Grounding against thunderstorms in a private house. How to build a lightning rod with your own hands - preparation and installation

How to protect against lightning a private house

Types of lightning protection for a summer residence

The lightning rod can be:

• Rod - a metal pin fixed to a frame (on the roof, near the house, on a tall tree growing near the house). The pin is connected to the grounding system using a metal wire. This lightning rod looks aesthetically pleasing, but its coverage area is not large. It is easy for them to calculate the protection area: from the highest point of the pin, you need to mentally draw a line to the ground at an angle of 45º. Everything that ends up in the perimeter triangle area is protected from lightning strikes.

• Cable - its feature consists of several masts (two or four), connected to each other by steel or aluminum wire. This lightning rod is more effective and covers a larger area with protection.

These two types of lightning rods are the most common and are used in private homes and dachas, since their design is simple and installation is not difficult to do with your own hands.

Lightning protection elements

Any type of lightning rod system consists of three mandatory elements:

• Lightning rod. In a rod lightning rod, this is a pin fixed above the chimney at least 1 m; in a cable lightning rod, it is a wire connecting the masts on the roof. Metal roof can also act as a lightning rod if the coating thickness is 4-7 mm.
• Down conductor is one of the main elements of lightning protection. It consists of copper (d 16 mm²), aluminum (d 25 mm²) or steel (d 50 mm²) wire.
• Grounding is a system of metal rods connected to each other by conductive material. It is located underground at a depth of at least 80 cm.

Materials and tools

For the construction of lightning protection with my own hands you will need:

• The lightning rod is a pointed pin. A television mast or radio antenna can be used, you can also buy an air termination rod from one of the leading manufacturers: SCHIRTEC, OBO Bettermann, J Propste, GALMAR;
• Copper, aluminum or steel wire of the recommended cross-section;
• Pins, pipes or metal strips for grounding;
• Mast (frame);
• Plastic fastenings;
• Tools (hammer, drill, shovel).

Installation of cable lightning rod

At the first stage of lightning protection installation, it is necessary to stretch a wire along the roof ridges, which will serve as a lightning rod.

If the roof is covered with flammable materials (wood, plastic tiles), the wire should be located at a distance of 10-15 cm from the surface on special plastic fasteners. The ends of the wire are attached to metal masts (horizontal lightning rods), or bent vertically.

The down conductor is attached to the lightning rod by welding, bolts or rivets. The connection points are isolated. On the roof the down conductor is fixed with brackets, on the walls of the house - plastic fasteners. The wire can be placed in the cable channel to avoid negative influence atmospheric phenomena on it.

The grounding system is installed at a distance of at least 5 m from the house, paths, benches. There should be no areas for children to play or for animals to walk nearby. Grounding only works in moist soil, which must also be taken into account when choosing a location.

The procedure for installing lightning protection grounding is:

• Dig a trench to a depth where the soil is always damp (at least 80 cm)
• Drive metal pins into the bottom of the trench.

• Connect the pins together with a steel strip or pipe by welding.
• Extend the grounding with a steel tape to the point where it connects to the down conductor.
• Connect the down conductor to ground.

Installation of rod lightning rod

A rod lightning rod requires installation of a high frame. Its role can be played by a mast TV antenna. The lightning rod is attached to the mast by welding or bolts.

The installation of the down conductor and grounding of such lightning protection does not differ from that described above. After completing the work, it is necessary to check the resistance of the entire system. It should not exceed 10 ohms.

Service

Preventative maintenance of a lightning rod includes periodic cleaning of the rod pin from dirt, dust and oxide, as well as checking the integrity of all connections.

It is not difficult to install a lightning rod at your dacha yourself. If you follow all the recommendations and standards of the instructions for the installation of lightning protection RD 34.21.122-87, then at the right time it will work flawlessly.

Despite the fact that it is easy to make a lightning rod with your own hands, it is recommended to contact specialists to perform such work. Only professionals will be able to suggest which materials are best to use specifically in your situation and provide qualified assistance in choosing right place for installation, and take into account negative factors from the influence of which the protection may not work.

A thunderstorm with its bright flashes and deafening rumbles of thunder is mesmerizing a natural phenomenon. How much power and beauty it conceals within itself!

Owners of private houses need to protect themselves from lightning. Modern technology has many means to protect your home from thunderstorms and its dangerous consequences - lightning.

They can be divided into two types:

• Lightning protection devices
• Lightning protection devices

These remedies give the best effect if they are combined. Let's look at the lightning protection device in more detail.

