Do Attic Antennas Need To Be Grounded

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.

Do attic antennas need to be grounded.

How important is it to ground them. If it is important should i just tap the coax or is a separate grounding wire needed. But this wouldn t apply to most attic antennas i would think. Even if you have a newer plastic antenna there is metal inside.

Yes all outdoor tv antennas should be grounded. Furthermore tv signals are made of electricity. For electrical saftey the antenna should be connected to a lightening arrestor and that connected to ground. Will their location in the attic reduce their tendency to build a charge and attract lightning.

There is an nec requirement to ground metallic objects in a structure likely to become energized such as metal water pipes appliances gas lines etc. Note that the coax is going to be grounded at the receiver anyway. 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. A tv antenna then there is no need for an rf ground.

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. I found that a firm grounding of antenna mast gave a better reception as well. 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. There is no requirement to do this for indoor antennas.

If it is just for reception e g. Antennas mine are receive only for fm tv and public safety bands will be generally restricted to the attic. The antenna is essentially designed to capture that electricity.