The Ward Family Does Not Lose Power - the Generator and Lightning Protection

Like my husband Stephen Moore is an economist. Mr. Moore is also a journalist and recently published an article "When The Moore Family Lost Power."  It is an interesting opinion piece, but I'm an engineer and I think you should do something to ensure that we have electricity, sewage and water- not just talk about it.

When I lived in California I became obsessed with water (okay, water and earthquakes). I maintained a constantly rotated supply of 40 gallons of fresh water at all times and read the precipitation and snow pack levels daily. The average annual precipitation in California is about 23 inches (DWR 1998), but rainfall varies greatly across the state from more than 140 inches in the northwestern California to less than 4 inches in the southern cities where all the people live. California has 1,200 miles of canals and nearly 50 reservoirs-the largest water storage and transportation system in the world that captures enough water to irrigate about four million acres and provide water to 23 million people. Even with this extensive management system there are limits to the water supply; Californian are facing the failure their water- network, due to age and lack of maintenance, growth in population and demand, mining of the groundwater, and the potentially far-reaching effects of climate change. Each new drought is a crisis. For at least twenty years California has failed to plan for the inevitable and easily imagined future.

I could never convince my neighbors of the importance of planning for the future, preventative maintenance and maintaining of our infrastructure. So, when my husband wanted to retire and suggested we look around for a place to live-my criteria was water, location where a mild temperature increase would not be devastating and high speed Internet. My husband was born and breed in Virginia and in truth there was little chance of us retiring anywhere else. Fortunately, based on several different predictions, the eastern slope of the Piedmont region of Virginia is a climate change sweet spot. It was predicted to get wetter and warmer (like the Carolinas), has a moderate four season climate with lots of available water in the Culpeper Groundwater Basin and average annual rainfall of over 44 inches a year. (Virginia’s earthquake last year was quite the surprise, but did no damage here.) We found ourselves a foreclosure with a private well with an excellent recharge rate and good water ($1,600 of water tests before purchase verified those facts) and set to work improving the home and making it more sustainable, secure and self-reliant. I test my water annually to make sure that the water remains good. I can control only my own behavior and my private infrastructure.

My Generac Guardian under my deck

Without electricity I have no water, no septic and my freezer containing a quarter of a cow (grass fed sustainably raised down the pike) is in danger of spoiling, my carefully laid down wine is in danger of being damaged and my life generally disrupted with the loss of the all the modern conveniences. So five years ago when we first bought the house, I had a Guardian 16 kilowatt automatic generator manufactured by Generac installed. When the power to the house is cut, the generator automatically kicks in to power most of the house in about 20 seconds. (Generac advertises that the new generators come on-line in 10 seconds.) I had the generator installed so that the backup power automatically turns on. The generator runs on liquid propane from a tank buried in my yard that also powers my hot water heater, backup furnace, gas grill and stove. The generator can supply the house for 23 or more days depending on whether the gas furnace is running, and is housed in a lovely insulated aluminum casing under my deck (muffling the sound) and looking good as new even after five years of sitting outside. (Note that if the generator runs more than a few days especially when new it will need oil.) The generator works great, though during a recent power outage in our area, the DVR took a couple of minutes to reload the program we were watching, the internet was back almost immediately. Over the years we’ve adjusted the load a few times, but we are never without power.  The generator is serviced annually by the electrician who installed it and my propane tank is never allowed to fall under 50% full. The propane tank has a very readable gage on it. Consumer Reports has a buyers guide for generators. 

The house also has a large south facing roof span. So in addition to the generator, I also have 7.36 KW gross, 6.2 KW PTC of Photovoltaic Solar panels on my roof. However, the panels are connected to the grid so that when the grid goes down, the solar panels do not supply power to the house. I would have to have a back-up battery and different configuration for the inverters. The solar panels have proved very reliable and actually produce slightly more power than predicted by the PV-Watts program. If electrical power were to become unreliable in my little pocket of the NOVEC service area, I would consider converting my PV solar system to directly powering the house. It turns out that except for the heat and air conditioning the solar panels can pretty much power the house on most days.

When I finished my basement and installed the elevator that makes it possible for those who can no longer climb steps to live in this house, I installed a secondary sump pump utilizing the elevator shaft (installed a couple of feet below the basement) as the natural drainage point. The elevator is one of many handicap features I’ve installed in this house. Each change or improvement is intended to be sustainable and accessible. Even if we did not need an elevator when we moved in, this is a retirement home and we will all be old and infirmed one day-plan for it. The sump pumps are also tied into the generator. Power is most likely to fail just when you need a sump pump. The sump pumps are tested and run each spring when I drain the hot water heater. The house has good natural drainage and I am not aware of the sump pumps ever needing to operate, but I have them. The elevator is greased, tightened and serviced twice a year and the type of elevator was chosen for its durable design.

