[mbchnut]

Does anyone have information or experience with the lightening protection device provided by Seco? Is lease or purchase a better deal? Do you think the device is needed? We will be settling on our house on Dec. 15 and are trying to deal with all of the paperwork.

[Midge538]

In my opinion, especially if you have any expensive electronics, I would suggest that you sign up for this protection from SECO. It protects (and covers against loss) against surges that could damage your wiring and appliances .... frig, stove, washer, dryer etc. It does not protect your solid state appliances ... microwave, computer, tv etc ... so for those have a 'very good' surge protector connector for each. It is not lightning season yet so you might postpone consideration of a good full lightening system. However, you should consider same once you close. "Welcome to The Villages."

[Bogie Shooter]

There are a number of threads that discuss this issue, try the search feature and search for seco.

[ijusluvit]

The best word search is 'surge protection' and you will learn that there are other companies which claim to provide systems which are cheaper and/or better than SECO. But you will also learn that lightning protection, especially if your home has natural gas, is more about lightning rod systems protecting the entire home, than mere surge protection. To underscore the point, seven homes in TV have been destroyed in minutes by lightning strikes which started roof fires and ignited attic gas lines. Take your time to study this before you spend hundreds or thousands. Good point made above that lightning is a less serious threat in the next few months. Good luck.

(gee, maybe it's God's way of making the religious holiday season more peaceful !?)

[Army Guy]

We have it. We researched and found it is a good thing to have. It costs, $25 to install and then $5 and change every month to lease or $250 to buy.

Army Guy

The cost of the surge protection (protection of electronic devices from line surge) is much less than the cost of a lightning rod system (intended to capture lighting strikes and take them to ground to avoid damage to the structure). I have recently obtained a bid to install a lightning rod system in a designer home for approx. $1,750. I also called the insurance agent to inquire is there were any insurance premium credits available if a lightning rod system is installed - there are not any insurance benefits available. I have not yet decided whether or not to go forward with the installation of the lightning rod system. Even with the system, there is still no guarantee that a lighting strike will not cause damage to the structure.

[Bob S]

For whole house surge protection you really have several options. I have researched them all as follows:
1. The $299 SECO installation is the best available. You get a high quality surge protector at the meter and several plug in devices for your sensitive electronics. This will provide very good protection against a power surge but little or no protection against a direct lightning strike.
2. A whole house surge protector at your electric panel. This is a double breaker installed right into your panel by an electrical contractor. Cost about $150. This is good protection but not quite as good a device as that provided by SECO. You should still use individual outlet surge protectors for all of your sensitive appliances.
3. Same as #2, but do it yourself. You can buy the double breaker device for about $75 to $100 retail. I found one on E-Bay for under $50. You just snap in the double breaker and connect one wire to the ground bar.
4. A combination of both #1 and #2 or #3. This really provides great protection. I plan on doing this eventually but will stick to #3 for now. Any surge protector tries to dissipate any surge that it sees, but some surge can leak through. That is the reason for several devices in series.

I hope that this helps.

[Midge538]

I have not yet decided whether or not to go forward with the installation of the lightning rod system. Even with the system, there is still no guarantee that a lighting strike will not cause damage to the structure.

SNOK The correct lightning protection system is fully 99% effective. This really translates into 100% except for something really bizarre ... weatherwise. Anyone who has the attic gas lines (improperly installed ... two different grounds) should be looking into this full system installation.

[SteveFromNY]

LPS has been discussed quite a lot on this board. Do a search to see the many prior threads. Surge protection is one element. With or without gas lines in the attic, there is a risk of damage to your home from a strike. Up north (where I lived for 55 years) I never recall a home being struck by lightning. Trees, power transformers, yes, but never a house. Down here, as someone said above, 7 homes. I personally watched one burn last summer. I got a complete LPS installed immediately after. Look around - in LSL, all of the buildings have them. Look at the fire house on Buena Vista and Bonita - they have protection too. The Empire State Building has protection, and it get's hit over 100 times per year!
Our community is in "The Lightning Capital of the World" (or so you hear) why wouldn't you want to maximize your protection?

[patfla06]

I know here in Tampa it's called "zap cap" and it runs $6/month.
Otherwise you can have alarm system/major appliances fry.

[NJblue]

Originally Posted by SteveFromNY

Look at the fire house on Buena Vista and Bonita - they have protection too.

Yet, in a talk that Chief Tucker gave to some villagers he downplayed the need for lightning rods and said that he did not have them on his own house. He did say that if you wanted to get them to make sure that the contractor would provide UL certification. He indicated that there was only one such contractor in the area that did this. A system that is improperly installed is actually more dangerous than not having one at all since the way they work is that they actually attract lightning. A well installed system will safely lead the charge to the ground. An improperly installed system will allow the charge to go through your house.