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Using Roofing Tin as EMP shield

Kornbread

Solar Addict
Joined
Sep 16, 2021
Messages
1,195
Maybe EMP shielding is a good idea, maybe not so much, but if it can be done in a affordable fashion, why not?
I see people 'styling' the inside of their homes with the old fashion corrugated type roofing tin. If I were to build a shop, for the sole purpose of housing all the PV equipment, could the inside of the shop be lined (walls and ceiling) with plain corrugated roofing tin, this all electrically tied together, and then grounded. Would this work as a poor man's emp shield?
While I doubt this would protect 'active' components due to their outside connection, would this protect non-active equipment?
 
Most likely not. I've done the second floor of my cabin in steel roofing, both the roof surface itself, and also the sides under the eaves. I still get a cellphone signal and watch YouTube movies upstairs, so if the phone's signal can get in, so could EMP?
 
Does the steel sheet need to be grounded, and what about signal coming through the floor/widows?
 
Sheets all need to be well bonded to each other, as well as grounded, no windows or doors allowed. Makes it kind of hard to have a useable room, unless you cover the doors and windows with wire mesh and bond them too. Of course the main issue is all the lines coming in, power, telephone, internet, etc. It's not the stuff coming through the roof you have to worry about, it's the singal picked up by the lines, which act as antennas. One big installation I did we had all the lines enter through a single bulkhead, 2'x4' copper plate, 3/8" thick, with each line going through the bulkhead via a spark gap device which would trigger if the voltage exceeded nominal for that line. We put down about 5000' of buried copper strip to act as a ground system. The install worked, but it's not the kind of thng you really want to do for your home. As MichaelK said, if you can listen to the radio you're not shielded.

If you really are concerned, disconnect all cables when not in use. That will work for thngs like radios, but not so much for solar. Your best option is just to have some spares on a shelf, they're perfectly safe there.
 
Maybe I am not knowledgeable in this area, but where does the danger of EMP comes from? Solar flares? How often these occur and what can they do to solar/battery equipment? If they will harm solar/battery stuff, then won’t the things we want to power with them also be damaged even if the power equipment is protected?
 
Yes, they can come from solar flares. The more powerful threat would be a pre or first strike option disabling a large part of the infrastructure.
 
EMP protection is the 21st century snake oil.

Nobody knows how to do it.
Nobody understands what *really* causes it.
Everyone thinks they need it.

EMP protection for a consumer system is essentially nonsense.

All you need is excellent surge protection on your grid connection.


If a solar flare occurs the surge will come from the massive antenna known as the local grid.

If a nuclear bomb goes off far enough away to not die from it the grid protection above is all you need.

If it goes off close enough to be an issue with the EMP on your system itself you won't need to worry about it for very long.


Building a Faraday cage is not a matter of wrapping aluminum foil around your setup and head. It's a complex topic that requires substantial engineering resources and must be configured for a given frequency range.

That's kind of why you still get reception in steel buildings, for the most part, even if it's reduced signal strength.

A big metal enclosure does virtually nothing for most of the EM spectrum when it comes to emp protection and realistically makes it worse since ultimately the system inside will likely be grounded to it, or very near it.
 
Sheets all need to be well bonded to each other, as well as grounded, no windows or doors allowed. Makes it kind of hard to have a useable room, unless you cover the doors and windows with wire mesh and bond them too. Of course the main issue is all the lines coming in, power, telephone, internet, etc. It's not the stuff coming through the roof you have to worry about, it's the singal picked up by the lines, which act as antennas. One big installation I did we had all the lines enter through a single bulkhead, 2'x4' copper plate, 3/8" thick, with each line going through the bulkhead via a spark gap device which would trigger if the voltage exceeded nominal for that line. We put down about 5000' of buried copper strip to act as a ground system. The install worked, but it's not the kind of thng you really want to do for your home. As MichaelK said, if you can listen to the radio you're not shielded.

If you really are concerned, disconnect all cables when not in use. That will work for thngs like radios, but not so much for solar. Your best option is just to have some spares on a shelf, they're perfectly safe there.
I'd love to see pictures of that.


The amount of work and engineering that goes into proper EM isolation systems like this is far beyond what will be remotely effective or viable for a home DIY install and just slapping up some bonded sheet metal and mesh on the windows will not create a viable enclosure.
 
Building a Faraday cage is not a matter of wrapping aluminum foil around your setup and head. It's a complex topic that requires substantial engineering resources and must be configured for a given frequency range.
Very true. Many years ago I caused some head scratching in an EMP proof building when I noted that the contractors had a radio playing. I believe it was something as innocuous as an extension lead running through the bulkhead during construction.
 
