Advice on Surge Protectors
 

a friend has been researching surge protection systems and it seems there is a wide range and differences in price....she was told the SECO protector only attaches at the meter but i don't think that is true...i have a system on my circuit breaker box which was installed by my home inspector. Hayes Electric recommends Ditek at a cost of over $600 and Pike recommends an Eton system also over $400. any experience with any of these or research already done on this topic?

Surge Protection
 

The big problem for us Floridians is that we're the lightning capitol of the USA. No other place gets more lightning than us. And, to compound that, our soil which is mainly sand has high resistance. No place for the lightning to drain off
Based on that, protection is always recommended but we don't need to go crazy with cost. My villa for example has lightning terminals on the roof to intercept lightning strikes

Call a electrician I believe they can instal a surge protector right a your panel.

i believe the main job of the surge protector is not to protect from lightning but the power surge when electricity comes on after being off for a while...Hayes and Pike are two electricians but the question is what if anything is the benefit of such expensive systems as compared to SECO's system?

The surge protector ( which has nothing to do with lightning protection) should be on the meter/service entrance. If you rent one from SECO, and it needs to be replaced, SECO will replace it, no charge. When the device does its' job, it will "wear out" and need to be replaced.

Surge Protection
 

"Nothing to do with lightning protection"?? per Mulligan...............you may want to do some more research on surge protectors. These devices are also placed on telephone lines. Where does the "surge" come from in this case?
I placed them for 30 years as a telephone company employee

Surge protectors and UPS devices provide total lightning protection
 

TRUTH: Unfortunately not. A common surge protector will stop voltage spikes and surges, but not the violent, catastrophic burst of current from a close lightning strike. Direct lightning current is simply too big to protect with a little electronic device inside a power strip, or even a hefty UPS unit. If your UPS or surge protector is in the way of the lightning's path, all or part of the lightning will just flash over or through the device - regardless of the amount of capacitors and battery banks involved.

Much more here..............

Lightning Myths - Surge protectors and UPS devices provide total lightning protection :: Storm Highway Weather Library

Bogie is correct. If you get a direct hit or even a very close strike no surge protector will help. Best thing if you are home is unplug things like computers and TV and stereos. That is the only way they will be safe. At the meter surge protector is very good and if you are going to put one at the source get something like Monster or Panamax Home Theater type unit not a power strip. You can find them on Amazon from $250 on up. HO Insurance will cover damage but you will have a deductible and will have to prove how the damage was caused.

I rent the SECCO whole house surge protector which is mounted directly on the meter for $5/mo. If ANYTHING should happen to it, SECCO replaces it for free since it's theirs to begin with. If you prefer, you can buy one from them and they will install it for a price of $395. But then it becomes yours and, if anything goes wrong, you have to replace it at cost to you.


These whole house surge protectors do not protect against lightning strikes. They only protect against a spike in the electric service to your house so that your major appliances are not damaged. To protect your smaller electronic stuff such as computers, TV's, etc, you need a local surge protector at the site where that piece of equipment is plugged in. The whole house surge protector will not be sufficient to prevent a smaller spike from getting thru it and damaging the electronic stuff. They're only capable of clipping the large power peaks.

Important to remember that, if you're in close enough proximity to a lightning hit, there is nothing that can protect the electric service in and around your house. Lightning arrestors may help but there is no guarantee.

Surge Protection
 

Just as everyone has said, NOTHING stops a shot of lightning or any even close by. Protection may reduce the amount of damage. That plus going to a place of worship may also help

Lightning protection systems (lightning rods) simply divert lightning safely to ground. LPS protect the structure. As stated by others you still need to consider surge protection on the meter or electric panel and down stream point-of-use surge protectors for electonics. See the Lightning Matters columns in the back issues of the POA Bulletins.

I am not an expert on the subject but rather a multiple victim of power surges. For the most part Lightning arrestors are not for surge protection but rather for a direct lightning strike on the protected structure. Lightning bolts are not random shots from the clouds but rather positive and negative charges attracting each other. So the idea of arrestors is to be the target should those charges be at your site and direct the charge to ground. However, if the lightning hits ground and finds a conductor such as a power line, cable, telephone line etc, it can then create a power surge. The surge may not be from your power line but rather through the phone or the cable line and I am told perhaps through water lines.
Power surges were less damaging in the days when devices were powered by motors rated in volts rather than millivolts.

Today I am living in my house in Sanibel 2 years. On June 6 2012 my house had a direct lightening hit. I had the surge protector installed from SECO a few days before.
SECO told me that nothing stops a direct hit. We also had a surge protector put on the big screen T.V. Our damage consisted of: 4 T.V.s, a computer, 5 outlets, the garage door opener, the lawn irrigation system, part of the air conditioner. About $5,000.00 worth of damage. Insurance covered all except deductible. The builder sent his men to fix the roof (peak melted) all is good. Never feel safe when there is a storm.
SECO changed the surge protector because we rent it.

Does anyone know if the SECO surge protection system actually works? Is it worth to have it installed?

