Does your house have a lightning conductor for protection?
Do you normally switch off / unplug all electrical appliances if you know a storm is approaching?
Google knows. See here for example. The theory is that by providing an easy path for the lightning to ground the house electrical system is essentially bypassed so takes less of a hit.What is lightning conductor?
Google knows. See here for example. The theory is that by providing an easy path for the lightning to ground the house electrical system is essentially bypassed so takes less of a hit.
No, they are for noise reduction. They are either to reduce signals that are radiated by the wire, or to reduce the pickup by the wire of noise from elsewhere.
Your electrical system may have poor grounding. Very rocky or dry sandy soil drains well but provides no conduction to earth ground. When we lived on the side of a rocky hill, we had to keep changing our electronics (VCR, TV and Garage Door Openers after lightning storm. Then we changed the grounding rod to something much longer with a second grounding rod connected to the first bud further down the hill and even longer - it seemed to work.
Nice pile of deceased lighting. My experience with lightening strikes is if anything is in the direct path it's toast. That excludes things like the antenna systems atop the Empire State Building or World Trade Center which are designed to handle direct lightening strikes. The house beside my sister's house in Clarksburg, W. VA. took a direct roof strike and my sister lost a few wired land line telephones and her dial up modem in their PC. Obviously it came in through the phone lines.2 nights ago we had a thunder storm that killed 2 motion detector lights. One light stays ON all the time the 2 adjustments do nothing to turn it off. The other motion detector light does random flashes like a strobe light the adjustment does nothing to make is stop. We live in tornado alley I have a pile of a dozen dead motion detector lights. These use to cost $12 now they are $60 each. Circuit boards in lights have, LDR, motion sensor, 12 pin IC with no number, no burned parts.
Is there a way to protect these lights form lightning?
View attachment 126774
That sounds like an induced spike, rather than a direct strike to the power lines near the house.One light stays ON all the time the 2 adjustments do nothing to turn it off. The other motion detector light does random flashes like a strobe light the adjustment does nothing to make is stop.
That sounds like an induced spike, rather than a direct strike to the power lines near the house.
A good size VDR (eg. a Zenamic or similar) across each light would likely reduce or eliminate damage of that level.
My parents house was miles from a town and fed by overhead power lines to a transformer on a pole nearby.
The power cables between that and the house were struck on three occasions while I lived there. As others say, you cannot protect from that level of energy - or not at practical costs.
The damage to items that I remember was such as the electrical parts being burned or melted & every fuse blown.
(It is around 50 years ago).
I have always claimed that lightening is not exactly always predictable.A local car sales place was struck a number of years ago - interestingly because there were no aerials on it, and it was surrounded by taller houses all with external aerials. Every single wire in the walls was blown off, along with the plaster for a yard or so each side!.
I have always claimed that lightening is not exactly always predictable.
I have always claimed that lightening is not exactly always predictable.
Ron
I'll have to remember that.Lightning is very predictable sometimes.
Lightning is very predictable sometimes. NOVA TV show did a show about lightning many years ago. After watching the show I did the same thing in my back yard. I made 3 stick rockets with Estes model rocket engines and 3 rolls if very small enamel coated copper wire. I set up rockets ready to launch in advance about 25 ft apart with a dead man switch on each rocket. Certain time of the year we get storms with lots of lightning I used a clock with a second hand to check see how many seconds there is between each lightning strike. Each storm has its own personality with lightning strikes every 30 seconds apart, some storms lightning is 45 seconds apart, other storms lightning is 20 seconds apart. There is a certain time in the middle of a storm where lightning strikes becomes very predictable for about 4 minutes. When I notice the clock shows lightning is coming at a certain rate like 25 seconds apart I time for 20 seconds then pull the dead man switch on rocket #1. It takes about 2 seconds for rocket to pull copper wire up 1500 ft then lightning follows the wire down to my yard, BOOM explosion sounds like dynamite it shakes the house & knocks pictures off the walls. Check clock time for 2 more lightning strikes then fire off rocket #2, BOOM explosion sounds like dynamite. Fire off rocket #3, BOOM explosion sounds like dynamite. It has been 30 years since I did that. Neighbors use to say, why are there so many lightning strikes in your back yard every time there is a storm? LOL
That doesn't mean lightning is predictable, that means launching a rocket dragging a wire in a storm is predictable (not to mention incredibly stupid!).
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