I have a client that is prone to lighting I guess.

The first strike (about 1 year ago)...
They lost:
Cordless phone (VOIP)

The second strike (about 6-8 months ago)...
They lost:
PC network card (PC still worked ok).
Dish 722k w/ethernet hookup, just ethernet port was toast.
Netgear router (router powered up but, ports were dead). 

After the second strike I assume that power surges were coming in over the cable modem or phone lines.  They have not had any issues with power inputs being damaged via 120vAC.

I installed APC battery backups on all PCs, routers and switches.  Monster surge protection on all TVs and Dish recievers.  I also installed surge to ground protection on incoming coax (incoming side of cable modem).  I also installed a surge to ground protector (cat 5) between the cable modem and the router.

Third strike (about 3 days ago)
They lost:
Linksys router
Dell Computer (dead as door nail, will not power up)
Dish 722k receiver ethernet port

I thinking the power issue/surge is coming in over CATV coax and then onto the ethernet/LAN.  

I've got an electrican coming out to check the ground on the house but, that will be a few days.  

I'm guessing here but, I'm wondering if the surge is coming in over the power lines.  It tries to shunt to ground but, ground may be bad so, it backfeeds into the grounded items (telco & CATV) at the service entrance.  

I really don't know.  None of these are direct strikes but, the dang sure knock out some equipment.  

Any input?  What can I do on my end to help things out?  I already called an electrician to check the ground but, should we do more?  I'm wondering about whole house suppression but, it seems to be coming in via phone or coax.  

Having lived and worked in SW Florida for the better part of the last 10 years here is what we recommend to all of our customers. Purchase the surge protectors that have the best insurance plans. There is no way to prevent damage due to lighting. Even large companies in the area such as Century Link, used to be Sprint, tells customers the same thing. Lighting is insidious and will find a path to electronics. Even if it is unplugged and stored in a closet. The worst case is the not direct strikes as the energy actually travels to the equipment via the ground wire which unless isolated will never be protected. Even customer who purchase the whole house protection from FP&L are not protected unless they get the insurance.

You do what you can. Whole house surge protection, at the panel, is a good move. But, as you know, that's only as good as the ground. Good move on the electrician, for the ground check. Find out how to check the ground, maybe watch the electrician, ask questions. Might need to be improved, better than 'to code'.

Quick run down.

All incoming grounds, electrical, cable, sat, phone, etc should be grounded at the service entrance ground, this helps with ground loop problems as well. Have the electrician install a whole house surge protector for electrical. LV surge protectors that divert to ground should also be at the service entrance. Surge protection that diverts to ground further down the chain can often be the cause of problems.

At the equipment level do not use surge protectors that divert to ground for interconnected equipment per UL recommendations in their papers on grounding and surge protection. Monster and APC are not great choices for interconnected equipment, use surge protection that doesn't divert to ground. If you have a UPS (like most APC UPS) that has ground diverting surge protection put it after the surge protector that doesn't divert to ground.

Some of your current surge protection might have diverted its energy to ground where it was picked up on a LV line and went directly to the circuit's ground causing damage. This is often the case when ethernet, HDMI and other connections don't work but the unit powers on. Sometime's no surge protection can be better than one that diverts to ground depending on the wiring.

Surges seek earth ground. If it enter on phone or coax (that must already be grounded), then why is it seeking earth ground inside via appliances. Remember how electricity works. If current is incoming to the appliance, then the same current is also outgoing on some other path - simultaneously and same. If both currents do not exist, then no electricity and no surge.

Most common source of incoming surge currents is AC mains. Once that current is inside, then nothing - and I mean nothing - stops, blocks, or absorbs that energy. That current goes hunting for earth. You have listed the paths it took destructively. Some of the best destructive paths to earth are via telephone and cable TV appliances because those wires must be and are probably earthed.