Tying the solar panels into the lightning protection system

Installing an Air Terminal

It is large storms that tend to bring down the power around here. Generally speaking lightning strikes are geographically concentrated in the southeast, south and mid-west. Until we moved to Virginia (with an annual average of 344,702 lightning strikes a year and likely to increase with climate change) from California, I had not thought much about lightning. However, the fire that resulted from a lightning strike at my neighbor’s house convinced me that my husband was right and lightning protection (and whole house surge collar) was something we should buy. The air within a lightning strike can reach 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit, and one lightning stroke can generate between 100 million and 1 billion volts of electricity frying every computer and electrical appliance in the house. Lightning is still a major cause of building fires, even though highly effective (though not perfect) protection has long been available. 

The National Fire Protection Association, NFPA, established the American standard for installation of lightning protection systems now known as NFPA 780 in 1904.  Installation of a system in conformance with NFPA 780 can cost thousands of dollars depending on the size and shape of the house. To provide effective protection, a lightning protection system must include a sufficient number of rods with tips exposed and extending above the structure. These lightning rods, called air terminals become the preferred strike receptor for a descending step leader from the thundercloud. That rapidly-varying lightning current must then be carried away from the building into the earth through a down conductor system that will provide the path of least resistance and impedance to the flow of current and prevent "side flashes" to other objects in the vicinity of the system. All nearby metal components of the structure (solar panels, generator, roof vents, water pipes etc.) must be properly connected to the down-conductor system to ensure the flow of current to the earth. I will never really know if I needed a lightning protection system. So far, the major benefit is I’m very relaxed and sleep well during lightning storms and I am satisfied that preventing the small probability of losing all my appliances and electronics is worth the price.

In the United States we have failed to plan for the future, to properly value and maintain 24/7 water, sewer, electricity and phone. This infrastructure needs to be maintained and improved constantly replaced no mechanical component has an infinite life span. Water, sanitary sewers or septic, electricity and phone and Internet service are not a birth right. We have failed to spend our money on maintaining the infrastructure we have and to fund the commitments we have made. The likely future is one with more and extended power outages, water supply disruptions and other failures. Think about it. The Moore family might, but the Ward family does not lose power.   

Lightning Rods and Lightning Protection Systems-Should You Have One?

The image is from Lightning Prevention Systems, Inc. in New Jersey a state that has only about 45,000 lightning strikes a year

Though summer is the peak season for lightning, it does strike year round. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 25 million cloud-to-ground lightning strikes occur in the United States each year. Generally speaking lightning strikes are geographically concentrated in the southeast, south and mid-west. Until we moved to Virginia (with an annual average of 344,702 lightning strikes a year) from California, I had not thought much about lightning. Texas is that state with the most lightning strikes a year averaging almost 3 million a year and much smaller Florida 1.4 million strikes a year! The creation of lightning is a complicated process. According to NOAA we know what conditions are needed to produce lightning, but there is still debate about exactly how lightning forms. The exact way a cloud builds up the electrical charges that lead to lightning is not completely understood. A channel of negative charge, called a step leader, shoots to the ground in a zigzag of roughly 50-yard segments in a forked pattern. As it nears the ground, the negatively charged step leader is attracted to a channel of positive charge from the earth reaching up, a streamer, normally through something tall, such as a tree, house, or telephone pole. When the oppositely-charged leader and streamer connect, a powerful electrical current begins flowing. A flash can consist of one or as many as 20 return strokes.

Cloud to ground (CG) discharges, are the most common, but there are other known types of lightning that have no channel to ground.  These cloud discharges are classified as in-cloud (IC), cloud to air (CA), or cloud to cloud (CC). There is also lightning that originates at the top of the thunderstorm. This area carries a large positive charge. Lightning from this area is called positive lightning that frequently strikes away from the rain core, either ahead or behind the thunderstorm. It can strike as far as 5 or 10 miles from the storm, and is it typically has a longer duration, so fires are more easily ignited. Positive lightning usually carries a high peak electrical current, which is more likely to kill.

 The air within a lightning strike can reach 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit, and one ground lightning stroke can generate between 100 million and 1 billion volts of electricity. Lightning is a major cause of building fires, even though highly effective (though not perfect) protection has long been available. In the 1700s Benjamin Franklin (remember the kite and key story) proposed a method of protecting structures from the effects of lightning using elevated rods and down-conductors. His ideas were furthered by the work of Nikola Tesla, Michael Faraday and other scientists to develop and document successful designs. In 1904, The National Fire Protection Association, NFPA, established the American standard for installation of lightning protection systems now known as NFPA 780- the Standard for the Installation of Lightning Protection Systems. Historical documentation shows that fire losses to protected buildings were between 1.3%-7% of the damage to unprotected buildings during the first two decades of the twentieth century as the standard developed and our knowledge increased. Experience of the fire-insurance companies showed that if buildings were properly "rodded", they would be practically safe from damage by lightning. Remember this is based on statistics lightning is most likely to hit the highest object, and is also more likely to strike something with a good path to ground, such as a lightning protection system.

