Steel Roofs And Lightning

Then the metal s fire resistant properties will protect your building even further.

Steel roofs and lightning.

However even if metal is a great conductor of electricity it isn t a lightning magnet. Should your metal roof be struck by lightning the electricity will be spread out across a larger area which diminishes the immediate impact. While a building s structural steel will conduct lightning it is the bonding interconnection and grounding provided by a lightning protection system lps that will dissipate lightning s harmful electricity safely to the ground. It has been observed that installing a metal roof makes building owners think more about lightning and the dangers of lightning strikes.

Fractured materials can generate dangerous shrapnel and it s not uncommon to find fragments embedded in walls after a lightning strike. Fire is the most destructive element of a lightning strike because most roofs will immediately combust. A metal building system with a conductive metal roof and a conductive metal structural frame gives lightning a low resistance path to the earth. The only way to protect a building is with a properly designed and installed lightning protection system lps.

The metal construction association notes that metal roofs do not attract lightning. Nor do metal roofs protect a building against lightning. Lightning is a powerful destructive force of nature and will strike a building regardless of its type of roofing. Metal roofs are no more attractive to lightning than any other type of roofing material.

Steel roofing materials are no more attractive to lightning than any other type of roofing material according to the metal roofing wholesalers website. In truth high or thin points or structures that cover wide ground regardless whether they contain metal or not attract lightning. Metal roofs do not attract lightning strikes. It s understandable many homeowners believe metal roofing s steel tin or aluminum body can attract lightning.

Decra stone coated steel is the only roofing material that adds shear strength to the roof to endure the forces of lightning shock waves as well as the high winds and hail which accompany thunderstorms. The misconception that metal roofs attract lightning is probably because metal itself is known as a good conductor of electricity and people therefore assume that a metal roof must attract lightning.