The current spec sheet says green but older may be red.

There is a label that says:

"IF ONE OR MORE LIGHTS ARE OUT-UNIT MUST BE SERVICED."

I was interested in protection from a nearby lightning strike, not the little surges that we experience all the time. I was considering SECO. I found the following.

1) I read several articles and was told by an electrician that whole house surge protectors (type 1) may protect appliances, AC etc. but not things like computers and TVs. (not sure why, but a lot of sources say this).

2) You need a type 2 protector, something like a power strip surge protector for computers, tvs, etc. Should have a rating of 1000 joules or more, or so I read.

2) I stopped by my home insurance office, State Farm, and they said that they cover such damage to appliances etc subject to my deductible.

3) I decided against the type 1 device, but installed type 2 devices for computers, cell phones etc. I installed a protector with a battery back-up for my internet modem and router so we can have internet for some time if the power goes out (assuming a lightning event doesn't take out Xfinity.)

I am no expert and don't play one on TV, this is just what I could find asking around and reading several articles.

We bought the surge protector outright from SECO for $350. Looking back, we could have saved by shopping around. We knew how they worked from Rving days. Definitely get surge protection on your main appliances. Warrantees may require it. If you get hit, usually you just replace a surge protector board for about $100 and you are up and running.

Florida has a lot of lightening storms and these devices protect your large appliances. We have additional surge protectors (high joule) on computers, laser printers, and induction cook surfaces. After you have been here a while and experience the storms, you can get a better feel for the risks in this state.

I'm one of the engineers in the Villages Lightning Study Group headed by Len Hathaway. We give presentations on Lightning protection and surge protection to many groups frequently in the Villages. If you have the time, it's well worth it to go to one of the presentations so you can make your own informed decision.

There were a lot of responses to the initial question. There are two parts to the answer. First there is protection from a direct lightning strike to your home and then there is protection from induced power surges into your home’s electrical system if lightning strikes nearby.

There is nothing that will 100% protect your home from a direct lightning strike. A lightning protection system (lightning rod system) will minimize and or may prevent damage and will significantly lessen the risk of your home burning to the ground from this type of weather event. Because of all the building in the Villages we hear more and more about homes being struck and burning to the ground over the past couple of years.

The other part concerns surge protection which is more common but less often reported. This more frequently happens when lightning strikes near your home. When this occurs your home may get hit by an "induced“ surge which frequently trips circuit breakers, especially freezers and door openers in your garage but depending on the intensity can damage your HVAC system, inside and out, all your appliances, electronic equipment, pool and spa equipment, etc.. Surge protection is a layered system. There is a surge protector you can purchase or rent from your electric company mounted on the electrical meter as discussed here in this thread, which will protect you against surges coming in from the power lines. This happens statistically 20% of the time. Everyone is correct, the electric company has a sophisticated surge and grounding system to protect from this type of event and because most power surges don't come into your home from the utility, many who have this device still report surge damage in their home and the surge protector at the meter shows no sign of a surge. In addition to the surge protector at your electrical meter you can install what is called a "whole house surge protector". There are many but the Eaton Ultra is one of the more affordable and effective ones that's commonly installed by most electrical companies such as Pikes and Lenhart. This surge protector is mounted at your electrical circuit breaker box. Because it’s located at the breaker box the other 80% of the power surges you can get such as at the outside HVAC unit, pool, spa, outside lighting, etc., will be shunted by this device at the circuit breaker box and reduce and or eliminate the surge from spreading to the rest of the circuits in your home. Because surges are so fast, the surge protector has to be as close to the source as possible to be effective. The surge protector mounted on the electrical meter can help, but it's not designed to shunt these other types of induced surges. Its sole purpose is to reduce large surges coming from the power lines or surges induced into the power lines coming to your home so the rest of the surge protectors in your home can handle the level of the surge that remains. It can also shunt power surges originating from the rest of your electrical system but not to a low enough level for total protection. This is why their warranty doesn't cover any device with an electronic board. The "whole house" surge protector mounted in your circuit breaker box will protect your appliances, washer dryer and all other devices that are hard wired such as the HVAC air handler and your electric hot water heater because it's designed to shunt surges to either eliminate them or shunt them to a low enough level that your devices or other surge protection can handle the surge. The final protection are the surge protection power strips, plug-in or point of use surge protectors which you install at your TVs, computers and any other sensitive electrical equipment. These devices will shunt and protect your equipment form any remaining surges that get through your meter or whole house surge protector. If you want to go further you can install point of use surge protector outlets or plug-in protectors for your microwave, dishwasher, garage door openers, etc. and or hard-wired surge protectors at you outside HVAC unit, pool and spa equipment.

To summarize, Surge Protection is a layered system. You want to install surge protectors to reduce and or eliminate the power surge so by the time an initally large surge reaches your home devices it's small enough for the point of use surge protector to handle it. Damage from power surges is covered in your homeowner’s insurance but you still have to pay the deductible and deal with replacing all the damaged devices. We live in the lightning capital of the USA so investing in surge protection is probably a wise investment but like insurance, it depends on your tolerance to risk. I can tell you personally, there are many homeowners who experience an induced power surge from lightning strikes and loose all their electronic devices and never talk about it meaning it happens more frequently here in the Villages than you would expect. Most of us have at least $1,000 deductible on our homeowner’s insurance which more than pays for the surge protection I discussed here in this response. At the end of the day, you need to look at what it will cost to install a surge protection system, at a minimum installing something like the Eaton surge protector in your circuit breaker panel and point of use surge protectors at your TV, computer and other sensitive devices, vs your tolerance for risk. Remember, even though your insurance will cover devices destroyed by power surges in your home, you will have the inconvenience of dealing with the insurance company, having to replace everything that was destroyed and probably get an increase in your insurance premium at your next renewal.

I hope my response gives enough information so those reading can make an informed decision when it comes to lightning and surge protection.

Thank you JRRef,

Articulate, Helpful, & Informative as always.

Agree, great synthesis.

The only thing I'd add is for homes with metallic gas lines in the attic, lightening suppression is more important due to the greater risk of fire induced be lightening.

in my defense, the surge thing was on the meter when I bought the house (2017)
They let me know it. I just wanted the electric on and didn't care with all the chaos of moving in.

Also there have been many good points made in this discussion. Especially RSMurano's regarding leasing. Leasing the surge protector might cost a few extra bucks over the course of six years, but the insurance protection of the utility replacing it, when necessary, most likely makes it more than worthwhile. So, after reading every single post in this thread, I think you were smart to lease.

On the day of purchase, I would get a 15 year warranty.
That should cover the rest of my days.
So I believe I would get the coverage for 15 years

Different companies surge protectors have different colored lights. Mine is red, my neighbors is green. I had a TV and several appliances blow out from electric surges from what I believe was lightening. I have had no issues since having surge protectors installed but I haven't seen electrical storms being as severe as in the past but I'm sure that can change...

Lightning strikes
 

A house on our street got struck by lightning a couple years ago. The whole house had to be re-wired, meaning removing sheetrock, etc.

You can install a better surge device in your panel breaker box for less money and it works better. Plus if you move you can take it with you.