How can you protect your home against lightning and electrical surges?

Nothing will protect your property from a direct lightning strike. However, you can protect yourself from indirect lightning strikes through having your electrical contractor install a surge protector in your switchboard. For less than $350 you save yourself a stack of additional replacement, insurance and lost time costs. If you run a body corporate or manage properties, then aside from having surge protectors installed to minimise damage from indirect strikes or power surges, you can book an electrical inspection of your property from a licenced electrical contractor. We will advise you on the condition of your switchboard and power poles, and notify you of any areas that are not compliant with current regulations so you can forward schedule them into your maintenance plans and budgets.

Lightning strikes on or near a power line or utility service are a frequent cause of power surges. Point-of-use surge protection devices (spds), combined with a good grounding system, should protect your electronic and electrical appliances from most electrical surges. An spd does not suppress or arrest a surge; it actually diverts the surge to the ground. Service entrance spds provide protection for your entire electrical system and are usually installed at the electrical panel(s) or at the base of the service meter. These devices help prevent the entrance of overvoltages, which can cause a fire. Surge protection devices are typically installed in conjunction with a lightning protection system.

In 2018, homeowners filed over 70,000 claims for lightning damage losses. While the total number of claims was down from recent years, the average claim cost actually rose. The insurance information institute (iii) theorizes this is due to several factors including rising construction costs plus the amount of sophisticated smart home devices that are damaged in an electrical storm. These damages are often very significant and can make drastic alternations to anyone’s home so ensuring that they’re protected is pretty much essential. Since we’re headquartered in florida, the number one state for lightning strikes, fudge insurance knows the shocking damage it can cause.

Protecting your commercial property from lightning requires two strategies: a certified lightning protection system and surge protection. Certified lightning protection system—properly designed and installed lightning protection systems provide a specified path to harness and safely ground the super-charged current of a lighting bolt. Because every building is unique, your system should take your risk factors into consideration, including location, frequency of thunderstorms, soil composition and building occupancy. Surge protection—proper selection and installation of surge protection devices can protect electrical and electronic equipment from lighting and other surges that can enter a building through the electric, telephone, data or other wires from outside.

What is a home lightning protection system?

Proving that your property damage was caused by lightning can be difficult because it may be hard to detect evidence of lightning. After lightning strikes your property, you should first check for any physical evidence of the lightning strike, like a charred area on the roof. It may be helpful to get an inspection from a certified electrician who can look for signs of electrical damage, such as melted wiring, to determine if your damage was due to lightning. You may also need to provide photographs of the property and any other documentation showing the extent of the damage.

Over 20 million cloud-to-ground lightning strikes occur every year in the united states, each one carrying enough energy and heat to turn sand into glass. A bolt of lightning can strike homes, trees, factories, and utility systems, and these combined events cost around $1 billion in annual property damage losses. The majority of lightning strike insurance claims involve damage due to: fires. A lightning strike can spark a fire upon contact with almost anything it touches, causing significant damage in a matter of minutes. While commercial fire insurance may cover fires started by lightning, coverage for smoke damage to walls and flooring or water damage from firefighting efforts often vary from policy to policy.

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Regularly missed in lightning strike claims are damages to the electrical system in your home, and this can be costly. It's usually the result of either damage to specific wiring, voltage that exceeds the limits of your current wiring, or repairs requiring replacement pursuant to a change in building codes. Either way, it should be covered, but likely not without a fight. The repairs for this are pretty comprehensive and often require significant replacement throughout the home, which in turn requires removal of drywall at various locations. Again, these damages may present themselves down the road, at which point you are likely in for a lot of questions from your insurance company about causation and any prior issues in the home.

What should you do when lightning is nearby?

Lightening is one of the most feared things in any storm, and for good reason. It can be incredibly dangerous, damaging both people and property. So how do you prepare for it? if you’re planning on going outside during a storm, be sure to have an emergency plan in place. Make sure you have supplies like water, food, flashlights and batteries, and first aid kits nearby. The best way to protect yourself from lightning is to stay indoors during a storm. If that’s not possible or safe, make sure you have an emergency flare ready in case of danger. Close all doors and windows leading into your home.

