A lightning protection system protects your home, barn, commercial building, or other structure from lightning damage. Lightning damage can include complete or partial loss of a building and its contents due to fire and structural damage or electrical surges. Lightning damage can also include damage to computers, electronics, appliances, electric fences, satellite dishes, telephone systems, hot tubs, and more.

Surge suppression includes surge arrestors installed where utilities such as electrical service, telephone, and cable or satellite enter your building. When a nearby or distant utility pole or transfer station gets struck by lightning, damaging surges can come down the wires into your building. Surge arrestors stop these surges before they start electrical fires and before they cause damage to your computers, electronics, and appliances.
So, surge suppression means your lightning protection system is effective even when your building does not suffer a direct lightning strike.

A lightning protection system contains many elements working together to prevent lightning damage. At Armor Lightning Protection we pride ourselves on going the extra mile to install systems that are nearly invisible from the ground. We are experts at hiding cable, and at installing systems that compliment the architecture of your building.
System components include:
Air Terminals (“lightning rods”) – as narrow as your little finger and as short as 10-inches. Decorative finials and glass balls – optional decorative elements that can be substituted for or added to a lightning protection system. Finials and glass balls make your lightning protection system part of the design and architecture of your building.
Conductors – specialized copper or aluminum braided cables to connect the air terminals to other system components, and to serve as “down leads” to the grounds rods.
Ground Rods – copper clad steel rods installed 10-feet into the ground using specialized equipment.
Bonding Elements – specialized braided bonding cable or metallic tape to tie metallic bodies within and near the structure into the main lightning protection system.
Surge Arrestors and Supressors – to protect the building and its contents when lightning strikes a nearby or distant utility pole or transfer station and sends high-voltage surges through incoming electric, telephone, cable, and satellite lines.

Properly designed and installed lightning protection is solid, straightforward science. A lightning protection system performs a simple but crucial task. Lightning contains millions of volts of electricity. When lightning strikes your building, your lightning protection system provides a specified, highly-efficient path on which the millions of volts of electricity can travel safely to the ground.
On a building without lightning protection, those same millions of volts of electricity still have to get to the ground. Lightning will use your electrical wiring, your telephone or cable wiring, structural elements of your building, or anything else it can find as a “path to ground”. None of these building elements is designed to safely carry this amount of electricity. The result is a build-up of resistance, which leads to fire and explosive damage to your building.
Your lightning protection system gives the lightning exactly what it needs – an easy and efficient path to ground. In fact, if you are not in the building when lightning strikes, you may not even know the building was struck.

No. A lightning protection system provides a safe and efficient “path to ground” in the event of a lightning strike. Air terminals (“lightning rods”) do NOT attract lightning to your building. Anyone claiming lightning rods attract lightning does not understand the basic science behind lightning protection.

No. Lightning is unpredictable, and will often strike a low-lying structure or even bedrock while not touching a nearby tree or higher or taller building. In addition, if lightning does strike a tree near your building, your unprotected building is often damaged by side-flashes.
If you have large or historic trees near your building, these trees can receive their own lightning protection as part the installation of your lightning protection system.

Wrong. In fact, a building or area that has been hit can indicate that the area is a “hot zone” for lightning strikes. Some buildings get hit so often that we install a “counter” as part of the lightning protection system to keep track of the lightning strikes.
The Empire State Building gets struck by lightning, on average, over 100 times a year, yet suffers no damage due to its lightning protection system.

Yes. Lightning protection has been saving homes and other structures for well over 100 years. The basic science of lightning protection goes back to the days of Ben Franklin. The latest codes and regulations, including NFPA 780, UL 96A, and LPI 175, incorporate over 200 years of scientific study and provide the only way to reliably and consistently protect your building from lightning damage. As mentioned above, a great example is the Empire State Building, which gets struck by lightning on average over 100 times a year, yet suffers no damage because of its lightning protection system. We are happy to direct you to additional information about the science of lightning protection.

No. The electrical ground installed by your electrician is there to protect the internal workings of the electrical system in your building. It is not at all designed to protect you from lightning damage.

No. Modern systems are designed to be nearly invisible from the ground. Cables can be completely concealed during new construction, or hidden in and around building elements on existing buildings. With over 20 years of experience on hundreds of fine homes and historic buildings, we are experts at hiding lightning protection.

