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 ;)