The major benefits of Canadian metal buildings are well-known for most at this point. They’re easy to construct and offer serious returns on investments during their decades of virtually guaranteed operation. Whether you’re looking for steel farm buildings for sale or prefab garages, metal buildings can ensure you have all the protection you need.

Lightning is a particularly dangerous natural phenomenon, however, and it’s important to know the facts about how lightning interacts with metal buildings. You’ll hear that prefab steel buildings can protect against heavy rains and winds, but how do they work against lightning? Find out in our detailed overview.

Recognizing the Lightning Myths about Metal Buildings

People tend to be under the impression that lightning is attracted to the metal, as metal is generally perceived as being susceptible to lightning strikes. There are people who won’t go out in a thunderstorm wearing the metal jewelry or a belt with a metal buckle. These are all myths.

Opting for a metal building, as opposed to one made from wood or concrete, does not increase the risk of a direct lightning strike at all. Lightning actually isn’t attracted to any particular substance over another. Lighting will strike whatever is higher off the ground, as it seeks the shortest possible distance between the cloud it comes from and a point of contact.

What if Lighting does Hit?

While lightning isn’t attracted to a steel container covers roof any more than it would be a traditional roof, it can still strike. When that does happen, your metal roof will have to withstand the force of all that energy. Fortunately, metal roofs are sturdy enough to withstand lighting strikes to a large extent, and they are far less likely to result in a fire compared to their traditional counterparts.

If lightning hits your metal roof and the building is grounded, you don’t really have anything to worry about. You just need to make sure your building is grounded in the first place. Putting up a lightning rod isn’t enough, as the lightning will need a path to travel, so make sure you give it one around your building and into the dirt.

Installing a Lightning Protection System

Your metal buildings are better protected against lightning strikes than buildings of other materials by default, but lightning is still a powerful force to reckon with. That’s why it’s imperative that you install a lightning protection system to ensure you get the decades out of your building that you deserve. The first step, obviously, is to install a lightning rod.

If your building isn’t grounded, a lightning rod just makes it easier for lightning to strike your building, so make sure ground it by running copper wires from the rod down the side of your building. The wires should travel all the way to the ground and then deep into it, to another strategically placed rod. With the two rods and wires in place, any lightning bolts that would strike your building should be redirected safely into the ground instead.

Craft Your Own Metal Building

Now that you know Quonset buildings can hold up against lightning strikes, it’s time to get one of your own. Our steel building kits at Metal Pro™ Buildings include prefab garage, steel farm buildings for sale and much more. You can work with our engineers to design a building that caters to whatever you need the extra space for. Contact us today to explore your options further.