While metal roofing is highly durable, lightweight, attractive and long-lasting, many homeowners will not choose it for their homes since they fear it is more at risk of lightning strikes in comparison to other roofing materials. If you are in this group of homeowners, you may wonder if this roofing turns your home into a lightning rod. The quick answer to this is a simple ‘no.’ To further your knowledge on this topic, we offer the following FAQ about metal roofs and lightning.
Question: Does Metal Conduct Electricity?
Answer: Metals, such as zinc, steel, and copper, do conduct electricity effectively and efficiently. In fact, copper has been part of electrical wiring for years due to this fact.
Question: Is Metal Roofing More at Risk of Lightning Hits Than Other Roofing Materials Are on Houses?
Answer: Even though the materials in metal roofing are conductive with electricity, they are not at higher risk of lightning strikes than any other roofing material is on homes. Experts agree that this is no reason to fear installing a metal roof on your home when it comes to a lightning risk.
Question: Does Location or Size Have Anything to Do With a Risk of Lightning Strikes?
Answer: Lightning does tend to hit the highest point of a location. For this reason, the location of your house can have more of a bearing on whether you are at risk of lightning hits than which roofing material you install on it. In addition to this, a large home provides lightning with more of a target than a small house does, so this may have an influence on how at risk your house is for lightning strikes. There are protective measures you can take at present, though, to lower this risk, but you do not need to avoid metal roofing.
Question: Are Metal Roofs Safer When Hit by Lightning Than Certain Other Roofs Are?
Answer: Yes, metal roofing is safer in a lightning strike than some other types of roofing materials are. Metal roofing disperses the electricity of the strike quickly; and it is also flameproof. A metal roof does not catch fire even when hit with the intense heat from lightning.
For additional details about whether metal roofing will turn your home into a lightning rod, rely on Johnson Roofing. Our company performs roof repairs, installation, and maintenance to both residential and commercial clients here in the Auckland area. We supply durable, quality roofing materials and workmanship, and we also issue a guarantee with each job that we perform.