Note that if you opt for a UPS, you should plug it in directly into a wall outlet rather than a surge protector or power strip. Generally, a UPS provides similar lightning protection to a surge protector. Are there surge protection systems that can protect your devices against lightning strikes? Whole-home surge protection systems.
You tend to have to go well into the biz/rack mount UPS before you get to a decent level of surge protection. Outside of server room UPS/PCS, it is best to think of a UPS as just a power interruption or brownout protection device.
Can a surge protector stop a lightning strike?
TRUTH: Unfortunately not. A common surge protector will stop voltage spikes and surges, but not the violent, catastrophic burst of current from a close lightning strike. Direct lightning current is simply too big to protect with a little electronic device inside a power strip, or even a hefty UPS unit.
Another popular query is “What is a lightning strike protection system?”.
A lightning protection system is based on the scientific principle that electricity follows the path of least resistance. The system is built to give the electricity in a lightning strike a low-resistance pathway around a home’s pipes and wiring and into the ground, where it is dispersed with little or no damage to the structure.
Direct lightning current is simply too big to protect with a little electronic device inside a power strip, or even a hefty UPS unit. If your UPS or surge protector is in the way of the lightning’s path, all or part of the lightning will just flash over or through the device – regardless of the amount of capacitors and battery banks involved.
The umbrella was zapped by a bolt which caused the man holding it to collapse In the footage, the security guard walks across an open courtyard with an umbrella when lightning strikes. A shower of sparks fills the air as the man falls to the ground.
Can a lightning strike damage electronics?
Lightning typically damages electronics in one of two ways. The first is a direct lightning strike to the home, which is an infrequent occurrence. A direct lightning strike will cause significant damage to electrical and nonelectrical items in the home.
The lightning sends a huge flow of energy up through these lines, terminating the circuits inside electronic devices or in your home’s electrical panel. Surge protectors on outlets and circuit breakers are in place to protect electronics from an unsafe energy flow, but they can be overpowered by the immense amount of energy that lightning strikes transmit.