Surge Protector Lightning Strike Protection: Computer & Modem Safety During Storms

Hello. I have a small question. I would like to know if the surge protector will protect my computer (or other equipment) against lightning strikes. After all, when the storm goes on, I disconnect the entire strip from the network (I prefer to be safe), I also disconnect the cable from the modem, but will this strip protect the computer, or will the lightning impulse be so strong and sudden that the strip will not have time to work? and it will burn the strip and what is connected to it. Oh, the installation in the block is zeroed.

I am afraid that it will be of little use during a lightning strike in the power grid, yes - it protects against harmful impulses from the grid, but not against lightning. You do well by disconnecting the cables from the modem, I have seen and heard about quite severe losses after the storm more than once or twice. Telecommunications links are also exposed to discharges, as evidenced by the telephone exchange in the company where the sister works - the exchange motherboard.
greetings

heh
The lightning probably will not be stopped by any strip or ups

Thank you so I thought and now I am 1000% sure

Generally, switched-mode power supplies do not withstand storms much worse than conventional transformers. Balance of losses after the last storm:
power supply from a desktop computer
laptop power supply
phone charger (SMPS)
digital camera battery charger (SMPS)
Devices powered by transformers were not damaged.
BTW: the computer was connected via a power strip and according to Murphy's law, his power supply burned (Semiconductor, secured with a fuse, will protect it by burning first)
So I recommend disconnecting all power receivers, and if this is not possible, then at least switching power supplies and devices connected to the telephone network as well.

Damian. wrote:

Hello. I have a small question. I would like to know if the surge protector will protect my computer (or other equipment) against lightning strikes.

The answer is - yes and no. The strip is only an element of the surge protection system. It consists of:

- A type arrester - mounted by ZE on poles
- type B arrester - mounted on the building connection
- type C arrester - installed in the fuse box of the apartment
- D-type arrester - mounted next to the receiver.

The strip is a type D protection. Similarly to the UPS input circuits. The idea of the cascade system is such that the protectors cut off at lower and lower voltage, but they are also able to absorb less energy. A type A spark gap can discharge a lightning current of several thousand A, but the voltage on it may be several thousand V. A protector B will receive a current of hundreds of amperes and suppress it to voltages of the order of kV, etc. As you have probably guessed, the D protector itself is not able to seize and suppress lightning energy. But it is always some kind of protection against induced overvoltage (not lightning strike the wire) or overvoltage from other inductive loads. The C protector costs about 100 PLN, B about 500.

I saw the UPS after the lightning meeting - a pile of coal in the housing, and the computer survived, and the power supply in it, so there is some protection.

However, I think that I would prefer not to risk and I will pull the plug from the socket I have a friend who installs radio internet and he often told me that after a lightning strike, more than once in customers' clients only the mouse and the floppy disk drive survived ... And now I will write something that bothers me too. we have on sale, it is known that they will not be able to handle lightning, but once we had one Vivanco slat in our offer, which the manufacturer guaranteed that it would also protect against lightning and this strip cost about PLN 120 What can you think about it?

How the devices that are powered with transformers survived, then the best protection will be an isolation transformer.

That is 230V / 230V

nemo07 and these are not magneto by accident ?? still a fuse varistor and you have a fairly good protection

Hello.

A little late.

I will give such actual events.

The cable from the 230V socket of the TV is turned off. The TV set is placed on the extension cord connected to the 230V mains.
The cable TV plug is connected to the receiver. Cable TV network properly grounded.

Effect: as a result of the discharge, the center of the TV circuit board (approx. 10 cm in diameter) literally burns out.

I do not scare you, but nothing will stop the discharge, even a few centimeters of plastic or ground insulation.

I used to laugh at a storm. Now I know the possibilities. When discharging, even with proper grounding, the difference in grounding resistance (according to the ~ 5 OHM standard at a discharge current of thousands of amps gives a drop of at least a few thousand volts or more.