For Existing Buildings:
Lightning protection can be installed at any time. We work year-round and are always available to give you a quotation. With 40 years experience, including many historic homes and museums, we are experts at hiding cable and making lightning protection nearly invisible from the ground.
If You Are Installing a New Roof:
Contact us before the new roof goes on. We will coordinate with your roofing schedule so we can hide much of the lightning protection equipment as your new roof is installed.

For New Construction:

It is best to involve us as early as possible. As soon as you have a roof plan and elevations, let us know. The earlier we are involved, the more “invisible” we can make your lightning protection system.

If you are mid-construction already, contact us as soon as possible. Usually we can still completely conceal your system.

If you are nearing the end of construction, we can still conceal many elements of your system. For example, if the ridge cap has not gone on yet, we can generally conceal the main cables. If the siding is not up yet, we can conceal many of the downleads. If the trim has not been installed, we can conceal cable behind the trim.

We are experts at hiding cable, and will work with you to develop a design and plan that fits your needs.

Click here to download short specifications for a properly installed lightning protection system. Click here to download long specifications for a properly installed lightning protection system.

Your lightning protection system is designed to last for the life of your building. If you make structural changes or additions, you should have your system checked and updated if needed.

An improperly installed lightning protection system can often be more dangerous than no lightning protection at all. Lightning protection is a specialized trade requiring trained, licensed technicians with knowledge of multiple codes and specialized equipment. Most electricians, contractors, roofers, and do-it-yourselfers are not qualified to install lightning protection.

Policies vary by insurance company, but often the answer is yes. Many companies automatically provide a discount for lightning protection, and many other companies provide a discount if you ask for one. Armor Lightning Protection is happy to provide any paperwork requested by your insurance company.

An improperly installed lightning protection system can be more dangerous than no lightning protection at all. Lightning protection is a specialized trade requiring trained, licensed technicians with knowledge of multiple codes and specialized equipment.
Be sure the company you select to install your lightning protection system:
Installs to meet or exceed NFPA 780, UL 96A, and LPI 175 standards for the installation of lightning protection.
Uses only materials listed and labeled in accordance with UL 96 Standards.
Holds a specific license for the installation of lightning protection, not just an electrician’s or contractor’s license.
Is fully insured and can provide you with insurance papers at your request.
Does not “sub out” their work. When you hire Armor Lightning Protection, you get us, with our experience, not someone we “sub” the work to.
Can provide you with multiple references for jobs similar to yours.
In short, be sure you are hiring a reputable, professional company that will stand behind its work both today and down the line.

Yes. We do lots of inspection and recondition work.

Yes. More so. Today’s building have levels of electronic sophistication that couldn’t be imagined just a decade or two ago. A lightning strike to a building today, or a surge from a lightning strike to a nearby utility, can cause damage in the tens-of-thousands of dollars, even if it doesn’t cause a fire or structural damage.

Like fire alarms and security systems, a lightning protection system provides the peace of mind that comes from knowing a potential catastrophe has been dealt with proactively.
While insurance companies will often cover an initial lightning strike to a building (minus your deductible), policies are often non-renewed, rates hiked, or subsequent claims denied if your building is struck again.
In addition, imagine the personal loss and loss of productivity when your computers, electronics, and appliances are lost due to lightning damage. And of course, the catastrophic consequences of a fire to your home go far beyond the dollar amount you may collect from your insurance company.

Go to our Contact Us area to provide some basic information about your building, or call us at 802-768-8379.

No! And both the court system and scientific studies agree. These “magic lightning rods”, which go by various names including “ESE”, “Early Streamer Emmission”, “Single Mast”, or “Radioactive” lightning protection have been proven time and time again to have NO “special powers” to “deflect” lightning or provide “giant zones of protection with just one rod”.
In 2005, the manufacturers of these rods were issued a Court Ordered Permanent Injunction barring them from making any advertising claims regarding special/expanded “zones of protection” for these systems. These companies were also found by the Court to have an engaged in false advertising by making claims about their rods “without having any basis for making such a claim”.
In addition, as typically specified, these “magic” systems fail to comply with United States standards for lightning protection, including those issued by UL (Underwriters Laboratories Inc) – UL96A, NFPA (National Fire Protection Association – NFPA780, and LPI (Lightning Protection Institute) – LPI175. The systems have too few air terminals, too few paths to ground, lack a satisfactory roof-top network of conductors, and provide for no bonding to roof-top equipment.

Of course. We are happy to provide references.

Of course. We realize you may have more questions than we can cover here. We are happy to talk to you by phone or you can send us your questions via our Contact form. Visit our contact us area to get in touch with us, or call us at 802-768-8379.