lightning protection

[ropensaddle]

I was wondering there may already be a topic for this if so
I missed it. was wondering how many of you certified are installing
these in trees is it profitable and does it just protect tree or will it
help house or other structures? I have not got to that area of study
yet, but have extensive service around conductors and know electricity
will seek fastest path to ground; question would this not attract
lightning? I was going to be my first client for install but not if it
will attract the stuff. I hate to admit it but it scares me, my hair stands,
my feet burn when I'm around it, and it almost hit me two times.
I have worked around voltage as high as 500 kv for years and had
indirect contact as a young man in the biz on occasions IE blowing wind,
and limb breaking etc. Anyone actually doing the work most likely
has felt indirect contact at some point but back then every tree
we climbed was burning!!! I sometimes wonder if working around the stuff
for long periods of time makes a person a better conductor .

 

[Tiger98]

I think that it can be very profitable if done right. Especially if you are already in a tree pruning it. As you probably already know, the materials can be expensive, so take your time figuring out the cost on the first few.
The way I understand it, the system will attract a strike that would normally hit in the immediate area. That is, if a strike was going to hit the tree you are protecting, it will instead hit the system and go to ground. I've never seen studies that say it will pull strikes like a magnet from miles away. It may be scary hearing lightning hit the tree you just protected, but it's better than having the tree killed or have the strike jump to another tree or the house(not that protecting the tree is a guarantee for protecting the house).
Check out the current ANSI standards and the ISA Best Management Practices, and good luck.

 

[BarkingMad]

Lp

Profitable? Depends on how well you do your homework writing your bid and then how well you get the task done.
Good tree care? I believe that the service absolutely belongs in your repertory if you aspire to be a professional Arborist and live somewhere lightning strikes.
Underwriters Labs specs LP for any tree taller than and within 10 feet of a house.
The technology is strictly reliable and has changed very little since discovered and promoted by Benjamin Franklin. (For a great read on the subject, look up "Stealing God's Thunder" which tells about how Franklin and his discoveries about the nature of lightning changed the world.)
Earlier this month there was a very informative presentation at the PennDel ISA Annual Meeting titled "Reducing Landscape Tree Risk Through Supplemental Structural Support and Lightning Protection" by Bruce Fraedrich. He cited some of the current research and new technical developments. You can get lots of technical info for your own use from Independent Protection Company's web site.