Installation of such a system in conformance with NFPA 780 is not a simple matter and can cost thousands of dollars depending on the size and shape of the house. Whether it makes economic sense for you depends on many factors such as location, value of the property in dollars and sentiment, insurance and the amount of the deductible, what you can afford and how you feel about lightning. My husband and his brother who grew up in the same house that was struck by lightning came to different decisions.  To provide effective protection for structures, a lightning protection system must include a sufficient number of rods with tips exposed and extending above the structure. These lightning rods, now called air terminals become the preferred strike receptor for a descending step leader from the thundercloud. That rapidly-varying lightning current must then be carried away from the building into the earth through a down conductor system, that will provide the path of least resistance and impedance to the flow of current must be so low that "side flashes" to other objects in the vicinity of the system do not occur. It is essential that the system is designed to prevent it from heating or dislodging from the structure by the force of the power surge. All nearby metal components of the structure (solar panels, generator, roof vents, water and sewer pipes etc.) must be properly connected to the down-conductor system to minimize the probability of side flashes and ensure the flow of current to the earth. The connections from the down conductors to the earth must allow the lightning current to flow into the ground without the development of large electrical potential differences on the earth's surface and without creating other hazards.

To verify that an existing system is designed and installed correctly you could have it certified. Certification of a lightning protections system assures that the system meets the standards set forth by NFPA 780 and the Underwriter's Laboratories (UL 96A). If like me you are going to install a lightning protection system make sure your designer and installer has at least his Journeyman Installers certification from the Lightning Protection Institute, LPI and/or certified by Underwriters Laboratories. Journeyman Installers must pass two levels of tests for LPI Certification. Master Installers must pass a series of four tests, and carry a brass card issued by LPI. Annual re-testing is required for continued certification. There is also a Master Installer and Designer designation- that might be the best choice. You can go the LPI web site to obtain a list of certified installers in your area. Likewise you can go to the Underwriters Laboratories website for a list of certified installers. Many counties do not require a building permit to install a lightning protection system. Without the help of the county building department staff you will have to make sure that your system is designed and installed in conformance with NFPA 780 or UL96A there are differences between the standards, but they are similar in many ways.  The American Society for Agricultural Engineers (ASAE) Standards also has specification for lightning protection though they are geared to farms, the principals are the same. ASAE develops and publishes consensus standards for agricultural tractors and machinery, agricultural structures, turf and landscape equipment, irrigation and drainage equipment and systems, environmental aspects of food production and resources management. In addition, you might want to take a look at other installation jobs and make sure that they are as unobtrusive as possible. Aluminum cables are likely going to be run across your roof and down the sides of your house in addition to installing a rod on every gable and at least every 20 feet along a roof span. Check for a valid contractor’s license, references and the Better Business Bureau.

Though copper with 98% conductivity when annealed, is the preferred material for lightning protection on farm structures. Alloyed metals are typically used today. Aluminum while having only 59% the conductivity of copper is acceptable as a substitute for copper in lightning protection when electrical grade aluminum is used.  Aluminum is subject to corrosion by ocean air or soil, but resistance in other environments can be excellent due to a thin surface layer of aluminum oxide that forms when the metal is exposed to air, effectively preventing further oxidation. Aluminum is preferred on structures with aluminum trim to prevent corrosion from the reaction of the aluminum coming in contact with copper wires- add rain to copper and aluminum and you are making a battery.

The lightning protection system must terminate into the earth to dissipate the charge using a copper clad steel cable. The slightly acidic nature of the soil will corrode the aluminum and impede system performance. The choice of material used on the structure is based on cost, and the other materials of construction- copper has less resistance than aluminum, but can have other problems other than cost. The down conductors should be as widely separated as possible and each building must have at least two, but there should be at least one down conductor for each 100 feet of perimeter. Usually aluminum is used against the house because copper gutters are not as common these days, aluminum is much cheaper and so bi-metal connectors must be used to make the transitions into the copper clad steel cable in the earth to assure proper grounding and dissipation of the lightning. Also bi-metal transition connectors must be used if the air terminals are copper. Underground metallic piping, including water piping, well casings, sewer and septic lines must be considered in the design or they are potential points of failure. Lightning arresters should also be installed on the lead-in wire or cable for the electrical supply and bonded to the lightning protection system directly or through a common ground. NOVEC, my power company, offers to install and maintain a “collar” system at the electrical meter for $10 per month or you can purchase separate surge protectors.

In summary, all the science and experience of century prove that properly designed and installed lightning protection systems work, though there is still some dispute about the most effective design theory. Each year, lightning is the cause of an estimated 17,400 fires 55% of which occur outdoors, and 41% occur inside structures. According to Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, dollar loss per fire is nearly twice that from all U.S. fires and in 1998 that was around $10,000 and probably close to double that now. Roofs, sidewalls, framing, and electrical wires are the areas most ignited by lightning fires. Though a lightning protection system will have little or no effect on how likely it is that lightning will strike in the immediate area, the energy will be conducted directly to ground, without having to go through your house, its internal wiring and electrical equipment and appliances. Whether it makes sense to install one is an economic decision based on where you live, your insurance deductible and other factors. Our very high insurance deductible combined with the irreplaceable paper book collection that is the centerpiece of our lives would not survive a fire caused by a lightning strike or the water and mold associated with fire response. So, even with a cost of thousands of dollars, we will install one here in Virginia.