External lightning protection devices

This explains the fact that lightning strikes the nearest point: lonely standing tree, in the man on the field, in high buildings. Lightning has enormous electrical power.

That's why lightning strikes a house, or even close to your home, can cause serious damage to electrical equipment. It is impossible to prevent the occurrence and strike of lightning.

The only thing that can be done is to direct the lightning along the path where it will cause as little harm as possible.

This is the principle of operation external lightning protection: a lightning rod attracts lightning, the energy of which goes into the ground through grounding, without causing harm to anyone.

A lightning rod (or, as it is also called, a lightning rod) can serve as:

• a tall metal pin mounted on the roof of the house;
• a cable stretched between two pins installed at the edges of the roof ridge;
• metal mesh laid on the roof or metal roofing.

The lightning rod is connected to grounding using a steel or copper conductor with a cross-section of at least 16 mm 2. The rule here is true: “The thicker, the better.” The steel conductor is connected to the grounding device by welding to eliminate the possibility of corrosion of the connection.

To home protection from lightning was effective, it is recommended to use a separate grounding device, independent of the house grounding loop.

Active external lightning protection

This type of protection is becoming popular in Lately. Its advantage is that there is no need to install bulky lightning rods that spoil appearance Houses.

They are replaced by a small device that is installed on a single lightning rod. It generates high-voltage pulses and attracts lightning. Energy is discharged into the ground in the same way as in classical lightning protection.

Lightning protection equipment

As already mentioned, even if lightning does not strike the house directly, it can cause the appearance of pulsed overcurrents in the home network. These very large currents can damage expensive electronic household appliances.

To prevent this from happening, protection of a private home from lightning is carried out by installing surge suppressors or arresters in the electrical panel. Their goal, when a pulse overvoltage occurs, is to remove it from the protected section of the circuit, which is the electrical wiring and equipment of the house.

We strongly recommend that you take lightning protection for your home seriously. Don’t let it seem too expensive to you, because replacing electrical equipment and the consequences of a fire are much more expensive.

It is important for the owner of a private home to take care of safety during a thunderstorm. The current strength during a lightning strike can exceed 100,000 A, and its entry into a building is dangerous for human life and the safety of property. Installing a lightning rod in a private house makes it possible to divert a powerful electrical discharge into the ground, protecting buildings from destruction and fire. You can do the work yourself - all you need to do is select necessary materials, carry out calculations, arm yourself with a shovel and a welding machine.

The simplest lightning rod circuit

Principle of operation

It is not difficult to make a lightning rod in the house with your own hands; its design is extremely simple. The principle of its operation is as follows: a lightning rod located at a height attracts lightning electrical discharges within its radius of action and redirects them to the ground along a down conductor. The radius of action depends on the height of the mast; it is recommended to calculate the structure in such a way that one installation protects all outbuildings on the site from lightning strikes.

Exist different variants lightning rod devices, but the simplest and most common type is the rod design. Such a lightning rod is mounted on the roof of a building or on a separate mast.

Lightning rod rod structure

Protective system design

Structurally, the lightning rod consists of the following elements:

1. lightning rod (used to intercept lightning discharge);
2. grounding conductor (provides close contact of the system with the ground);
3. down conductor (serves to connect the lightning rod to the grounding conductor, transports lightning discharge).

Lightning rod

Planning to create protective device for private or country house, select a lightning rod with optimal parameters. Typically this function is performed by a metal rod that rises above the tallest building on the site.

Depending on the design features protection systems, some parts of the house can serve as parts of a lightning rod. We are talking about metal roofing, fencing and drainage system made of metal.

Steel lightning protection on soft roof

It is important that the metal roof is a solid covering without breaks. Minimum permissible thickness sheet material determined depending on the type of metal and for iron it is 4 mm, for copper 5 mm, for aluminum 7 mm. U roofing there should be no external insulating layer - the exception is anti-corrosion paint on metal.

Parts of the drainage and fencing system are allowed to be used as lightning rods only if the thickness of the metal exceeds the roofing ratings.

The lightning rod is fixed in such a way that it is at least half a meter higher than the highest point in the area around the house, including the tops of trees.

Down conductor

This part country lightning rod made from rolled wire or a strip of bare metal. The recommended cross-section of a steel down conductor is 50 square meters. mm, copper – 16 sq. mm, aluminum – 25 sq. mm.

Down conductor on a metal roof

The down conductor is laid in such a way that it connects the lightning rod and the ground electrode over the shortest distance, ideally in a straight line.

