"Surge Protection Question" Topic

I know I should know the answer for this…

The other night, we were expecting severe thunderstorms. As they were rolling in (and after a quick flickering of the lights), I went downstairs and dutifully turned off the power strip/surge protector for the 46" HDTV, Cable Box, Wii, etc. and noticed the "protected" light go off.

So, I was wondering if it makes sense to power down the device, or if by doing so I was minimizing the effect of the surge protector (i.e., is it an Active or Passive device)?

If you are expecting lightning then I would suggest unplugging devices, not just switching them off.

Not sure if surge protectors are designed to protect against lightning -- they are typically used more to smooth out spikes in the power supply.

Unplugging devices (that includes internet cables etc) is your best option.

No surge protector will stop a direct hit. Though some of the more advanced ones can stop a pretty nasty surge. Regular surge protectors will only stop minor spikes and anything too big just blows right through.

Unplug is the only way to provide the best protection for your components. No surge protector less than say $3,000 can stop a lightning strike and those surge protectors are usually only used for power generating units like windmills and solar cells to protect them and even then – they may or may not protect what they are supposed to protect! Lightning is a pretty destructive force.

What they said.

Note that you don't need a direct hit. A strike nearby is a powerful flow of electrons, which in turn creates a powerful magnetic field. This dynamic magnet field will induce a current in any nearby long conductors, such as ethernet cables, power lines, etc. There won't be lots of current, but there will be enough voltage to leap over the small gap in many electrical switches and burn through semiconductors.

So if it gets exciting unplug power, but also network connections and any other long wire that leads into an expensive box. Shielded cable should be okay, but better safe than sorry.

Andrew

I'm with the majority here.

Unplug your valuable kit.
It's also smart to do this overnight.

Unplug as close to the active device as possible.
ie. Remove power socket at the wall (Unless you have one of those "Kettle plugs" (eg Home PC), which you can also remove it from the device.
Ethernet cables and Aerial leads should be unplugged from the PC or TV.

Screened cables provide some advantages, but are mainly specced aaginst crosstalk from other network cables or against mains hum.
A nearby Lightning strike will exceed the design spec by several orders of magnitude.

I wish you good luck, mayy you never sugger that lightning strike.

Steve