companies look at that when there’s a claim...
Does anyone here have lightning rods on their metal roofs, or is the extra ground rod usually enough?
I’ve always wondered about this too. We manage a few properties with metal roofs and only one has a full lightning protection system—rods, conductors, the whole deal. The others just have extra ground rods, but I’m not convinced that’s enough for a direct hit. Has anyone actually had a claim denied because they didn’t have lightning rods? Or does insurance just look for “reasonable precautions”?