Regards, Zdzisław.

there is no overvoltage protection concept other than the multi-stage model presented by William Bonawenture, which is a development of the zone model
the reason is simple - there are currently no elements capable of absorbing very high energy and at the same time "switching on" quickly enough
varistors in the strip are the last element of the system - the fastest, the most sensitive but at the same time the most delicate - not having a chance to meet a larger overvoltage, they do not say what a lightning strike
Another thing is the impulse resistance of the devices - it should be 1.5kV for 1.2 / 50 (8/20) but it is not obligatory (it is often stated that the reaction of the device to such an impact has been checked, but without giving the results of the check, because in many cases the device does not they withstand)
damian. -what to the strips with insurance -producet gives the address of the insured and the contract number
the contract contains a provision on the need for comprehensive overvoltage protection, usually with the reservation of a specific device manufacturer, the cost of which in many cases exceeds the value of the protected equipment
nemo07
spark gaps from the link you provided are used mainly in telecommunications to protect subscriber lines (the smallest ones)
apart from many stages of surge arresters, their mutual coordination is also necessary - placing B and C classes next to each other will cause B to damage before C works - Manufacturers provide minimum distances between the surge arresters or recommend the use of coupling chokes
it does not mean that using only class D arresters is pointless - they protect against overvoltages of smaller amplitude and against too high supply voltage (e.g. in the case of "burnout to zero", in combination with a fast fuse, preferably in a strip)
However, you should be aware that this is a one-time operation - the resistors are quickly damaged, often explode - you need to control them
in my opinion, buying cheap overvoltage strips does not make economic sense - we will achieve the same effect by buying an ordinary strip for a few times less money and adding a varistor for PLN 3 - technically the same, but costs much less

Open - linking the topic from the home page www.elektroda.pl

I think the topic is partially exhausted - no galvanic isolation, let's focus now, just like a colleague RPG he noticed that on the protection of the equipment by the isolation transformer - it will burn out first (primary winding, both) or maybe it will pass some impulse on?

Another topic may be the use of cell phones, laptops, and other battery (and radio) devices during an electrical storm (EMP influence).
I must admit that I have used my laptop more than once during a storm, having WiFi connected to the router ("radio" ISP). It also happened that the laptop was charged with the help of UPS, but without connecting to the mains.

And in order not to do OT, I also disconnect everything when I'm at home, what's more, I prefer to put antenna cables and even a twisted pair away from the equipment.

Hello,

I am surprised by one thing no one mentioned here about backstops, unless they are these protectors.

From my experiences with the storm, I can only add that I had such a situation. While I was working on a laptop that was plugged into the mains via the power adapter, the monitor was also turned on as a second screen and an external drive. When it flashed outside the window and rattled, which may indicate that lightning struck somewhere nearby, there was a drop, or maybe even a voltage drop.

Since then, I connect everything to the strip, then only the monitor was connected. When I'm not using it, I just disconnect everything, just in case.

As for these surge voltage devices, I would like to add that it is a good way to protect against a storm. However, it is quite an event because this device is disposable and its cost is quite high.
Once I went to an electric wholesaler in my city, the lady told me that they are priced above 1k PLN.
I also looked at auction sites and the device costs over PLN 300 there, I will add that these are good companies that deal with the production of electrical accessories.

Greetings.

I do not know if I combine well, but as far as I know, the higher the voltage, the longer the spark can be created. Therefore, even when the TV is turned off with the switch, the spark will jump. That's how I understand it. Following this lead, so what if we have some kind of overvoltage protection, since the distance between the input to such a device and its output is 4-5 cm? The spark will jump in many cases anyway ... That is why unplugging the cable from the power socket is the best way. The fuses in the impulse power supply will not blow out, because it is not the high current that destroys the semiconductor, but too high voltage and some current - but not necessarily high. Devices powered by a transformer are in a better position. The transformer has an inertia that is much greater than that of a transistor, for example. Therefore, with smaller discharges, the transformer will not be damaged, and the semiconductors will. What's more, there are discharged capacitors behind the transformer, which also absorb some energy. If I'm talking nonsense, correct me.

The lightning energy is not that big at all
Several or a dozen kWh.