It is allowed to mount the down conductor both outside and inside the wall of the building, but in the second case they must be made of non-flammable material. The minimum gap between the external down conductor and the wall made of flammable building material is 10 cm. When laying, avoid turning the down conductor at an acute angle, otherwise in these areas the risk of fire increases due to the occurrence of a spark discharge.

Ground electrode

The ground electrode is mounted from steel or copper elements, and for steel the cross-sectional area is 80 square meters. mm, and for copper - 50 sq. mm. Grounding a lightning rod requires preparing a trench at least 3 meters long and 0.5 meters deep. At the ends of the trench, a metal rod is driven into the ground, and they are connected to each other by welding a conductor made of the same material.

Trench for closed ground electrode

A branch leading to the house is welded to this structure. A current conductor is connected to the tap. Welding areas must be painted over. Trench for the grounding element protective installation set up no closer than 1 meter from the wall of the house and no closer than 5 meters from the paths and entrance group Houses.

Manufacturing instructions

Before installing a lightning protection system, you need to prepare a project, make calculations and select the necessary materials.

At the design stage they calculate optimal size lightning rod so that the installation completely protects the building area of ​​your site. If we are talking about rod lightning rods that can protect a private house or cottage, they provide a cone-shaped protective zone with an inclination angle of 45-50 degrees.

The height of the lightning rod is calculated using the formula h = (rх+1.63hx)/1.5, while:

• h – the required height of a rod-type lightning rod;
• rx – radius protective zone at the height of the top point of the house that needs to be protected;
• hx – height of the protected house.

This scheme is suitable for calculating lightning rods whose height does not exceed 150 m, and this value is more than enough for a private house.

When selecting manufacturing materials, you should pay attention to the recommended cross-sectional areas of the system elements. Values ​​depend on level electrical resistance steel, copper and aluminum. If you focus on specifications metals, it is better to choose copper. But steel profile much cheaper.

The cross-section of the down conductor is noticeably smaller than that of other elements; it is recommended to gradually increase its thickness in the direction from the lightning rod to the ground. The most efficient systems are those whose elements are all made of the same metal.

It is necessary to choose the right place to install the lightning rod. The end of the lightning rod should be located above the highest point on the site, and the cone of the protection zone should cover the house and, if possible, other buildings in the yard. The house must completely fall within the protective cone, therefore, the further the lightning rod is mounted from the house, the higher it should be located.

Lightning and thunderstorm protection zone cone

The cheapest and easiest way is to mount the lightning rod on the roof; in this case, installation of a special support of the required height is not required. Do not attach the vertical pin of the lightning rod in the center of the roof. If you place it along one of the walls, the likelihood of lightning striking the roof is reduced.

Consider the location of the ground electrode. During a thunderstorm, people should not be near this device, as powerful electrical discharges will go into the ground. When creating a project, maintain the regulated distances from the walls of the house, its porch and paths. Free access to the area with the ground electrode is blocked by a fence, decorative plantings, garden sculptures. It is recommended to install a warning sign.

Installation of the structure

After the calculations have been made and the materials have been prepared, the installation location has been selected, you can proceed to installation. First of all they perform excavation, install grounding.

Lightning rods for a dacha or a private house require the installation of a linear or closed ground electrode. In the first case, a trench is dug in which the grounding electrodes are lined up and welded together. The second type of grounding involves immersion in the ground of a triangular structure of three grounding electrodes connected to each other by a metal strip.

The depth of the pit, straight or triangular, should be 0.5-1 meter - the rods are driven into the ground. A deep trench is dug to the place where the down conductor is attached for a connecting lead for the ground loop.

In order for an electric discharge to easily go into the ground, you need soil with good electrical conductive properties. If the soil is sandy, then to improve electrical conductivity, it is watered with an electrolyte - saline solution.

Miss electricity Only moist soil can. You can provide for the drainage of the roof drainage to the appropriate area or bury the ground loop at a depth where the soil always remains moist.

Linear ground loop

In order for the ground electrode that you have made to meet the requirements for the protective system for many years, metal with a large margin of cross-sectional area is used for the manufacture of its elements. This is due to the fact that the thickness of steel elements decreases over time due to accelerated corrosion in conductive soil. For the manufacture of the structure, a steel profile is usually used - pipe, strip, corner.

On next stage work, a lightning rod support is installed in a pre-selected location. The support is firmly fixed so that it can withstand sudden gusts of wind and lightning strikes. A rod lightning rod with a suitable cross-sectional area is attached to the support. In the absence of rolled metal of the required length, this element is welded from several sections.

