How to Install a Commercial Lightning Rod

Lightning strikes can cause significant, expensive damage to your home. A lightning rod is designed specifically to prevent this from happening. Should lightning strike your house, the lightning rod will guide the electricity along a set path down towards the ground and away from the building. Installing a lightning rod is not an incredibly complex process; however, you should take great care during the installation as you will need to install the rod onto the highest point of the house.

Ground plates
Lightning rod
Shovel
Power drill
Conductor cable
Cable clamps

Instructions

- 1
  Find a suitable position on each side of the building to place the lightning rod's ground plates. The positions should be at least 2 feet from the building.
- 2
  Use a shovel to dig a 3-foot-deep hole for each ground plate.
- 3
  Find the two highest points on the building and make sure that they are least 20 feet apart from one another.
- 4
  Use a power drill to create holes for the clamps that hold the lightning rod in place.
- 5
  Use the power drill to screw in the clamps and then secure the lightning rod in place.
- 6
  Insert the connector cable into the lightning rod and run it alongside the building down to the ground. Use a cable clamp every 3 to 5 feet to hold the cable in place.
- 7
  Connect the cable to your ground plate and then bury the ground plate with dirt to finish your installation.

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