The strip itself is of no use during a storm! However, it fulfills its role in everyday use.
Lightning protection measures include arresters [(ABCD) spark gaps, blow-off lightning arresters, valve arresters, spark gaps with varistors, capacitors, chokes, resistors] and shielding devices (used in external protection). Even when designing a lightning protection system, it is necessary to take into account the installation wires and their distance in the wall ...
Maybe I wrote a little illegible but LEMP EMP protection is not as simple as a "strip", it is only one of the elements of such protection.

To Forestx.
On what scientific and logical basis do you write such nonsense?
Lightning voltage min. several hundred thousand Volts, the intensity of the discharge current is at least several (several, several dozen even up to a million) thousand amps.
Count and you will see what a few kWh are.
Yes, the discharge time is short, but the energy is colossal.

piotr.grad: Take a 12V / 1A fuse or smaller and connect 6V / 3A, you will see how nicely it burns, and that's half the voltage. Do the test the other way too. Connect 24V and 0.2A - the fuse will theoretically withstand up to 0.5A at 24V.

Fuses in a domestic installation are usually 25A / 16A and 230V rated. If there is a short circuit in the network, the amperage rapidly increases, which causes the fuse to blow (or the electromagnet to trip, depending on the fuse type). In this case, the tension drops as far as I know correctly. However, the fuse works with the correct amount of watts (U * I). Even counting that the lightning will only have 1V and its amperage will reach 10,000A, the 25A fuse will work, and usually the lightning has "a little" higher voltage and current. The fuse has tripped and the lightning is trapped on the line so it goes the other way through the equipment being made of charcoal.

Someone raised the topic of isolation transformers. This is somehow reducing the possibility of cargo going to the network with connected equipment. However, remember to protect both windings with some kind of fuse, because miracles can happen when more current flows in the secondary winding. I just don't know if it would be cheaper for equipment to be insured against surges and storms.

Conclusion: The simplest, cheapest and most effective protection of receivers against lightning is their physical isolation from any type of network.

Interesting fact: If you managed to collect 14 lightning bolts and secure their energy, its later use would be enough for a whole year of powering one apartment (we are talking about bills about PLN 150 / month).

@kubiaczek: that's nonsense

Regarding lightning energy:
"The main discharge carries a current of 30 to 50 kA, but there are also discharges generating 150 kA. During the impact, a charge of 5 coulombs flows, and the total energy corresponds to 140 kWh."
a quote from http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piorun, in another source I found only 40kWh

I do not know who came up with the idea that the lightning bolt has the energy equivalent to powering the apartment for almost a month - but he was a huge optimist and a bit of a fantastic.

@Pokrentz: I feel sorry for you. A device powered by an ordinary transformer has fallen?

The voltage "written" on the fuse has nothing to do with the burnout of the wire. It is about the ability to extinguish the arc formed during burnout. The moment it burns out, the current will continue to flow for some time through the burning arc.

If the energy from the discharge was worth something, there would be companies that would accumulate it.
I would be skeptical about the separating tariff. If it is sounding good at the pole next to the house, it will probably fall and devices that are disconnected from the socket, will fall from the force of the impulse that is induced on practically every circuit. So that there is no 100% method, in most cases a little bit of common sense is enough (disconnecting the cables).

At the time when they were trumpeting about the recent floods, in our Beskids it was pounding sharply day after day. You can see the line is well secured. It was so short from flash to thunder that I didn't have time to curl up. The current "went out" for a few seconds. the phone (or rather the magneto) just snapped. Knock on everything is alive. But a friend in the store had a good move with new PC power supplies

First, b / good grounding and then all the protections, if you don't have it, all the protections are just for decoration. The fastest fuse is the hihi transistor. There is no protection with a direct hit. incident. incident before 3 days 1.5 km of telecommunications cable to be replaced.
Greetings! 73 !!

Please don't get confused power with energy

dipol wrote:

First b / good grounding and then all protections

- and here's a little problem - grounding.
From the beginning: I work in the cable cable so after the last storms I have a large overview of the damage. TV sets, set-top boxes, modems, routers, network cards, electric cookers and, interestingly, controllers in central heating furnaces.

