top hat's horizontal wires up high, at the apex of the vertical section, typically means that the top hat is usually not built as large as the counterpoise. Further, any electric fields that reach the ground before they are intercepted by the counterpoise will waste energy warming the soil, whereas stray electric fields high in the air will merely spread out a bit more into loss-free open air, before they eventually reach the wires of the top hat.

The top and ground sections effectively