RANT: Lightning strike close to my house killed my electronics!

[rmcelwee]

About six days ago we had a huge electric storm and it sounded like lightning hit really close to the house. We found out two neighbors lost some electronics as well. So far the damage is:

Dish Network receiver (new one on order)
Cable modem (replaced)
Network Router x 2 (one replaced so far)
Printer (replaced)
Amazon Fire TV Stick (might hold off on replacing this for a while)

I say damage so far because there are a bunch of Raspberry Pi's hooked up everywhere that I haven't checked out yet but I can tell my Pi-Hole and web server is not running. My detached workshop/garage lost its router so I now have very weak and spotty wifi in there. I spend most of my days off w*rk in the shop and it is just not enjoyable now.

Even though this is better than losing a bunch of data (I don't do regular backups) it has still been a colossal pain in the butt. I can see tons of hours of work setting everything up again (static IP addresses, network bridge, etc).

One interesting note, Dish Network bugged me forever to buy their Silver Protection Plan @ $10/month ($240 for two years) on the receiver. I always refused and the lightning hit about 3 months before my 2 years is over so I figured I would just move back to DirecTV if they wouldn't pay replace it. They told me today that my total cost is just going to be $15 shipping to send me the new one. Wow, wonder how many people get suckered into buying that expensive insurance?

 

[njhowie]

And are your devices plugged in to UPSs or surge protectors?

I've never lost any device in over 20 years in our home. I have had a couple of the UPS units get fried during storms and power outages, but what was plugged in to them has never suffered any damage - they did their job.

 

[RetireeRobert]

About six days ago we had a huge electric storm and it sounded like lightning hit really close to the house. We found out two neighbors lost some electronics as well. So far the damage is:

Dish Network receiver (new one on order)
Cable modem (replaced)
Network Router x 2 (one replaced so far)
Printer (replaced)
Amazon Fire TV Stick (might hold off on replacing this for a while)

I say damage so far because there are a bunch of Raspberry Pi's hooked up everywhere that I haven't checked out yet but I can tell my Pi-Hole and web server is not running. My detached workshop/garage lost its router so I now have very weak and spotty wifi in there. I spend most of my days off w*rk in the shop and it is just not enjoyable now.

Even though this is better than losing a bunch of data (I don't do regular backups) it has still been a colossal pain in the butt. I can see tons of hours of work setting everything up again (static IP addresses, network bridge, etc).

One interesting note, Dish Network bugged me forever to buy their Silver Protection Plan @ $10/month ($240 for two years) on the receiver. I always refused and the lightning hit about 3 months before my 2 years is over so I figured I would just move back to DirecTV if they wouldn't pay replace it. They told me today that my total cost is just going to be $15 shipping to send me the new one. Wow, wonder how many people get suckered into buying that expensive insurance?

When we had our custom home build 11 years ago, one thing I specified was a "whole house" surge protector. To protect against damage from power surges. I do not yet know if it really works, because we have not had any lightening strikes like you suffered, or power surges in the electric power feed---at least, not that "I know of"! At any rate this surge protector is in the electric power panel by the meter where it first enters the house, and is ahead of the breaker panels.

 

[MC Rider]

You think surge protectors might have saved your stuff?

 

[indiajust]

Whole house protector is well worth it. The other thing to check is proper grounding. Anything over 20 years old may have corroded the grounding rod away, if it was ever installed, or installed correctly.

I pounded in two isolated 10 foot grounding rods and tied one to the main panel and one to the meter box. Plus I added smaller grounding rods for the CATV and phone.

I got to witness a multi-strike to 4 utility poles a half block away, followed by the next door neighbor CATV strike that burned and melted to the car. My house was completely unaffected. Neighbors lost everything with a plug.

This is even more of a problem after copper thieves chopped out the utility grounding wires in 2010. Houses can see a proportionately higher surge with the network floating more.

 

[Lewis Clark]

Whole-house surge protectors are good. I would still use surge protetors for valuable electronics.

Our house had whole-house protection and we still lost a few things to a lightning strike. These included a clothes dryer, garage door opener, and a sprinkler system controller.

 

[Texas Proud]

I have a whole house surge protector also... installed when I got a generator...


However, I know that will not protect everything... we have our Dish wire coming into the house with no surge protection... worst case is it destroys everything connected... including the TV...


Our cable is buried except when it comes into the house... I think I would have to have a direct strike to get a surge there...

 

[RobbieB]

Protectors are good cheap protection, but nothing will protect a direct strike 100% from lightning.

 

[MC Rider]

I'm glad lightning is rare here.
But just a power outage can fry a hard drive.
So we have UPS with surge protection for our main computers.

 

[Aerides]

in FL, FPL has a program where they provide an extra surge protector device, and insure against surge damage from lighting. It isn't free, but it's about $17 per month and seems to have good coverage. Maybe check with your power provider for the future?

Surge protectors never hold up against a direct hit, but considering a major surge can take out a lot more than just network devices, it's pretty good coverage.

 

[RunningBum]

No home insurance coverage? This happened to a friend of mine (many years ago) and I'm pretty sure he said insurance replaced it. Worth an ask? Or maybe you have a high deductible, which is generally smart but can occasionally backfire.