Very true. Many years ago I caused some head scratching in an EMP proof building when I noted that the contractors had a radio playing. I believe it was something as innocuous as an extension lead running through the bulkhead during construction.
And the wider the EM range protected the more wildly expensive the installation becomes lol

If I were in charge of that project and heard a radio going I'd be very concerned though
 
I were in charge of that project and heard a radio going I'd be very concerned though
EMP is different than radio waves in amplitude, ‘color,’ and frequency. Sortofa different thing entirely. Think of the screen in a microwave glass door…stops the microwave but not light or IR … LowE coating on windows stops certain UV, some IR, and a bit of other kinds of light.
still get a cellphone signal and watch YouTube movies upstairs, so if the phone's signal can get in, so could EMP?
An EMP as a weapon or say- a nuclear bomb and other radiation types- won’t care if you have metal siding or not.
Nevertheless I’m not a physicist and I have no education in the field, I just for whatever reason know people that are PhD nuclear physicists or scientists. Even as a kid: my best friend in school’s father used to give me radiation ‘dose badges’ and other little nuclear physicist artifacts LOL
 
EMP is different than radio waves in amplitude, ‘color,’ and frequency. Sortofa different thing entirely. Think of the screen in a microwave glass door…stops the microwave but not light or IR … LowE coating on windows stops certain UV, some IR, and a bit of other kinds of light.
Em is em bud.

The important part is where on the spectrum you're trying to shield.
 
Em is em bud.
Ok. I guess as a layman I misstated.

In thinking about a nuclear EMP attack which is a pulse wherein there is a whole broad spectrum of radiation. A faraday cage ‘may’ divert a nuclear EMP to earth if there are no reflections or perforation of the ‘cage’ available for pass-through. Is that incorrect? I don’t know! I was just told once that EMP is so broad spectrum you can’t effectively shield from it, you can just shield for small portions of it.
Is that correct? Or no?
 
EMP protection is the 21st century snake oil.

Nobody knows how to do it.
Nobody understands what *really* causes it.
Everyone thinks they need it.

EMP protection for a consumer system is essentially nonsense.

All you need is excellent surge protection on your grid connection.


If a solar flare occurs the surge will come from the massive antenna known as the local grid.

If a nuclear bomb goes off far enough away to not die from it the grid protection above is all you need.

If it goes off close enough to be an issue with the EMP on your system itself you won't need to worry about it for very long.


Building a Faraday cage is not a matter of wrapping aluminum foil around your setup and head. It's a complex topic that requires substantial engineering resources and must be configured for a given frequency range.

That's kind of why you still get reception in steel buildings, for the most part, even if it's reduced signal strength.

A big metal enclosure does virtually nothing for most of the EM spectrum when it comes to emp protection and realistically makes it worse since ultimately the system inside will likely be grounded to it, or very near it.
My cat wears a Faraday cage
 
I live in a metal barn. Roof, siding, even metal shutters that cover the windows. I still get (spotty) cell reception inside.
 
How close does a nuclear detonation has to be before EMP becomes an issue? At the at distance, would the thermal or pressure wave cause concern?
 
How close does a nuclear detonation has to be before EMP becomes an issue? At the at distance, would the thermal or pressure wave cause concern?
From defense strategy I've read, a bomb will have maximal effect being detonated 100 or so miles above ground, so assume several hundred miles in a line of sight from the detonation point.
 
Ok. I guess as a layman I misstated.

In thinking about a nuclear EMP attack which is a pulse wherein there is a whole broad spectrum of radiation. A faraday cage ‘may’ divert a nuclear EMP to earth if there are no reflections or perforation of the ‘cage’ available for pass-through. Is that incorrect? I don’t know! I was just told once that EMP is so broad spectrum you can’t effectively shield from it, you can just shield for small portions of it.
Is that correct? Or no?
You're right, it's just not that hard to cover a wide range. Just extremely expensive.
 
EMP protection is the 21st century snake oil.

Nobody knows how to do it.
Nobody understands what *really* causes it.
Everyone thinks they need it.

EMP protection for a consumer system is essentially nonsense.

All you need is excellent surge protection on your grid connection.


If a solar flare occurs the surge will come from the massive antenna known as the local grid.

If a nuclear bomb goes off far enough away to not die from it the grid protection above is all you need.

If it goes off close enough to be an issue with the EMP on your system itself you won't need to worry about it for very long.


Building a Faraday cage is not a matter of wrapping aluminum foil around your setup and head. It's a complex topic that requires substantial engineering resources and must be configured for a given frequency range.

That's kind of why you still get reception in steel buildings, for the most part, even if it's reduced signal strength.

A big metal enclosure does virtually nothing for most of the EM spectrum when it comes to emp protection and realistically makes it worse since ultimately the system inside will likely be grounded to it, or very near it.
No
Not true
That is wrong
At least they're thinking
No its not
Surge protection for an EMP? Depends on the type
No

Ok.. I give up.. Sorry, but you have no clue what you're talking about.
 
No
Not true
That is wrong
At least they're thinking
No its not
Surge protection for an EMP? Depends on the type
No

Ok.. I give up.. Sorry, but you have no clue what you're talking about.
An excellent rebuttal that's truly full of information explaining your views.

Either you went out of your way to install a ton of "emp shielding" or you sell a product. Would you care to elaborate?
 
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