Convenient to use as a support tall tree, growing near the house. The lightning rod is attached to the tree using a synthetic halyard in such a way that the entire house falls into the protective cone. If suitable tree no, the lightning rod is connected to the television antenna on the roof, since its mast is made of unpainted metal. If the antenna is mounted on a wooden pole, a wire of a suitable cross-section is attached along it.

Protection options small house

If a hollow metal pipe is selected for the manufacture of the lightning rod, its upper end must be closed with a plug made of the same metal and welded.

The current conductor in the form of rolled wire or metal strip is firmly connected to the lightning rod mounted on the support. Check how the pantograph is laid, the lower part of which is welded to the ground loop outlet. A correctly mounted pantograph does not touch anywhere metal elements Houses. Otherwise, the electric discharge of lightning will not go into the grounding loop, but into the metal structure that is in contact with the current collector.

Installation of a down conductor involves welding a metal wire or strip to the horizontal part of the ground loop along its entire length. The ground electrode is driven into the ground at the bottom of the trenches, then the trenches and pits are filled with the excavated soil.

Structure care

Lightning protection mounted from metal should be regularly inspected to identify pockets of corrosion. Every spring, before the start of the thunderstorm season, the contacts of the protective system are checked. If necessary, they are cleaned, since poor contact can cause the system to open and catch fire when hit by a lightning discharge.

Corrosion of metal circuit

At least once every three years, the degree of corrosion of the grounding circuit is checked, for which it is dug up and inspected. Elements that are severely damaged by corrosion must be replaced with new ones. Otherwise, at some point the lightning rod will not be able to cope with its functions.

Competent calculation and correct installation lightning rod will protect your home. All work can be done on your own.

A lightning rod is necessary primarily because the charge accumulated in thunderclouds can cause a lot of damage if it gets into residential buildings.

Why are lightning dangerous? Typically their power is 100,000 A, but sometimes this figure reaches 200,000.

When such a powerful flow of energy hits something, it causes heating, which in turn causes fires.

That is why in houses it is necessary that there is no risk of fire, and that the charge is discharged into the ground.

Lightning rod design

The lightning rod must consist of these elements:

• lightning rod (takes charge, intercepting it);
• down conductor (its function is to direct the received current into the earth cavity);
• ground electrode (allows for connection between the house, the device and the ground).

The lightning rod system must be designed in accordance with the design features of the elements.

It is important that the metal used in the production of the entire system is the same.

DIY lightning rod for lightning rod

The receiver will be a rod made of steel. It should be higher than the highest point of the house. Key Features:

• section 50 mm square;
• wire rod should have a diameter of eight mm;
• the rod can be replaced with a copper one, but then the cross-section should be 35 mm.

A lightning rod can even be drainpipe because it is made of metal.

You can also focus on the roof, if they are similarly made of metal.

The installation diagram will look like this:

A lightning rod is installed in a house if the roof is made of aluminum, iron, or copper.

It is important that the material is intact, otherwise the current will not enter the outlet elements.

Also, when installing a lightning rod, the presence of heat-insulating roof material should not be allowed.

In general there should be no coverings. Exception - thin layer paint, which is designed to provide an anti-corrosion effect.

To connect all elements of the lightning rod, it is necessary to use solid reinforcement.

If the thickness of the roof material exceeds the specified values:

• for aluminum it is 7 mm;
• for copper 5 mm;
• for iron 4 mm.

Also, if covered thermal insulation material, you need to use a pipe as a lightning rod.

If the roof is divided into several separate elements, they can be connected with reinforcement.

Do-it-yourself current conductor for lightning rod

The current conductor will be the same material that the lightning rod is made of. The following indicators will help you calculate the cross section:

• aluminum - 25 mm square;
• copper - 16 mm square;
• steel - 50 mm square.

Direct installation of lightning protection does not involve a down conductor that leads along a long path.

The length should be as short as possible. Also, turns should not be allowed, and, moreover, sharp corners.

In this case, the likelihood increases that a spark will appear at the turn, which will lead to a fire.

The current conductor consists of a metal strip and wire rod. It can be carried out inside a wall if it does not consist of flammable material.

Fastening is carried out with metal brackets in any case. If the walls are highly flammable, the down conductor should be installed no closer than 10 centimeters from them.

If you are doing this at the construction stage, make sure that there is a distance of more than 10 cm between the wires and the down conductor.

Attention: lightning rod elements must not be insulated or painted!

