More information about Surge & Lightning protection

• APC (American Power Convertion)
• Clearline
• Eaton
• Ellies
• Microworld
• Ubiquiti

Protect your electronic equipment from lightning damage

Are you worried about your electronics and wiring in your home when lightning strikes?

Lightning and power surge protection is required by insurance. Lightning and power surges may cause permanent damage to your electronic equipment, including your Telephone, Television, hifi, computers and laptops.

Lightning has been known to cause fires in houses as a result of direct and indirect strikes on telephone lines and electrical wires.

What you need to protect to minimize power surge risks:

• Power plug: A Spike / surge arrestor electrical plug will protects your equipment from indirect lightning strikes, and will limit the damage caused by a direct lightning strike.
  
• Telephone line: A telephone line surge arrestor will offer protection against indirect lightning strikes and will limit the damage caused by direct hits.
• Network: Network line protectors are essential between your modem and your network devices. Even through the phone line surge arrestor stops most of the damage, a lightning strike or abnormal power surge will still propagate through your network cables, causing damage to networked devices (computers, laptops, NVR, playstations, DSTV, etc)
• POE: POE surge protectors must be installed between all outside devices (such as cameras) and your network device.

What you need to know about surge protectors

• Surge protectors stops working as soon as they stop a surge - it is their job to get killed before your equipment.
• Surge protectors are not guaranteed to stop damage, especially in a direct lightning  hit, because lightning is faster and more powerful than any device.
• Electrical surge protection plugs trip your mainboard power once they have been hit, it is their job to do so. By tripping power, your entire house is protected and any subsequent hit will cause no further damage.

How often do you need to replace surge protectors?

Some surge protectors have indicator LEDs that show that the device needs to be replaced. Others do not. If you are running expensive equipment, or if your area experiences a number of lightning strikes, it is best to replace surge protectors at least every 2 years because the surge protector deteriorates as it absorbs more spikes.

High value equipment (TV/Computers) should get a new surge protector before each lightning season (at the end of Winter just before the rain).

Buying a surge protection plug with an LED indicator of wear is your best option as this eliminates all your guess work.

Is wireless the best way to go instead of wired networks?

Yes, it is safer.