Excellent information on surges and surge protection is at:
http://www.lightningsafety.com/nlsi_lhm/IEEE_Guide.pdf
- "How to protect your house and its contents from lightning: IEEE guide for surge protection of equipment connected to AC power and communication circuits" published by the IEEE in 2005 (the IEEE is a major organization of electrical and electronic engineers).
And also:
http://www.eeel.nist.gov/817/pubs/sp...%20happen!.pdf
- "NIST recommended practice guide: Surges Happen!: how to protect the appliances in your home" published by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology in 2001
The IEEE surge guide is aimed at people with some technical background.
Quote:
Originally Posted by westom
Do you really think that little part inside a box will stop what three miles of sky could not? A protector adjacent to a TV must either absorb that energy or block it.
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Protectors do not work by "stopping", "absorbing" or "blocking".
As the IEEE surge guide explains (starting page 30) they primarily work by limiting the voltage from each wire (power and signal) to the ground at the protector. The voltage between the wires going to the protected equipment is safe for the protected equipment.
If using a plug-in protector all interconnected equipment needs to be connected to the same protector. External connections, like
coax also
must go through the protector. The voltage between the wires going to the protected equipment is safe for the protected equipment.
Quote:
Originally Posted by westom
So, which manufacturer spec number claims that protection? Good luck trying to find one.
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Some manufacturers even have protected equipment warranties.
Both the IEEE and NIST surge guides say plug-in protectors are effective.
Quote:
Originally Posted by westom
If a surge is earthed BEFORE entering the building
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Service panel protectors are a real good idea.
But from the NIST guide:
"Q - Will a surge protector installed at the service entrance be sufficient for the whole house?
A - There are two answers to than question: Yes for one-link appliances [electronic equipment], No for two-link appliances [equipment connected to power AND phone or cable or....]. Since most homes today have some kind of two-link appliances, the prudent answer to the question would be NO - but that does not mean that a surge protector installed at the service entrance is useless."
Service panel suppressors do not by themselves prevent high voltages from developing between power and phone/cable/... wires. The NIST surge guide suggests most equipment damage is from high voltage between power and signal wires. An example of where a service panel protector would provide no protection is the IEEE surge guide example starting page 30.
But service panel protectors are very likely to protect anything connected only to power wires from a very near very strong lightning strike.
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The minimum antenna installation standards in the US should be the NEC. It requires a ground block where coax (cable, antenna, dish) enters the house. A ground wire connects the block to the power earthing system. The mast must also be connected to the earthing system. This is not protection from a direct lightning strike to an antenna or dish. For cable, in particular, it should be a short wire from the ground block to a common connection point on the earthing system.