M
meister keks20 Jun 2017 23:45Hello everyone,
I have a small problem at the moment.
My house has four gutters.
Two of them are connected, and the other two are just decorative covers.
The foundation slab of my house is equipped with a grounding rod.
After the house was assembled, these rods were sticking out of the ground at each corner.
Out of ignorance, I cut off three of them, so now I only have one left that can be connected to the gutter.
Is that sufficient?
Is a single connection enough for lightning protection?
Normally, there are two downspouts installed on a house.
Are both usually connected?
Best regards
I have a small problem at the moment.
My house has four gutters.
Two of them are connected, and the other two are just decorative covers.
The foundation slab of my house is equipped with a grounding rod.
After the house was assembled, these rods were sticking out of the ground at each corner.
Out of ignorance, I cut off three of them, so now I only have one left that can be connected to the gutter.
Is that sufficient?
Is a single connection enough for lightning protection?
Normally, there are two downspouts installed on a house.
Are both usually connected?
Best regards
Electricity follows the path of least resistance.
If the "detour" via the gutter on the opposite side is more "difficult" than going straight through the house... then you're out of luck, and who knows if a stray lightning strike might come by someday.
However, there are screw connectors that allow you to join two steel strip conductors.
In other words, just reconnect the cut cables—that’s what they were designed for.
If the "detour" via the gutter on the opposite side is more "difficult" than going straight through the house... then you're out of luck, and who knows if a stray lightning strike might come by someday.
However, there are screw connectors that allow you to join two steel strip conductors.
In other words, just reconnect the cut cables—that’s what they were designed for.
No, he didn’t... from the description, it appears that he cut off the connection tabs from the ring earth conductor. However, these are generally not related to the external lightning protection system.
Everything in the house that has a protective earth connection is connected to the ring earth conductor, plus at most the antenna system, but not the external gutters.
The gutters are connected to the external protection system, which is then connected to the internal system.
And even if it sounds like everything is interconnected anyway... there are good reasons why it is done this way and not otherwise...
But to return to the original question: it is most likely irrelevant that you cut off three tabs. As long as you still have one left in the house connection enclosure (HAR), everything is fine.
You don’t need to connect the gutters to anything unless you have a complete external lightning protection system.
Everything in the house that has a protective earth connection is connected to the ring earth conductor, plus at most the antenna system, but not the external gutters.
The gutters are connected to the external protection system, which is then connected to the internal system.
And even if it sounds like everything is interconnected anyway... there are good reasons why it is done this way and not otherwise...
But to return to the original question: it is most likely irrelevant that you cut off three tabs. As long as you still have one left in the house connection enclosure (HAR), everything is fine.
You don’t need to connect the gutters to anything unless you have a complete external lightning protection system.
K
Knallkörper1 Jul 2017 09:42The effect of grounded gutters is likely minimal. However, I would say that they should be connected directly to the foundation earth electrode.
If you definitely want to ground your downspouts but can no longer reach the brackets, you could instead drive a grounding rod into the ground for each one. Be sure to consider material compatibility to avoid galvanic corrosion.
If you definitely want to ground your downspouts but can no longer reach the brackets, you could instead drive a grounding rod into the ground for each one. Be sure to consider material compatibility to avoid galvanic corrosion.
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