By Paul Bianchina
Lightning produces electrical surges that can damage or even completely destroy electronic devices. The more sensitive the device is to power fluctuations -- computers, televisions, stereos, fax machines, etc. -- the more likely it is to be damaged by these potentially powerful surges.
The most obvious, and the most effective, thing to do when lightning approaches is to unplug any electronic device. While devices are relatively safe if they are plugged in but not turned on, they are still at risk if the lightning is close enough and powerful enough. By unplugging them, you physically break the connection between the device and the home's electrical supply, eliminating the possibility of damage.
Surge Protection
Unplugging everything -- and losing all those clocks and other programs you spent hours getting to work right -- is usually not a very practical solution. The next best thing is to install surge protectors, which react instantaneously to the voltage surges and electronically block the damaging voltage from reaching sensitive electronics.
Surge protectors come in a variety of sizes and styles. The least expensive types are simply a small cube that plug into the wall, and the electronic device plugs into the cube. They are relatively limited in the amount of voltage they can handle and the speed with which they'll react, and are designed to be discarded after being hit with a surge.
A better solution is the surge protector plug strip, which plugs into any home electrical outlet and then has six or eight outlets that electronics can be plugged into. Most types also have a phone jack in them that allows you to extend the surge protection to sensitive telephone equipment as well, and some have jacks for cable television also.
With the huge increase in the number of electronic devices in the home and the resulting popularity of surge protectors, the prices have come down in recent years. An eight-outlet surge protector strip starts at around $50, and the higher-end models, which have a greater range of electrical protection, are still only priced at around $100. Inexpensive protection when compared to replacing a computer or a big screen TV.
Relatively new on the market are whole-house surge protectors. These units install directly at the electrical service panel, between the incoming electrical service and the electric meter itself. Many electric utility companies are now offering these units, and the cost is around $200. Because the electric meter needs to be removed to install the whole-house surge protector, the work must be done by an electric company serviceperson.
UPS
While a surge protector should protect your computer from damage caused by an electrical voltage spike, it won't protect your valuable unsaved data if you're working on the computer when the spike occurs. For that, you need UPS -- not the package folks, but a device called an Uninterruptible Power Supply.
The UPS is essentially a big battery, plugged into the home's electrical system and kept continuously charged by virtue of that connection. Should a surge occur that knocks out the power, the UPS kicks in instantly and automatically, supplying you with a sufficient amount of power to allow you to save your material and shut the computer down correctly.
As with the surge protectors, prices for UPS units have dropped considerably. A home unit can be purchased for around $125, and larger office units, with a greater amount of reserve power for networks and other multi-computer setups, is in the $300 to $400 range.
In addition to the whole-house surge protector mentioned earlier, electric utility companies often have surge protector strips, UPS units and similar devices available for sale to their customers. They know the importance of this type of equipment, so the quality of what they sell is usually excellent, and the prices are kept at or near their cost.
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