Re: Lightning Protection for Tall Buildings - Mandatory?

On Thu, 03 Aug 2006 13:56:42 -0700, Aaron407 wrote:

Hi everybody,

I'm not sure if this is the right group to post this in (correct me if
it's not), but I could really use some help. I'm an electrical engineer
looking into lightning protection for buildings, but in my search I have
found the information to be quite ambiguous as to whether lightning
protection is actually mandatory or not. I am looking at a possible
install on a mill building about 150' tall at a potash mine here in
Saskatchewan, Canada.

Could anyone direct me to any resources (American or Canadian) which state
cut and dried if/when lightning protection is mandatory? I have looked
through the CAN/CSA-B72-M87 and NFPA 780, but both avoid explicitly saying
anything along the lines of "lightning protection is not mandatory, but
highly recommended...". They use terms at the beginning like 'required',
but continue with words such as 'recommended' and 'should', which have
confused me to this point.

Can anyone enlighten me? It would be greatly appreciated.


Whether it's mandatory or not is irrelevant. Do it anyway. Just put some
sharp spikes on the roof, and then either bond them to the steel frame
or to some heavy cable to a good ground.

The reason for the lightning rods isn't to absorb a strike - it's to
dissipate the charge above the building before it builds up enough
to cause a strike; that's why you use pointy ends - the corona drains
off the charge, at least right above your structure.

Good Luck!
Rich

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