Example:
A two-story house, in that year a friend was renovating the ground floor, including replacing the entire electrical installation, on the first floor there are still old Al cables without grounding (two-wire installation).
After a lightning bolt (probably hit an electric line) on the ground floor a TV set, a network card and an electric cooker flew out.
Nothing on the first floor - a computer connected to the same router, a TV set powered by two of them from the same cable.
I absolutely do not mean disconnecting the earth electrode, but there is something to my humble one.

And how do mains voltage stabilizers work?
e.g. PowerMate 625 ?
Will he swallow the peaks of the usual overvoltage in the network?
-I need to secure LCD TV + Nki tuner

forestx wrote:

Please don't get confused power with energy

dipol wrote:

First b / good grounding and then all protections

- and here's a little problem - grounding.
From the beginning: I work in the cable cable so after the last storms I have a large overview of the damage. TV sets, set-top boxes, modems, routers, network cards, electric cookers and, interestingly, controllers in central heating furnaces.

Example:
A two-story house, in that year a friend was renovating the ground floor, including replacing the entire electrical installation, on the first floor there are still old Al cables without grounding (two-wire installation).
After a lightning bolt (probably hit an electric line) on the ground floor a TV set, a network card and an electric cooker flew out.
Nothing on the first floor - a computer connected to the same router, a TV set powered by two of them from the same cable.
I absolutely do not mean disconnecting the earth electrode, but there is something to my humble one.

Yes, there is a lot of misunderstanding and lack of knowledge in the basics of electrical engineering.
For example, the forestx group completely showed a lack of understanding of the concept of earth electrode - very common.
In order to properly perform overvoltage protection, a correct subtractive situation analysis must be performed:

1. Lightning protection, including the condition of the earth electrodes - possible lack thereof,
condition of the lightning protection installation or lack of eggs (or to verify analytically the necessity or the possibility of resignation from the lightning protection installation, which, however, does not exclude the necessity of the existence of earth electrodes).

2. The condition and type of the network system and the condition of the receiving installation.

3. The condition and types of applied overvoltage protections, which must be compatible with the points described above.

And no offense, but people who do not have knowledge in these fairly serious and wide areas - lack of theoretical knowledge - education - electrical engineering studies indicated and specific long-term practice, write just such dires, which can additionally cause a lot of damage - this is not a "battery" game .

EAndrzej wrote:

For example, the forestx group completely showed a lack of understanding of the concept of earth electrode - very common.

- dear Andrzej - I did not show anything (absolutely no offense), I just gave an example and one could possibly discuss whether "something is there" or not.

On the other hand, if you "sit" in the topic of electrics / installations of any kind, you know how it looks in practice: read "lines fall".
In blocks / houses from the previous century, the concept of grounding exists only on paper. When I feel the concentration of one cage in the box, you can see jumping sparks at night when switching cables, and the whole is under the voltage of ?115V (half phase).

Back to the topic:
You should ask yourself whether it is worth investing in overvoltage protections - of course I'm talking about additional ones.
In my opinion, it is not worth it, unless someone lives in a place where he "flicks" regularly.
I took a shortcut, and to put it bluntly I went to an insurance company . Two years ago, my TV set flew during a storm and my insurance paid off.

PS
I know what an earth electrode is, and my qualification certificate is valid until May 2012

Sometime last year, the family got some equipment burned.
In the laptop that was charging and was connected to the router with a twisted pair, the network card and 2 ports in the router burned down, the stationary port was connected to the above-mentioned second port. The graphics card in the stationary one (the LCD survived and is doing well) HDD something crashed until finally the electronics (motor controller) burned down - the network card in the stationary one was fine. So the router has two ports burned and, interestingly, it synchronizes correctly with TPSA, gets IP, but does not split the internet into WiFi / ports (2 that have survived). The central heating stove controller (Neutral to hot connectors) also burned down, the video intercom (gate and two uniphones) and the decoder with the converter (I don't know what the gw service says) should also be replaced. The stove in the kitchen did not work either, but it turned out that after this storm there was something with one phase. Fortunately, everything is insured. And my aunt also mentioned something that she saw through the window a lightning bolt up to 100m in front of her (I don't believe it).