According to the National Severe Storm Laboratory, lightning is the most dangerous and frequently-encountered weather hazard that most people experience each year.  More than 100,000 thunderstorms occur in the U.S. each year, with lightning striking more than 30 million points on the ground during the same period.  A lightning strike up to one mile away can do damage to your sensitive equipment. Lightning causes billions of dollars in property damage every year and the damage from lightning to home electronics usually occurs from an indirect strike to utility poles or wires nearby entering the home through power, phone or TV lines.  
 

Regardless of the method of entry, once inside a home, lightning can travel through the electrical, phone, plumbing, and radio/television reception systems.  Telephones and personal computers are the most likely to be damaged, likely due to their multiple outlets.  Both are connected to potential strike paths through electrical outlets and phone lines. No single device can protect an entire home against all electrical surges, so your best bet in preventing damage is to provide protection at the point of entry and the point of use.
 

Protection at the point of entry is your first line of defense, where electricity enters a home through the main electrical service panel—and surges and voltage spikes from lightning hits enter the electrical system.  Installation of service entrance protection devices, or surge arrestors, diverts surges to the ground before they can enter the premises. An AC surge arrestor shields motor-driven appliances like refrigerators, dishwashers, electric washers, and dryers from damage. Additional specialized service entrance protectors can be added to protect cable TV and telephone lines, and to minimize damage to TV sets and modems.
 

Point of entry protection requires an electrician-installed point-of-entry surge arrestor where power enters the residence from the utility. Surge arrestors reduce surge voltage by conducting large surge currents safely to ground. However, voltages that pass through surge arrestors are sometimes too large to protect electronic equipment and should be supplemented by plug-in Transient Voltage Surge Suppressors (TVSSs) where the equipment is located.

Your second line of defense is point of use products. Homeowners can reinforce the protection provided by a point-of-entry protection device by installing surge protectors (strips) and low-voltage surge suppressors.
 

Surge protectors are plugged into grounded wall outlets where sensitive electronic equipment is located. These devices protect electronic components against surges from outside, and internally generated transient events (surges) that travel through AC power lines. Low-voltage surge suppressors protect electronic components against surges from outside, and internally generated transient events (surges) that travel through phone, data, and coaxial lines. These plug-in protectors generally have much lower voltage threshold than entry protectors, and provide better protection for electronic equipment.
 

Homeowners should install surge suppressors anywhere they have expensive or sensitive electronic equipment like computers, DVDs/VCRs, fax machines, PCs with modems, satellite systems, stereo systems, copiers and scanners. You can start by physically inspecting each room to determine which electronics need point-of-use surge protection, what kind of lines and how many plugs you have, and what type of signal lines are connected to each system. Just remember, all types of equipment with signal lines, such as phones, cable TV, and satellites, should be equipped with low-voltage surge suppressors, which are specially designed to protect the signal lines.
 

Many people wait until they need something before they get it, however, in the case of surge protection, if you wait until you need it, it is generally TOO LATE. Also many homeowner policies don’t cover lighting strikes. The payoff of installing protection against electronic surges, caused by lightning, is well worth the cost and effort.  It’s far less expensive to invest in protection than it is to replace your costly equipment.

 

Sources:     

• www.lightning.org                     
• www.mrquikelectric.com                     
• www.siemens.com                     
• www.hffo.cuna.org