bud-- wrote:

According to NIST guide, US insurance information indicates equipment
most frequently damaged by lightning is
computers with a modem connection
TVs, VCRs and similar equipment (presumably with cable TV
connections).
All can be damaged by high voltages between power and signal wires.


Install a 'whole house' protector so that significant protection
already inside all appliances is not overwhelmed.


Service panel suppressors are a real good idea.

What does the NIST guide say?
"Q - Will a surge protector installed at the service entrance be
sufficient for the whole house?
A - There are two answers to than question: Yes for one-link appliances
[electronic equipment], No for two-link appliances [equipment connected
to power AND phone or cable or....]. Since most homes today have some
kind of two-link appliances, the prudent answer to the question would be
NO - but that does not mean that a surge protector installed at the
service entrance is useless."

A service panel suppressor by itself does not guarantee there will not
be damaging voltage between power and signal wires.



A phone line is the most dangerous line in your house,
unless you have speakers in trees. We worked on a smart
house that had $40,000 in equipment damage when lightning
hit a tree next to the pool. It travelled the speaker lines
into the house, thru the distributed sound system, thru the
distributed tv antenna system, thru the phone and security
system and the centralized lighting control. Everything was
tied together. The grounding system did work, at least there
were no fires. Kitchen appliances were about the only thing
unaffected.

Everything was put pack in place, except speakers and lights
in the trees. Opto isolators with transorbs were added
where the systems were directly interconnected.

-- larry/dallas