Should Metal Roofs Be Grounded

Because metal roofs are by definition made out of metal you might be concerned about lightning and wonder whether you need to attach a lightning rod to your metal roof.

Should metal roofs be grounded.

No in fact the best thing you can do for your own personal safety during a thunderstorm is to head indoors. In general there s no need to unless it s mandated by your local building codes. Metal conducts electricity but when you are dealing with a full roof a lightning strike would ground out through the rest of the structure without causing damage or harm to the interior. In simple terms the answer is no.

Your metal roof is not grounded and thus lighting has no reason to strike it. Wouldn t a grounded metal roof protect your home. Lightning is a powerful destructive force of nature and will strike a building regardless of its type of roofing. It does not attract any extra attention from lightning and just like buildings constructed with traditional building materials any electricity from a lightning strike will will be safely transferred to the ground below so occupants will be unaffected.

Nor do metal roofs protect a building against lightning. Experts say metal roofing systems aren t any more likely to be struck by lightning than other types of roofs. Still the type of roofing is one of several risk factors. Do you need to ground metal roofs.

The short answer is no you don t have to ground a metal roof and you will incur no additional risk if you don t ground it in most circumstances. Do you need to have your metal roof grounded. Metal roofing is perfectly safe. Metal roofs do not attract lightning strikes.

If you plan on using metal roofing you may need to consider whether or not you need to ground that roofing like other metal equipment in construction. Metal roofing is safe and you won t incur additional risks if you don t ground it in most circumstances. The only way to protect a building is with a properly designed and installed lightning protection system lps. We elaborate further in this post.

A metal roof in no way makes your home more vulnerable or susceptible to lightning strikes. What if lightning struck your roof.