Post Lightning Strike Inspection Service

Lightning heats the air around it to about 30,000°C. That is around five times hotter than the surface of the Sun. It can damage conductors, joints, roofing and electrical parts in a fraction of a second.

The bolt can be only 2 to 3 centimetres wide. Yet it carries enough electrical energy to harm the electronic systems across a whole building. You do not need a direct hit, because the energy can travel along electricity, phone and data lines into neighbouring properties.

Damage often hides. Wiring insulation, earthing, protective devices and data equipment can fail with no burn marks. Damaged insulation can smoulder for days, and surges can overheat wiring and start a fire inside a wall. High voltage can also wreck circuit breakers, and a compromised grounding system may fail to move the next charge safely away.

In England, electrical distribution was behind 17% of fires in non-residential buildings in the year ending March 2026. That is not only lightning. But it shows why we check the electrical side after a big surge.

You may have heard a bang or seen a flash. Plugged-in electronics and appliances often die first, even behind surge protection.

Direct hits can fracture bricks and move roof tiles. Lightning detection records can place the bolt within 1 to 2 kilometres, and the UK network picks up around 90% of cloud-to-ground lightning in Europe by day. But a record cannot tell you what shape your building is in, so we need to look.

We start with a visual inspection. Initial safety checks come first, so we spot any danger before we touch anything. Then we inspect the outside of the structure for cracks, slipped tiles and signs of physical damage.

On the roof, we study the airstrike components, which means the lightning rods and air terminals that catch the bolt. Years of weather exposure can weaken any lightning protection system.

We inspect each joint on the down conductors from roof to ground level. Any loose, burnt or displaced components go in the report, and structural damage gets flagged straight away.

Next we safely conduct tests with calibrated test meters, checking continuity along the whole lightning protection system. Then we run earth resistance testing, part of our earthing system testing service, at each earth point, including the ground rods. We want a low resistance path, because that is how the lightning protection system does its job of safely conducting lightning strikes into the ground.

We also check equipotential bonding and every one of the bonding connections. A cracked or corroded joint can break the whole chain.

Surge protection devices take the hit so your equipment does not. They wear out first, so we inspect each indicator, and a compromised device may need replacing.

We also check electromagnetic shielding on data cables, and assess wiring and appliances for damage. A professional inspection can identify hidden electrical faults that may lead to fires. Where the site needs it, we use thermal imaging to find hidden heat damage.