When it comes to lightning protection, there isn't anything new except for CMCE devices which there are no studies except for lab results, that they actually work in all storms for residential installations. You can google the topic for all the information on that technology and it's very high cost. There is one installation that we know of here in Osceola Hills.

Surge protection on the other hand has some new developments because most homes have a lot more sensitive electronic devices than ever before. We spoke about the Eaton Ultra which is a surge protector with MOV technology used by many all over the country for many years but the PSP Vortex series-R uses a hybrid system consisting of temperature protected MOVs with a gas discharge tube for greater capacity and longevity. Several Villager's including myself have the PSP Vortex Series-R installed so it will be interesting to see over time, how these two surge protector technologies actually work and if one technology is better than the other or are they equivalent in a multi-layered surge protection system.

But again the focus of this thread as stated in the first post is to see what experience Villagers have had with Type-1 meter and Type-2 whole house surge protectors in an effort to see how effective either or both were in actual real life events since the question comes up a lot about do we need both here in lightnig prone central Florida.

Yes, I know someone who has these and they work well because as you are aware, when we have a severe storm, although we don't loose power, we do sometimes get those quick losses of power for a second which are not good for refrigerators for example. These devices will not only provide point-of-use type-3 surge protection but also turn off the power for a minute or two on an over or undervoltage event giving very good protection. In fact, my new Carrier Variable Speed Inverter HVAC system has an commercial version of this protective device installed to protect my system.

Except for those who wonder why lightning caused so much damage to their home - not to mention all the flames coming out of their attic.

We came back from a vacation and our frig would not cool below 54 degrees.

No idea if it was damaged by electrical storm but did lead us to purchase a surge protector installed in our electrical panel.

With six lightning threads last month, who do you think will be reached with yet another started today? Either:
- Users have seen the threads and are well aware of the scary pictures
- Users are skipping the lightning threads and will skip this one too
- The questions at the talks are coming from the numerous Villagers who do not read these forums.
Who do you expect to reach with this and the likely six more threads in Sept?

One scary picture from 14 months ago and 11 house fires started by lightning in the last 12 months. That make roughly 84,900 homes NOT burned by lightning… when will you start posting pictures of each of those?

Only a small fraction of TV folks follow TOTV discussions -- which is why the Villages Lightning Study Group has soooo many requests for presentations. They sometimes give 2 talks on the same day. They are looking for volunteers to help. Would that be you?

If only a small fraction of The Villages follow TOTV discussions why continue carpet bombing the forums with the same information?

Apparently only a few are reading the first post because this thread is not another lightning and surge protection awareness thread, it’s a thread about finding Villager’s experiences good or bad with the type-1 meter and type-2 whole house circuit breaker panel protectors. It’s interesting that some are endlessly criticizing this discovery. If you had enough reading about lightning and surge protection, no one is compelling you to read this or any other thread on the subject. From some of the posts there are people reading TOTV that are interested in this subject matter.

Because the more often you reply here -- the more likely others will see the higher view rates -- and be more likely to read this. Thank you for your cooperation. Do you have any lightning pictures you'd like to contribute?

I purchased these Amazon.com for my refrigerator, garage door openers, and Irrigation timer. Most of the rest of my electronics are in high joule rated power strips. I looked for something to protect our Dryer electronics but everything I read said the Eaton Ultra was adequate.

Hasn't surge protection, and lightning protection been built into the newer "smart meters" ?
If not, why not!

Lightning protection is installed on a roof, not within the electric wiring.

Cost, complexity, customer concerns, and claims are reasons for building surge suppression into meters.

Cost: Everything is getting more expensive, including meters. The better the protection, the higher the cost. The electric company wants to be able to change your meter with the least amount of cost. An integrated surge protection system would make changing meters very expensive.

Complexity: The better the suppression the more complex the unit needs to be. "Dumb" electric meters were not very complex, smart meters are more complex, and adding good protection into the meter would make it even more complex. The more complex it is the more likely it is to have a failure which would require it to be replaced. The electric companies don't want to do something that would result in replacing more meters.

Customer concerns: Every time the electric company changes the meter there are customers who say the new meter is charging them more money. The more the meter does, the more doubt the customers have with it. Adding more electronics to the meter would give customers even more to worry about which would result in more calls, more complaints, and more work.

Claims: Nothing is perfect and even with surge suppression there is a chance that a device gets fried. The customer is going to go back to the protection provider to make a claim for the device that failed. The electric company does not want to be in the business of paying out claims.

I agree. It's kind of ironic that we need to pay extra to the power company for a surge protector to protect us from surges coming from that company right?

This is why I'm trying to get some data, which is the focus of this thread wether we really need the Type-1 meter surge protector or is the Eaton Ultra or PSP Vortex enough. As I mentioned, the Type-1 meter surge protector is not available everywhere so the Type-2 like the Eaton Ultra is all that protects the home in these cases.

I rent mine (the red lit unit behind the meter) from SECO (left part of photo), who installed it -- and the right side of photo shows the surge protector I paid an electrician to install which connects to the fuse box in the garage. Those who don't know about these, and why they are used, should attend a "Lightning" presentation by the Villages Lightning Study Group. Remember - Florida is the lightning capital of the US.

I didn't see that mentioned. Where are the Type-1 protectors not available?

Didn't we see in one of the other threads that the Type-1 devices are now required by Florida code? (I'll try to find it but there are a lot of duplicate threads to go through)