 

[RobbieB]

Never make a small claim on your HO insurance.

 

[RunningBum]

Never make a small claim on your HO insurance.

You're right. I didn't take a good look at the list of electronics blown out. Nothing very costly.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

Earlier this year we had a lightning strike a tree so close I actually saw the fire while lying in bed, wakened by the thunder. WOW, probably the loudest thing I ever heard in my life!

It took out the cable company's router, which they replaced, and a garage door opener which I had to replace. The mini split system on the sun porch wouldn't work, but when the HVAC guys came out they figured out it was something on the exterior half of the unit that had to be reset; I'm not sure what (and I'm not sure they didn't just hit on it by accident). Anyway, I was quite lucky it wasn't worse - the computer and two home entertainment systems were all OK and were plugged into surge protectors.

 

[street]

Most electric companies offer a device that is installed right into the meter base for your home. The device is installed into the meter socket then the meter is installed into the surge and lighting device. It was a service we did the consumer but had to buy the device we installed it for nothing. I never heard one bad comment about them and they worked. Like RobbieB said a direct hit or really close hit there is nothing that can protect equipment.

 

[rmcelwee]

And are your devices plugged in to UPSs or surge protectors?

Yes, most in UPS and/or surge protectors. I didn't have a surge protector on the coax cable going to my modem but the power was on a surge protector.

 

[6miths]

Sorry for your trouble. We have had a big run of thunderstorms this year. In fact there is one happening right now. Last week I had one of the closest strikes I can remember with flash and bang pretty much simultaneous and power out for a split second. Nothing damaged but everyone at home was very impressed. DS and I took a quick look the next day and couldn't identify an obvious strike site. We have a whole house protector and surge protector power bars on our best electronics.

 

[ivinsfan]

We have several types of surge protection, but the most effective are the 70 plus foot cottonwoods on our driveway. Several of them have lightening strike marks. Once we found large chunks of bark blown across the driveway maybe 10 ft away from the tree ..that was impressive.

 

[easysurfer]

Yes, most in UPS and/or surge protectors. I didn't have a surge protector on the coax cable going to my modem but the power was on a surge protector.

Did the UPS/surge protectors prevent things plugged into them from being fried?

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

We had a whole house surge protector installed when we did a heavy-up of our main breaker panel to accommodate the new sunroom. It sits on top of the breaker panel, so I'm guessing it's between the meter and the breaker, too, just inside instead of outside like some of the others mentioned. Every so often I check that the green light is on, but in 20+ years in this house (about 15 since that installation) we've never had a close lightning strike.

 

[CRLLS]

Protectors are good cheap protection, but nothing will protect a direct strike 100% from lightning.

^ +1

A few years back we had a well pump go out during a lightning storm. Upon investigation, it looked like lightning struck a tree about 50 Ft away. Replacement cost did not quite reach our 10% deductible. I suspect that no surge protector would have protected the pump. Nothing will protect devices from a close proximity strike. Back in the day, I worked for a company that made UPSs. The MOVs used for surge protection in them were 130 joule rated devices. I read that an average lightning strike delivers 1 billion joules of energy.

 

[braumeister]

I had a friend who was talking on his ham radio when lightning hit his antenna, traveled down the antenna cable to the radio, and sent him flying backward into the wall. The only injuries were from hitting the wall, but he spent the night in the hospital and took over a month to fully recover.

After that experience, he got into the habit of disconnecting his antenna cables before every thunderstorm. I would have, too!

 

[CRLLS]

I had a friend who was talking on his ham radio when lightning hit his antenna, traveled down the antenna cable to the radio, and sent him flying backward into the wall. The only injuries were from hitting the wall, but he spent the night in the hospital and took over a month to fully recover.

After that experience, he got into the habit of disconnecting his antenna cables before every thunderstorm. I would have, too!

My HAM buddy KA9CAR disconnects his antenna wire and I thing he grounds them too. I could verify it for you if you would like.

 

[folivier]

Years ago lightning hit a neighbors tree between our house. It took out multiple things in his house and only took out the saltwater chlorinator for my pool. I was lucky but have since installed a whole house surge protector in each house I've owned. No problems since.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

And are your devices plugged in to UPSs or surge protectors?

I've never lost any device in over 20 years in our home. I have had a couple of the UPS units get fried during storms and power outages, but what was plugged in to them has never suffered any damage - they did their job.

While they can help prevent damage, it is not a guarantee. Our old home had two surge suppressors (one at the meter and one at the panel) and all of our electronics (and the fridge) was on UPS/surge suppressors. Still had a strike that fried a bunch of stuff.

Protectors are good cheap protection, but nothing will protect a direct strike 100% from lightning.

And it doesn't even have to be a direct strike.

in FL, FPL has a program where they provide an extra surge protector device, and insure against surge damage from lighting. It isn't free, but it's about $17 per month and seems to have good coverage. Maybe check with your power provider for the future?

Surge protectors never hold up against a direct hit, but considering a major surge can take out a lot more than just network devices, it's pretty good coverage.

Our power company was a HUGE pain to deal with when we had the event. One of the whole house suppressors (at the meter) was the power companies and they denied our claim initially. The exclusion language was very broad and in the end, the only reason they paid our claim was because it wasn't a very big one.