How to make a ground electrode for a lightning rod

Grounding conductors are made from the following materials:

• copper - section 50 mm square;
• steel - section 80 mm square.

How to install a ground electrode?

It’s very easy: you need to create a hole about 1-2 meters deep, insert rods of steel or copper, weld them together, secure them and connect them with fittings.

It is easier to install all elements from steel, since it is considered the most reliable equipment for lightning rods.

To avoid, it is better to install the lightning rod as high as possible.

It’s great if there is a tall tree near the house on which the system element will be installed.

The ground electrode is installed no closer than 1 meter from the wall of the house. This is due to the fact that sufficient space is needed to distribute the released energy.

Otherwise, a short circuit may occur in the house and there will be voltage surges.

It is also necessary to remember that from roads and fences, especially if they consist of metal, there must be at least 5 meters to the ground electrode.

Why is it important to install the lightning rod as high as possible? In this case, it will be able to capture energy from lightning at a large angle. The lower the receiver, the worse the capture is.

Will help you find answers to your questions.

Avoiding the tragic consequences of lightning is not only possible, but also very easy. Multi-storey urban buildings, as a rule, are equipped with lightning protection at the construction stage. But for owners of private housing, country houses and dachas, it is important to understand that no one will take better care of the safety of their property and life than they themselves. A lightning rod, or more precisely, a lightning rod, is metal structure to attract and capture the electrical discharge of lightning. It has a rather unassuming design, but is very effective during bad weather. Precisely because it will not take a lot of money, time and effort to install, it is important to make a lightning rod in a private house with your own hands. Serve like this homemade design will be trouble-free, which has been repeatedly tested in practice.

Consequences of lightning strikes.

Thunder and lightning or why a lightning rod is needed

In the mid-latitudes of the European continent, May Day marks the beginning of a season when rain may be accompanied by thunderstorms. Most people are afraid of thunder and lightning flashes. And not without reason. Statistics inexorably show that dozens of people die from lightning strikes in the country every year, and fires in private buildings due to lightning discharges and sparks occur even more often.

A lightning rod in a private house is relevant for both owners country cottages, and for those who like to spend time in the country. Due to the peculiarities of electrostatics, in recent decades the probability of being hit by an electrical impulse during a thunderstorm has increased significantly. The reason for this is the abundance of electrical appliances and electrical equipment in homes that use air channels to exchange information. In addition, as you know, lightning is more likely to strike metal objects, if they are nearby, than trees. In modern housing there are many metal objects: metal roofing, antenna, chimney protective cone, etc. Of course, there is a greater need for lightning protection wooden buildings, but also when hitting brick house, the listed facts will be enough to cause a fire.

Here are several factors that can influence the decision whether or not to install a lightning rod in a private home:

• soil composition;
• height of the site above sea level;
• climatological characteristics of the area (frequency of thunderstorms, air humidity, etc.).

Although in general, the feasibility of installing a lightning rod in a private house is beyond doubt. If possible, it is better to provide your home and site with the necessary protection.

How does a lightning rod protective system work?

The lightning rod (lightning rod) structurally consists of three parts:

• lightning rod - a high-rise metal structure above the house (rod, cable or mesh version);
• support for the lightning rod, sometimes necessary in cases where the lightning rod is installed not on the roof of the building, but separately on the site;
• down conductor (lowering) – conductor from the lightning rod to grounding;
• grounding - a device for draining a lightning discharge into the ground.

Anyone can understand how a lightning rod works: a lightning rod made of metal, which is installed on an area higher than other buildings and elements, during bad weather “causes” lightning discharges of electricity and, along the down conductor, redirects them into the thickness of the soil through the grounding circuit. The action of any lightning rod has a cone-shaped character, limited by area and height. In practice it is called the cone of safety. The geometric parameters of this volumetric figure are individual for each area and lightning rod under consideration.

Three types of lightning rod designs are known and allowed for installation:

• rod (pin);
• linear (cable);
• mesh.

Designs of lightning rods

Rod protection

Rod protection is a lightning rod made of a metal rod (tube, angle or rectangular profile) and installed on the roof of a dwelling or on a free-standing mast. Suitable for any roof with metal coating. Fig 3.

Linear (cable) lightning rod

For low buildings with slate or wood roofs, a linear lightning rod is recommended - a cable with a cross-section of at least 0.5 cm stretched along the ridge of the roof, connected to grounding at each end. It is attached to wooden supports at a height of at least 0.5 m above the ridge of the roof. In this case, the down conductors run along the walls of the house, in protective pipes. If the support masts are located correctly, then lightning electricity will go into the soil beyond the boundaries of the protected area. Fig 1.

