Lightning rod for a yurt in an open field?

[UKadventurer]

Hi Bob. That sounds terrifying. I assume (and hope) your wife was physically unhurt.

There aren’t any codes in Mongolia in the countryside. There might be in the cities for apartments but there’s a lot of corruption so I’m not sure about enforcement. There are standard building practices or traditions. Gers (yurts) are everywhere but I’ve never seen any lightning systems on them. They tend to erect them in valleys away from trees. Whereas we built ours up a high valley close to forests and mountain peaks. It is very prone to storms and lightning.

The whole system wasn’t expensive. I’ve spent about US$150 on parts. So I consider it a low cost for reasonable protection against a catastrophe.

The electrician who connected us to the grid said we didn’t need lightning protection because our nearest pole has a lightning system built in. However, my research indicates it’s too far away to give us a “cone of protection”. It’s about 15-20 metres from the closest ger and lower downhill.

I’m not sure if you can see my photo from a nearby hill but if you can, you should see our location on the far right of the frame. Also, the electric line leading to us.