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Surge Suppression vrs. Lighting and Power Spikes

OK,

Here is something I have thought about on many occasions while jamming out and then being rudely interrupted by an overhead lightning storm. Should I continue my session while the storm is overhead or should I switch everything off and wait until it blows over before continuing? I have chosen to switch my equipment off but leave it plugged into the wall.

Is powered on audio equipment any more vulnerable then powered off or in standby mode audio equipment during a lightning storm or power grid spike? I mean if your house gets hit by a direct lighting strike that was the result of having an old school TV antenna on your roof or if the power station down the street gets zapped the wave of electricity is coming your way weather you like it or not, correct?

As an example, if we take 3 houses that are all on the same power grid into consideration during said event, does the house who happens to be drawing the most current at the time of the event have a higher likelihood of being the one who gets chosen by the power spike as it's target for discharge? The term magnet comes to mind as another way of thinking about it.

Now I would imagine this spike has the potential of being very powerful. I have seen some numbers on the web stating that a direct lightning strike can generate anywhere from 1000 to 100,000 AMPS of juice. If these numbers are even somewhat close to being accurate then even the fanciest surge protection/power distribution device isn't going to save your equipment.

If your lucky enough to have the direct hit occur at the power station down the road then I assume the power company has some kind of buffer device that absorbs a large portion of this electricity before it reaches your house but this is just an assumption. If they do have some kind of buffer then maybe your surge protection device has a better chance of survival since the impact would be greatly reduced; maybe even to the levels that most surge protectors found in the home can tolerate and maybe not.

It almost seems that the only real safe bet would be to fully unplug your power distribution device from the wall since we obviously can't predict how the power spike will arrive either thu a direct hit or a possible buffered hit.

I'm curious to know what the general consensus is on this topic and what others do when faced with a storm overhead?

Please feel free to post your thoughts..Thanks
eniac26
kijanki's avatar
kijanki
4,432 posts
 
"Lightning follows the path of least resistance to ground."

That's true but if antenna has to be there grounding ads few feet to building but not grounding can add much more making it higher than surrounding trees and street lamps.
jea48
4,530 posts
 
Check out the video on lightning, a little down the page.

>http://science.howstuffworks.com/nature/natural-disasters/lightning.htm

.
magfan
1,583 posts
 
Start with whole house surge protection::

http://www.surgeassure.com/

Leviton makes a similar device for the main panel. If I still lived in Florida, I'd have one installed immediately.

Unplug. yes...... the voltage induced in a line by lightning will bridge a switch even if 'off'....
__troy
10 posts
 
I live in SW Florida where during the summertime there are thunderstorms like clockwork everyday around 4pm. Caused from the heat of the Gulf waters. It is one of the highest lightning strike areas in the country. Since moving here 20 years ago, homes I have lived in have been directly hit twice, blowing out yard lights, blowing out fireplace, frying phone lines and alarm system. I don't bother with any surge protection - I just plain unplug, everyday in the summer. It's a PITA, but I can't afford to have my equipment fried, so I do the best protection possible - no connection. The main downfall of it is, trying to find decent power amps that don't take 2-12 hours to warm-up to sound worth a darn. I'm still looking...
magfan
1,583 posts
 
Yep, Troy, I hear you. Florida Flicker and Flash was the power company.
I lived in Florida, both N.Miami and Tampa until I was 20 or 21, so I never even rented, let alone bought a house.
But for darn sure, i'd have whole house surge protection, in addition to what is your usual practice.
After all, you can't unplug everything. Your fridge? a couple computers and maybe a clock radio / Ipod dock?

Be careful with the unplug routine, too. Current can arc from the plug to ground at the peak of potential, maybe.

If I lived in tornado alley, I'd follow the same routine.
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