Can lightning damage solar panels? while a direct strike from lightning is unlikely, a nearby strike can generate a powerful electromagnetic field that can damage the electrical components of pv panels. In addition, the high heat from a lightning strike can cause the glass on pv panels to shatter. As a result, it is important for pv panel owners to take steps to protect their investment from lightning strikes to ensure that their pv panels will continue to produce clean, renewable energy for years to come.

Often times, lightning strikes electrical units burning them out and creating a surge of power which burns everything that is connected to it. This sometimes results in a devastating fire. Although it is rare to get struck, lightning is a common occurrence in florida (especially in tampa bay, home of the tampa bay lightning). Even though a building may contain lightning rods or there may be a nearby higher metallic point, lightning does not always strike the highest point. Lightning can just easily strike lower lying objects or create an arc and strike multiple points or objects at simultaneously.

Where do electrical surges come from?

Lightning bolts can cause fires, explosions, fried electrical devices, and ground surges. Because lightning holds such massive amounts of energy , a bolt can leave behind heavy damages. When lightning strikes a building, there is also the risk of injury to people inside if there is any structural damage or fires. After you’ve experienced damages because of lightning, you can contact your insurer to seek compensation. If you believe the compensation is too little, you can speak with an attorney to help you get fair coverage for your damages. Call florida home care today for a free consultation.

Even though assessing and adjusting lightning damage typically uses similar methods as assessing other types of property damage, there are a few differences to highlight. When lightning strikes a home but doesn't result in a fire, many homeowners suffer losses caused by an electrical surge that is caused by the strike. Sometimes, this damage is not immediately apparent. However, electrical surges can damage appliances, electronics, phones, computers, and other technological components of your home. Once this damage is identified, it can be extensive. This complicates the process of adjusting losses, and it may even lead to loss of the ability to use the home or even a loss of business for companies that need to stay vacant until repairs are made.

First, have a fire extinguisher on hand, especially in the kitchen. Nearly 50% of house fires start in the kitchen. Also, make sure to check smoke detectors every month. Replace batteries in smoke detectors regularly to ensure they are working properly. You should also get into the habit of unplugging appliances during lightning storms to prevent power surges. Surges due to lightning are rare, but even with surge protectors (which are only meant to protect against small surges in the electrical grid), they can do serious damage with millions of volts of electricity. For insurance protection against fire and lightning, guaranteed replacement cost coverage is your most comprehensive option.

What does a lightning protection system look like?

With today’s reliance on electricity and electric devices, lightning can cause significant damage to a home. This can result in thousands of dollars worth of destroyed electronic devices, physical damage, and even fires - all from a single strike. Although lightning damage is an unlikely occurrence, it should still be considered a serious hazard that can cause significant home damage. There are steps a homeowner can take to reduce this possibility. Following are some of the steps that should be taken by every homeowner: home lightning protection - lightning protection systems are a sound investment for homeowners, especially in areas where lightning strikes are more frequent.

Hunters creek, fla. - since the end of last month, lightning has struck three central florida homes, leaving residents stunned. "when you got forces of nature fighting against you – there isn’t much you can get done. You’ve got to respect nature," said michael walker, whose home was destroyed by lightning. One of the simplest ways to protect your home is by putting up a lighting protection system, combining lightning rods and electrical surge protection. Kenneth friend, jr. Installs these systems for jasper thompson lightning protection. "we take the direct current from the lightning strike and get it into the ground and we stop the structure from catching on fire, loss of life or structural damage," friend said.

Although it doesn’t get the same attention as florida’s other natural disasters, lightning damage led to more than 10,000 insurance claims in florida over the past year. Florida ranks first in the nation for both injuries caused by lightning strikes and insurance claims caused by lightning-related damage. The estimated total property damage caused by lightning over the past year in florida was nearly 74 million dollars. Although it is impossible to predict when and where lightning will strike, it is possible to reduce the risk of lightning damage. By installing a lightning protection system, you can essentially “ground” your property and thereby allow the damaging lightning to dissipate into the ground.

Tweet each year, lightning is responsible for tragic deaths, devastating injuries and costly property damage. Lightning strikes the united states around 25 million times each year. In the first quarter of 2019, severe thunderstorms and inclement weather were responsible for a record $6 billion in insured losses in the u. S. According to the national weather service. Lightning and surge-related over voltages are the leading cause of damage and downtime for solar equipment like combiner boxes, inverters and data lines. Lightning can be risky for all types of businesses without proper grounding provided by a safety standard compliant lighting protection system.