Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill14564
Not according to the insurance industry statistics.
Not according to an analysis of LPS-protected strikes.
Not according to my personal experience with two strikes.
Lightning strikes *can* cause fires, particularly if there is a gas line in the attic, but lighting strikes to not always cause fires (perhaps not even frequently).
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Right, lightning doesn't always cause a fire, but most of the time it does, at least what we have seen with strikes here in the Villages. I will tell you there was a strike two years ago in Fenney where a home was struck but the heavy rain put our the fire before it got started so there was minimal damage to the roof BUT heavy damage to everything electrical inside the home. That homeowner had electric, HVAC, appliance, you name it, trucks at their home repairing stuff for months after that strike.
But my point is, when you find circuit breakers tripped, sensitive electronic devices damaged, perfectly good appliances all of a sudden stop working after you had a severe thunderstorm and you saw and head a lot of lightning and thunder, you most likely got an Induced Power Surge. Installing one of these whole house surge protectors at your circuit breaker panel is not expensive and they work. Nothing is 100% but they can prevent and or minimize electrical damage to your home and there is no reason not to have one installed living here in Central Florida. In fact, in the 2020 electrical code, it's now mandatory in any new build or renovation to install type 1 or 2 surge protection.