Your system struck by lightning? What did you learn?

Good thread.  You want to learn from others, not have it happen to you!  I decided to get serious about surge protection after a friend got hit by lightning and lost a bunch of gear.  It took a long time to sort out all the problems at their house.  We get a lot of lightning in our area.

So I got type II whole home surge protection installed on the main panel with a Siemens FS140 Pro.  Installed another Siemens on the subpanel feeding the stereo. The stereo is on Furman Elite gear.  Installed another type II on the subpanel feeding the theater.  The theater is on Zero Surge gear.  All the computers, network, and smaller listening set-ups are on Furman PST.

In a heavy storm, the best protection is to unplug.  Since the theater subpanel is dedicated, that is pretty easy just to flip the whole subpanel breaker instead of unplugging gear (there are 9 total circuits).  The theater has three separate dedicated lines, so those breakers can be flipped too for quick disconnect.  I assume this is a good strategy to flip the breakers?

I still worry about coax as a weak point in my protection. There are two feeds:
- I have an antenna in the attic. The coax line goes through its own Furman PST, then feeds into the SiliconDust HD HomeRun Connect TV Tuner (on a separate Furman PST), which then feeds ethernet to my network (through a CyberMax battery back-up surge protector).  I am considering putting the TV Tuner directly next to the antenna, then plugging that into an access point that has a wireless instead of ethernet backhaul to my network.  That way there wouldn't be a coax or ethernet connection, just the devices power on the Furman PST.  I could unplug the power in a storm and not have to worry about any coax/ethernet connections to the rest of my system.
- Cable internet. I tried running the cable coax through the CyberMax coax and ended up with connectivity issues.  Tried through Furman coax and had worse connectivity issues.  Seems Comcast/Xfinity really wants the coax plugged directly into the modem... Frustrating.  This is definitely a weak point, though at least it is all underground wiring.  And I run the modem's ethernet output through a CyberMax battery back-up surge protector.  And all the network gear power is plugged into the CyberMax which is plugged into a Furman PST.  I am not sure how to improve this.

I luckily don't have phone or satellite to worry about.

Thanks T .

I live in California ( bay area) and we don't see much lightning or thunder storms, we just have undependable power from PG&E , like you can be listening to your turntable while a little drop of rain starts to fall and your speed of your turntable will sloooow down, then you indicators on your amp will start to flicker, then the lights will go out !!! now you are sitting in the DARK, then in a flash the lights will come on, then off!!! then on !!! then off!!!! now you call the outage HOTLINE and they tell you, they are aware of the outage and power will return in 8 hours!!! and don't have a class A power amp!!! your power bill will be $ 500.00 to 1k at the end of the month!!!!! Because PG&E decide to install what they call a SMART METER now this meter calculates the kilo wattage DOWN TO THE PENNY!!!!! and when they installed this meter, they LAID OFF the meter maid. now they can read your meter from their service truck on the street, they don't need to get access to your yard!!! and the real reason they installed this meter was because the share holders was losing money from the utility company with the old dial meters and it was not wireless.
now get this PG&E COMBINE'S THE GAS BILL WITH THE ELECTRIC BILL, So we beat the power company with this and now they are mad, when we get ready to go to work, we pull the main breaker at the service box, and leave it off until we come home, now your refrigerator stays cold for three days so no spoiled food here, why power the WHOLE house when no one is home, my bill $32.00 for a month down from $357.00, now when i get home at night I power up to take a shower, power off when i go to sleep== more money to buy more audio. this is how you stick it to the rich SHARE HOLDERS. NO MORE BROWN OUTS!!!!! SAVE YOUR MONEY

I had a lightening storm take out a Vandersteen amp...Repaired at surprising minimal cost, after which I installed a whole house surge protector. No problems after the installation

I live in Central Florida so lightening is a big deal.  There are roof protection systems (lightening rods) that guard against a direct strike to the house.  These run about $2500.  

There are also electrical panel protection systems that guard against surges from hits to the ground or hits to the main wiring miles away.  These run about $500-$1000.

To get protection that is 99% effective, you need both systems in conjunction with plug in wall surge protectors.  Leave any of these out and your protection drops.  And yes, cable, phone and inground sprinkler systems are weak points and require their own protection.

Realistically, you can do all of the above or none of the above and just leave your system unplugged except for when in use.

I have a lightening app on my phone that warns me of lightening within 10 miles (essential for when you are on the golf course) which helps me to decide when to unplug (the only real guarantee of safety).  I unplug if I'm going out of town and if there is a bad storm.  And most importantly, I have good homeowners insurance.

The Florida power companies definitely suggest a panel surge protection system along with wall suppression as a minimum.

I have had neighbors experience both direct and indirect hits with damage ranging from a lot to a little.  None had protection before the hit, all added protection after the hit.

So far, I've been spared.