Mesh lightning rod

Such protective structure It is made in the form of a mesh of metal rods and laid on top of the roof of the house being protected. Its nodes are fixed by welding. It is fixed on special holders or laid directly on the roof, if the increase in temperature does not pose a danger to the roofing material.

When making a lightning rod from a mesh, down conductors are made along its entire perimeter. The grounding conductor in this case is a closed horizontal circuit with reinforcement at the points where down conductors are connected. Fig 2.

DIY lightning rod

Choosing an installation location

Before directly approaching the question of how to make a lightning rod in a country house, you should choose a place to install it. One option could be the roof of the building. It is simple and does not require high support, 3-4 meters is enough. If there are elevations on the site that exceed the height of the roof (a tall tree, a television antenna mast, a weather vane, a chimney pipe), then it would be reasonable and convenient to place the lightning rod there, taking care of its reliable fixation. It is important to ensure that the entire house falls within the protected cone.

But if for some reason the above options do not suit you, then there is always the opportunity to install a lightning rod on a mast some distance from your home. Although this method is more labor-intensive, because a high, strong mast is required, and has nuances:

• the further from the building, the higher the mast is needed;
• The lightning rod should not create a danger to neighbors.

Equipment selection

Since this article is devoted to how to make a lightning rod in a private house, the most universal and a budget option– arrangement of a lightning rod at the dacha. This fully complies with the requirements of domestic standards in the field of electrical safety, in particular the manual to RD 34.21.122-87 “Instructions for the installation of lightning protection of buildings and structures”, which states that:

"…ToIII This category includes small buildings in rural areas, where combustible structures are most often used......their lightning protection is carried out using simplified methods that do not require significant material costs.”

Everything you might need to make a lightning rod can be purchased at regular store construction goods. To build a typical lightning rod, you will need:

• for an air terminal: a metal rod - steel, copper or aluminum with a cross-section of 50, 70 or 35 square millimeters, respectively.
• for down conductor: preferably copper cable, at least 16 square millimeters in diameter;
• for the mast: asbestos cement pipe (2-4 meters above the house);
• copper pins for grounding;
• fasteners.

Having everything you need at hand, you can begin installing the lightning rod.

Preparation for installation

When making a lightning rod with your own hands at the dacha, the owner of the dacha plot must understand that the issue of reliability and safety of the structure falls entirely on his shoulders. Therefore, already at the installation stage, he must take care of safety. What should be done:

• carefully consider and prepare the fastenings of the lightning rod parts. In the absence of reliable fixation, all high-rise elements can be blown away by the wind, which means that the building itself, cars parked near it, or injuries to residents may occur;
• smoke ducts located above the roof also require the installation of lightning rods. A chimney made of a ceramic pipe or brick inevitably loses its insulating properties during operation, which means it can easily transfer a lightning charge into a home. Stainless steel and similar chimneys require grounding;
• antennas (including satellite ones) must be connected to grounding, because they are connected to the electrical network and attract lightning very well.

Manufacturing instructions

Lightning rod installation

Installation of a lightning rod begins with digging a hole or trench 1-1.5 meters deep and 3 meters long for laying the ground electrode. The ground electrode should not pass near the house itself (porch, walls), or garden paths.

If, while digging in a hole, you find groundwater, then this is only a plus: moist soil is an excellent conductor, a lightning discharge will evenly flow into the soil.

Next, the lightning rod is secured to the top of the support or roof with metal clamps. The next step is to attach a down conductor cable to the existing structure, which will run in an asbestos cement pipe.

The lower end of the cable is pinched with contacts or welded to a grounding electrode. Then the grounding circuit is buried (driven) into the soil and, tamping well, is covered with earth.

Important! The lightning rod should not have decorative covering(coloring), because it can significantly worsen its conductive function!

Design calculation

In order to mount a lightning rod with your own hands, you need a simple calculation. There is a formula for this:

h=(r x +1.63h x)/1.5

In it, h is the height of the lightning rod,

h x – height of the house,

r x – radius of the base of the protection cone,

1.63 and 1.5 – calculated coefficients.

That is, if it were necessary to protect country cottage area with a radius of 10 meters, having in its center a house 5 meters high, on the roof of which a lightning rod is installed, then by substituting these numbers into the formula, you can get the result:

h=(10+1.63×5)/1.5 = 12.1 meters.

When making calculations, you must take into account that all buildings on the site must fall within the radius of the lightning rod, and correctly calculate the height.