Ok we had a whole house surge protector installed when we moved in cost a couple hundred I think. We just had alighting strike a few weeks ago hit a tree next to our house. The surge when down the heart of the tree and into the ground and it found our cable line. We lost a lot of electronics and garage door opener but I think the whole house surge protection protected our appliances. Anyway since the company for that system is out of state and from what I have heard hard to deal with for claims we just the other day had Seco install their surge protector outside. Cost $25 for the install and $5.95 a month and they maintain it. Worth it to me plus they give you some protectors for electronics in your house. We also went out and bought some major surge protectors for our TV's etc. we made sure they had connectors to hook our cable lines into and phone line. One of the ones from Seco has this plus they sell them on their website. Anyway after our experience we did as much as we could to minimize damage. Oh and our AAA Ins covered everything and in less than 2 weeks ;)

Above ALL for any surge protectors you are going to buy, look for a UL label that states the device is UL 1449 certified. There are a few "surge protector" that have UL labels FOR EXTENSION CORDS, and offer little or no actual surge protection. You can guess where these are sold. I have also recently found out that you can buy UL 1449 rated receptacles. I am planning to have the SECO device installed, rental basis, and then have surge suppressing receptacles installed at specific locations in the house. Other locations will use UL listed 1449 surge suppressor plug ion strips. My hope is this will protect for the close in lightning strike, I have no plans to install lightning protection system for a direct hit, unless there is a guarantee the house will not catch fire.

Thanks for the info. I have already all my electronics going through surge protectors, not the cable though. I was told by cable company long time ago that in doing that I will lose part of the signal and that the cable box or the modem are in between the cable and my tv or computer so there is no need. In my 16 years in FL I never had a problem. Since I moved here last year I keep hearing stories do I am trying to get more knowledgeble and see what everyone else is doing.

We hooked our cable lines to the surge protector and have no problem with signals or picture, everything is same as before just so you know, and our lightning strike surged through the cable line so if this will help protect my equipment then why not, doesn't cost much more for this type of protection. I'd rather do as much within my power to protect my property as best I can and if I still end up with a problem at least I know I tried. Just my opinion. Just because it has never happened to you doesn't mean it can't or won't, I learned that a few weeks ago.

I totally agree with you. I will look in details better, but I sure appreciate your feedback on this. Thank you

The SECO surge protector has a standard 10 year warranty and the normal life is 15 + years..


19. What kind of guarantee is there?
The product comes with a standard 10-year product guarantee. An optional 10-year
extended consequential damage warranty is available.

A few years ago I had this same conversation with the contract cable technician regarding a degraded picture. I then got the on staff cable company head technician to come to my house to determine why I was getting a degraded picture with the coaxial cable routed through the surge protector. They determined that my cable box was defective and had nothing to do with the surge protector. Further,
they will tell you there is a surge protector on the exterior wall mounted cable box but I have zero confidence that will handle a lightning strike and that is why you need a power strip with ports for the coaxial cable. This also applies to satellite TV as well.

I ordered surge protection through SECO yesterday, for $349 plus tax. Installed at the meter and they will provide surge protectors for the electronic devices in your home, (the kit contains 3 power strip). One of the rings will protect major appliances like one's fridge's.

I will break even in 5 years by not taking the monthly surcharge of $5.95/month. This purchase is good for 15 years and then I can switch back to the monthly surcharge if desired, or just purchase another kit, for the next 15 years. Then it will be the next owners problem, when they buy my house.

Next step is to purchase lightning rods, even though it's a 1 in 775,000 chance of being hit directly by lightning, Quoted a price of $950, by Triangle Lightning.

My understanding is that when your a lightning hit happens close to your home, surge protection is needed to prevent electrical spikes form destroying your appliances and home electronics.

Lightning protected is needed to prevent a direct hit to your home from getting destroy, by letting the electrical charge be diverted to a ground connection.

For $1,300, I rather be in my home and not worrying about these violent storms. I am a low risk tolerance type person, who wants to feel I did everything in my power, to protect myself. It's better to be safe than sorry but that's just me.

Nothing is ever 100% perfect, but to me, it's worth every penny to have peace of my mind in that I did everything I could to protect my investment and me.

Agree! We just had A-1 Lightning Protection instal lightning rods as well as a surge protector on our main box and individual protectors for garage door opener, phone, electric cart charge, TV, microwave, etc. etc.

How does one know when it has "worn out?" Does something need to be damaged to know this? If surge damage occurs, does SECO pay for repairs/replacement of affected appliances? I can't seem to find answers to these questions.

I have looked at all of the answers here and I need to add this: last week when we had those terrible storms My TV was on in the living room and my computer was on in the bedroom. I was in the bathroom at the time. I heard an enormous POP at the same time there was a big lightening strike - my TV was on and I had a throwaway camera sitting on my dining room table which was TURNED ON by I assume the lightening. What I am getting at is this: I had a surge protector attached to my TV and it stopped the lightening from damaging my TV. All I had to do was get another surge protector attach it and everything came right back on. As for my computer, it knocked out my modem but didn't touch anything else. I know this all sounds crazy, but that is exactly what happened. So, surge protectors that are attached to your electronics DO work.