Lightning vs OC/OV protection

[suszterpatt]

PSU (with OC and OV protection) is plugged into a power strip, also with OC and OV protection.



What are the chances of a lightning screwing me?

 

[suszterpatt]

Bump.

 

[Fern]

See my post over HERE.

Surge protectors are only effective against lightning once. They are really nothing more than a vehicle to sell insurance.

Fern

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: Fern
See my post over HERE.

Surge protectors are only effective against lightning once. They are really nothing more than a vehicle to sell insurance.

Fern

If even that much. A good strong bolt of lightning could probably roast a surge protector, arc right through the whole lot of it, and keep going.
Work with a Tesla Coil sometime. They can produce sparks that can go right through insulators, often setting them on fire in the process. I do that sometimes with my little 100KV thing. Sparks can pass through a quarter inch of plastic. Now increase that to a few million volts, and watch it pass easily through a chunk of plastic that's loaded with bits of conductive material, with a convenient pathway out, leading right into your computer.
Hopefully though, before that happens, the lightning will travel down a grounding wire at the pole, or try to arc to the ground wire in the house's wiring first.

 

[corkyg]

Agree with Jeff - nothing will stop a direct hit. Good grounding cables and wires are the best defense. But - lightning sometimes does not play by the rules. If you live in Southern Arizona, you take it very seriously.

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: corkyg
Agree with Jeff - nothing will stop a direct hit. Good grounding cables and wires are the best defense. But - lightning sometimes does not play by the rules. If you live in Southern Arizona, you take it very seriously.

Well sure, something will. Maybe like an energy field with its own nuclear power plant. Or a giant grounded vacuum dome around the house, sort of like a huge thermos.

 

[The Pentium Guy]

You need a UPS

 

[Fern]

Originally posted by: Jeff7

Originally posted by: corkyg
Agree with Jeff - nothing will stop a direct hit. Good grounding cables and wires are the best defense. But - lightning sometimes does not play by the rules. If you live in Southern Arizona, you take it very seriously.

Well sure, something will. Maybe like an energy field with its own nuclear power plant. Or a giant grounded vacuum dome around the house, sort of like a huge thermos.

The only thing that I have seen proven to stop it (still wouldn't say 100% cuz as noted above lihjtning doesn't play by the rules) is a "Farraday cage" (not sure I spelled his name right?)

It effectively cancells the magnetic field thus no electricity. That's the technology in use by a product called "lightning retardant cable". It's a highly patented cable system approived the FAA and in use by some airports. They have literally hundreds of miles of underground cabling (for runway lights etc) and are particularly vulnerable as lightning travels unbelievable distances underground.

Fern

Fern

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: Fern

The only thing that I have seen proven to stop it (still wouldn't say 100% cuz as noted above lihjtning doesn't play by the rules) is a "Farraday cage" (not sure I spelled his name right?)

It effectively cancells the magnetic field thus no electricity. That's the technology in use by a product called "lightning retardant cable". It's a highly patented cable system approived the FAA and in use by some airports. They have literally hundreds of miles of underground cabling (for runway lights etc) and are particularly vulnerable as lightning travels unbelievable distances underground.

Fern

Fern

Well of course it plays by the rules. It just doesn't play by the rules of low voltage. High voltage rules are what it follows. They're just more complicated is all.

Faraday Cage.
According to that, this sort of shielding is already in use in some secure government structures.
So there ya go. Build yourself a Faraday Cage around your house.
Of course, you'd STILL need surge protectors, as the power company and appliances in your home can still send surges through the line.:roll:

 

[EULA]

The school I currently work at made a mistake of not having any grounding or surge protectors... got by for about a year, and then a lightning storm took out the $20,000 phone system, most of the ~$400 digital phones, as well as a large portion of the routers and PA system...

They learned their lesson and invested in some lightning protection...