Do Attic Antennas Need To Be Grounded

Will their location in the attic reduce their tendency to build a charge and attract lightning.

Do attic antennas need to be grounded.

The antenna is essentially designed to capture that electricity. If it needs grounding it can t go in the attic because code requires that grounded antennae be on the edge of the roof and that the wire from the antenna to the ground follow a straight line path or something like that i m not the electrician. Note that the coax is going to be grounded at the receiver anyway. Even if you have a newer plastic antenna there is metal inside.

The copper wire at the base of the antenna mast attaches to the copper vent tube that runs to the roof through the attic in a 55 year old house. However the connection of your antenna coax to various ac operated equipment in this case your converter box or tv introduces the potential of electric shock. Transmission antennas and cables i d have to pull the code books and check but i m fairly certain they do not require grounding as well. Yes all outdoor tv antennas should be grounded.

There is no requirement to do this for indoor antennas. I can tell you that as of the 2004 nec and nfpa 101 which covers life safety codes there is no requirement to ground a receive only internal antenna system. Antennas mine are receive only for fm tv and public safety bands will be generally restricted to the attic. If it is just for reception e g.

A tv antenna then there is no need for an rf ground. Check to ensure that the vent tube is firmly grounded before connecting the wire. If it is important should i just tap the coax or is a separate grounding wire needed. Furthermore tv signals are made of electricity.

But this wouldn t apply to most attic antennas i would think. In the case of an attic installation your tv antenna will be sheltered from the environment so there s no need to ground it for that reason. How important is it to ground them.