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Protecting Your Home From Lightning Strikes
June 16, 2023 at 01:05 AM EDT
By WeatherBug Meteorologist, Mark Ellinwood
A small investment and preventative measures ahead of a storm could save your home and your electronics.
One of the most common deterrents of lightning damage in the home is a lightning rod. A simple lightning rod is just a metal rod at the highest point of your home attached to another rod in the ground, connected by copper wire.
While lightning will be more attracted to a lightning rod, having a properly installed rod will not prevent all lightning strikes, and some strikes are so powerful that they overwhelm the lightning rod, so some of the lightning's energy can still damage the home.
When lightning strikes a home, it often causes a power surge throughout the electrical system, which can severely damage anything that's plugged in. Individual surge protectors can protect some electronics, but a strong enough strike can still cause issues. A more expensive, but more effective system would involve whole-house surge protection, which is connected to the home's electrical panel. This will protect the entire system inside your home. At the cost of several hundred dollars, it could save you thousands in damage or even injury.
You can also help protect your home by taking action before a storm arrives. The cheapest way to protect your electronics is to simply unplug them during the storm. This also lowers the chance of fire following a power surge.
With insurances regularly seeing 60,000 to 80,000 thousand lightning damage claims per year at an average cost between $10,000 and $30,000 each in the U.S., it is important to protect your home and your electronics from lightning strikes.
One of the most common deterrents of lightning damage in the home is a lightning rod. A simple lightning rod is just a metal rod at the highest point of your home attached to another rod in the ground, connected by copper wire.
While lightning will be more attracted to a lightning rod, having a properly installed rod will not prevent all lightning strikes, and some strikes are so powerful that they overwhelm the lightning rod, so some of the lightning's energy can still damage the home.
When lightning strikes a home, it often causes a power surge throughout the electrical system, which can severely damage anything that's plugged in. Individual surge protectors can protect some electronics, but a strong enough strike can still cause issues. A more expensive, but more effective system would involve whole-house surge protection, which is connected to the home's electrical panel. This will protect the entire system inside your home. At the cost of several hundred dollars, it could save you thousands in damage or even injury.
You can also help protect your home by taking action before a storm arrives. The cheapest way to protect your electronics is to simply unplug them during the storm. This also lowers the chance of fire following a power surge.
With insurances regularly seeing 60,000 to 80,000 thousand lightning damage claims per year at an average cost between $10,000 and $30,000 each in the U.S., it is important to protect your home and your electronics from lightning strikes.