Home Automation - lightning protection/new construction

We are building a new home on granite ledge. How might I best protect my family and "stuff"?

hellom patrick,
what i would recomend is a home security system. have it profesionely installed befor the drywall goes up the cost would be much cheaper.

I believe patrick45 is talking about lightning protection. The NEC and UL have very specific requirements for this. Lightning rods, called "air terminals" are just one aspect, the one most people are familiar with. These have to be separately grounded with their own ground rods. There again, there are a lot of considerations which dictate how many and how far apart. Also, where installing the rods into rock there are specific requirements in the NEC, article 250. Conductor sizing, what all must be bonded to the lightning protection system and many other factors need to be considered. If you have the resources to hire a professional, I would recommend it. Two that are UL recognized are Heary Brothers Inc. and Thompson Lightning Protection Systems, Inc.

If you are inclined to do it yourself, I would go to the UL website and order a copy of both UL96 and 96A. These are the codes for materials and installation methods. And they are the authority in this area. If you're going to try to wing it, a simple air terminal, separate ground rod and the copper wire that joins them (called the "down conductor") is clearly and advantage to having no protection. If you know of a good electrical supply shop (NOT Home Depot!) they will tell you what size wire, give you the approved connectors, air terminal and ground rod(s) which are UL listed for that purpose. But if you plan to have it inspected you may get tripped up on all the little picayune details.

I'd also ask your electrical supplier for a surge suppression device for your electrical system as well as your phone system. They ain't cheap, but if you're concerned about the real possibility of getting a lightning strike, they're worth their weight in gold.

Hope that helps. gls

In addition to

For what it's worth, lightning and surge protection: I have installed "Secondary Surge Arrestors" in several houses my family or I have owned, and several "high incidence of lightning strike" areas (mountaintop shacks housing communications gear). Unit I have used so far is a "Square D" brand part number SDSA-1175. This mounts in a knockout in your breaker box, connects to the two hot lines and the neutral / ground bar (I usually hook mine up to the switched side of the range breaker, so I can change it out if it ever bites the bullet. Not as good for the ultimate in transient control, but I really dislike working on hot wires). It's a brute-force transient arrestor, made to knock down the big spikes. You'll still want a nice filtered outlet strip to protect your computer and home entertainment center, things like that. I have several instances of being protected while neighboring houses or facilities suffered severe damage. Strangely enough, the worst damage has come from power-line surges caused by high-volt lines being knocked down (by a car hitting the pole) or broken by heavy ice loads and then falling onto the "low voltage" (120 volts for your house) lines, putting a surge down the line into houses. (Knock on wood), I haven't suffered any damage from these incidents on houses I've protected, while neighbors lost different items: All the GFCI outlets in one house, an electronic oven control module ($500 repair bill) in another, a line-voltage thermostat exploding in a third.
Log onto the "Square D" site and look for their Secondary Surge Arrestor product line. They have a couple of units that snap into their breaker boxes directly, and a new thingie that protects your phone lines, too. Don't know if it's worth the money or not...Then you have to find a dealer who (a) knows what you're talking about, (b) has these things, and (c) will sell to you retail. Don't know why the home stores don't stock these, they're great, and well worth the cost.

For you own information, if you install your system yourself, your fire insurance will not cover you, unless your a certified electrician, and have put a lightning arrestor cert. inside your breaker box. Just thought I would let you know.