Lightning rod?

[Groo]

I recently had the power company change my service from above ground to underground because the line came through the woods and it was cheaper to bury it than constantly deal with all the trees. When they installed the transformer they drove in a 30' ground rod, when I mentioned that most home rods were only in 8' they said that they probably won't work.

My service is underground.
I was on my computer when the bolt struck 30' from me. Not the slightest blip on the screen.

 

[CobyRupert]

This is not uncommon. Prior to many lightning strikes, the static voltage in the air can reach several hundred volts per meter above ground. There are many reports of peoples hair standing up just prior to a close strike. In these conditions lightning rods and other devices to bleed off the static charge in the air can help to prevent a strike in that area.

paul

I'm really interested to know if they really do this, or is there still some controversy?

I recently had the power company change my service from above ground to underground because the line came through the woods and it was cheaper to bury it than constantly deal with all the trees. When they installed the transformer they drove in a 30' ground rod, when I mentioned that most home rods were only in 8' they said that they probably won't work.

It would work to drain "everyday" static charges on grounded elements (things with a green wire) of your electrical system, and would establish a zero voltage reference for your 120 volt circuits.
Whether the ground resistance would be low enough to trip circuit breakers if you have a true "ground fault" (where short circuit current doesn't use green wires as a path) not only depends on a how much ground rod (& other buried conductors) you have, but on soil resistivity (may change seasonally w/ moisture), voltages, available short circuit current, ground grid area, etc...

 

[buckeyefarmer]

According to two sites i referenced earlier, they dont "drain off" anything.

 

[Industrial Toys]

As far as communications cable go, underground is always worse for lightning damage. Curious what the real world experience is with power. Either high tension or secondary lines.

I notice that new transformer stations have quite the array of sophisticated lightning towers.

 

[techman]

Above ground power lines suffer far less than underground feeds.

Look up Florida studies, the lightning capitol of the US

paul

 

[jk96]

Our house was hit by lightning last Monday. Our internet company removed the dish from our roof a month ago and I didn't realize they had left the pole. Lightning hit the pole and jumped to the roof below in a valley. When it hit we were in the living room (open vaulted ceiling to the loft above where it hit the roof). It sounded like a qtr stick going off inside the home. Everyone's ears were wringing. It traveled the ductwork down and through one of HVAC units and fantec air exchange unit. It killed every LED bath/fan combo unit in the house (total of 5). Got the wireless router upstairs, router switchbox downstairs. It also killed the hdmi input on my tv that was connected, the other input still works. Killed both hdmi inputs on my projector in the basement along with the stereo receiver they were connected to. Also lost 2 light switches in the house. We were lucky in that it did not seem to do any damage to the wiring in the home.

Almost forgot. The loft wall where it hit and traveled the ductwork lost all of the pictures and picture nails in the wall. They were blown about 3 feet from the wall.

 

[Ritothebull]

They are supposed to ground those dishes but most of the ones I have seen weren't.