Lightning protection installation: step by step instruction, technology and recommendations

Perhaps, a thunderstorm in any person causes excitement. And this is correct, since lightning is fraught with great danger, it can hit not only tall trees, but also buildings, as well as people. It is because of the lightning strike that a large number of fires occur even today, and because of the discharges in the building, the closure of electrical networks can occur. Surprisingly, because today invented a lot of means against lightning.

Still our distant ancestors learned to defend themselves from lightning strikes, using lightning rods. Modern architecture does not neglect this element of protection. It is required for all types of roofs, but some believe that metal roofs do not need it. Before installing such a device, you need to understand the principle of lightning protection, and also decide whether you need this design.

The need to protect the roof from lightning

Installation of lightning protection, as a rule, is carried out on a roofing felt or wooden crate, however this approach can not be called safe. It also happened that lightning hit the individual elements of the roof, causing a fuse and a fire, which led to the inflammation of the lining material. Among other things, if lightning hits the metal decks and heats them to a high temperature, the wooden rafters can catch fire.

Installation of lightning protection is also needed for metal roofing, since it can only protect non-combustible materials from fire , this also applies when all metal elements are connected to each other as reliably as possible, and there is no electrical connection between them. An excellent addition to this will be the grounding of the steel coating.

Lightning protection device

Lightning protection will protect the building from fire and keep electrical equipment. It is possible to divide such protection into external and internal ones, the first one excludes direct lightning, and the internal one guarantees the safety of the electric network at the jumps of electric current.

If it is an internal system, then discharge devices are used that limit the voltage. The simplest and most affordable means of internal protection is the disconnection of all electrical devices. This is especially true when lightning causes thunder in less than 8 seconds.

Installation of lightning protection for external purposes provides for the installation of earthing, a current lead and a lightning detector. The function of such a system is very simple: the lightning receiver will take on the effect at the roof itself, and after that it will pass into the current collector, while the zamanlenie will neutralize the energy in the soil.

It is noteworthy that such a system can be manufactured by you yourself and in the shortest possible time. To do this, you should use a grounding conductor, a current collector and a lightning collector. You will need metal braces, a welding machine and clamps, the last of which will connect the current collectors.

Mounting the lightning receptacle on steel roofing

If you decide that the installation of lightning protection will be carried out on a metal roof, then it must be installed at the highest possible place. If the structure has a rather complex structure, it is recommended to use the method of installing several lightning detectors. By design features they can be in the form of a grid; A cable installed along the ridge; And also in the form of a metal pin.

Work experience

Installation of lightning protection of buildings with metal roofing is usually carried out by installing a pin, the length of which can vary from 0.2 to 1.5 m. It should be located vertically and at the highest point of the house. The pin can be made of a metal that does not undergo oxidation under the influence of negative environmental factors. It can be copper, aluminum, galvanized steel or duralumin. The upper part should have a cross-sectional area that is greater than 100 mm ² , whereas the diameter should be 12 mm.

If you decide to use a hollow tube, then its upper end is brewed. You can completely carry out the installation yourself , the roof, lightning protection which was carried out without assistance, will effectively remove the danger from the house. However, it is important to remember that it is impossible to isolate and color the lightning rod. If the roof is equipped with a television mast, which can be metal, then the lightning detector can be made from it. For this, it is permissible to use a metal weathercock. The main condition is grounding. In some cases, the lightning detector is located on the chimney, but this can not be called correct, since a fixed metal pin is capable of creating wind loads damaging the pipe.

For reference

As an alternative to a lightning rod, a tall tree can be used, the branches of which grow above the roof. It should be located next to the house. In this case, the lightning detector should be fixed on the top of the tree, so that the element rises above the crown by half a meter or more. As practice shows, the lightning rod can protect the area from lightning, which falls into an imaginary cone. Its peaks are located at the end of the lightning receptacle, and the side portions at an angle of 45 °.

This circle is a safe area, which allows us to conclude: the higher the lightning protection device is, the wider the safe area. In other words, the height of the lightning receiver should be equal to two dimensions of the safe zone. It is important to remember that under this protective cone should fall not only the residential house, but also all outbuildings.

Different types of lightning detectors

Installation of lightning protection on a soft roof can be carried out using different technologies. The first involves the installation of a metal pin, the second - a metal cable, while the third - a lightning protection grid. In the first case, you can install the element even on the roof ridge or mast antenna. The metal cable is stretched between two supports, the height of which can vary from 1 to 2 m. It is necessary to arrange these components along the ridge of the roof.

In order to ensure the reliability of the design, metal supports can be used, but they are isolated from the cable. This method is effective on slate and wooden roofs. You can independently carry out the installation of grounding, lightning protection, for example, can also be represented by a grid. It is fixed to the ridge of the roof, and from it are grounded current collectors on the whole surface of the roof, this is an ideal variant for tiling. It is important to remember that lightning receivers should be interfaced with existing metal objects on the roof, including stairs, gutters and fans.

Methods of fixing the system

Mounting lightning protection on the roof with a soft roof can be installed in one of two ways: the first involves the use of a tension system, and the second - remote clamps. The tension system is carried out with the help of rigid anchors at the base, between them the cable is pulled. This system is equipped with tension clamps, and the distance between the anchors should be from 20 to 30 m. If it is a flat roof, the lightning detectors can be supplemented with remote elements, for example, plastic brackets. If you want to work with flat roofs and walls, then you can use self-locking and corner clamps, which are strengthened with dowels. On steep roofs, which are covered with ceramic tiles, it will be more difficult to fasten clamps. In this case, a ridge variant is used, which is suitable in size and shape to such a covering material.

Cost

You can not independently mount lightning protection, the price for such work for specialists reaches 6,000 rubles. But in this case there is a guarantee of quality.