Question about my house & lightening..

Question

so we live in between all these big tall apartments & our townhouse complex is in the middle of them all.. i was just wondering if we could get hit by lightening still?.. also i have a air conditioner (window one) & i'm wondering if that can get hit by lightening??

Answer 1

Lightening can be very indiscriminate about where it strikes, but the taller structures have a greater probability of being hit compared to shorter ones.  The air conditioner is less likely to be hit than metal flashing or vent pipes on the roof.

If you really want to have a greater sense of security, install a lightening rod.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/lightni...

http://www.lightningrods.com/

http://www.lightning-safe.com/

Answer 2

Lightening prefers to strike the tallest thing in the area MOST of the time.  If you're truly concerned, put the a/c unit on a surge supressor strip but I would think that the chances of it being struck are really, really low.  There are other areas that would attract the lightening before that would like antennas, pipe vents on the roof, tall trees.

Installing a lightening rod is not really a DIY project.  Since the purpose of those is to attract lightening to a "safe" place, they must be properly grounded to the ground with a pretty hefty cable and all that.  

If you're worried about your electronics and so forth getting zapped, I'd put them all on surge supressors (power strips).  Not only will it block a surge in power but it's safer than running a bunch of extension cords on the fire prevention end.  The supressors have fuses built into them and will trip if there is too much power going or coming in.  

Answer 3

lightnin wil hit anythin but liks tall thing