You have assumed a surge enters on one wire, does damage, and stops. So you are confused. So you installed equipment promoted by that myth. If you did not earth a 'whole house' protector on AC mains, then no protection still exists.

Electricians understand what code requires. But do not typically understand how electricity works. A connection that meets code may still be ineffective earthing for surge protection. For example, a breaker box earthing wire (bare copper quarter inch) may go up over the foundation and down to earth. Sufficient for code. And insufficient for surge protection. That wire is too long, too many sharp bends, and bundled with other non-grounding wires.

Electricians are taught concepts of resistance. Surge protection is about impedance. A ground wire inside a metallic conduit can have low resistance. But the metallic conduit creates excessively high impedance. If doing surge protection, then you must appreciate these differences.

Protection is always about where energy dissipates. Always. No exceptions. Either that surge is harmlessly absorbed outside a building. Or that surge goes hunting for earth ground destructively inside. Essential is for every wire inside every incoming cable to be connected to single point earth ground before entering. Not just any earth ground. Single point. And for each connection to be as short as possible (ie 'less than 10 feet'). Examples of both meeting and exceeding the National Electrical code so that the human safety system can also perform transistor safety.

Protection is always about where energy dissipates. A protector is only as effective as its earth ground - which your so many installed solutions will not discuss and do not connect to.

Find products from more responsible companies including General Electric, Intermatic, Square D, Leviton, ABB, and Siemens. An effective Cutler-Hammer solution sells in both Lowes and Home Depot for less than $50. The effective 'whole house' protector starts at 50,000 amps so that even a typical 20,000 amps direct lightning strike does no damage.

As Westcom mentioned, electricians may not always know what needs to be done. I've used products from this company with good success. These guys started their business by building surge protection products for equipment at the bottom of telecommunications towers.

[Link: masternet1.com]

We had one house all protected with their products, or so we thought, but we did not protect the the feed from the generator for sheet lighting (Sheet lighting is lighting that hops from cloud to cloud in a horizontal manner, sometimes very close overhead). We had surge protectors on the main electrical panels, cables from the dish and telephone lines and all the equipment connected directly to the main panels, dish and phones lines survived!

All equipment connected to the generator was damaged including the controls for the generator as well as the controls for the gate motor. As stupid as it sounds we now install surge protectors on the generator panel as well as any exterior phone lines such as the line for the gate intercom.

That doesn't sound stupid at all. Any conductor entering or exiting a building should have protection.

Westom, as always, thanks so much.

You must have a google alert set up for the term 'surge'.;)

I'd have to agree with this. In Seattle a few years ago we had a strike that took out the entire AV system, including all of the keypads, speakers etc. We had a super beefy Furman power conditioner, but it couldn't contain the damage.

A lot of power conditioner companies make some strong claims...

So, did Furman pay out on that one?

I wouldn't count on those surge protector "insurance policies." Those company's will come up with all sorts of stipulations that make the insurance useless. I have never heard of one of those policy's paying out, or if they do it's very, very rare.

The best thing you can do is get it right the first time, and have an electrical surge rider in your home owner's insurance. This is especially important in South Florida.

The electrician came out yesterday and tested the house ground.

I'm talking out my @$$ here. I know electrical but, I don't know that much about grounding systems.

He used a megger? blah, blah. He said the resistance was a bit high and he thought that maybe they needed a new ground rod. I dunno. I do know the house is 105 years old. The electrical was upgraded several times over the years but, I don't know if new ground rods were installed.

Anyway, the CATV guy was out and he said "the system is better protected than 99% of what I see in the field". Well.... that doesn't mean much.

Basically the electrician is going to drive 3 new ground rods. Some BS about a triangle grounding grid???? (CAN SOMEONE ELABORATE ON THIS?????).

He is also going to replace and/or reground the plumbing, irrigation well and CATV and Telco blocks.
I really don't know what to think about this. Again, I'm not proficient in grounding systems but, this guy is retired Air Force doppler radar installer and he seemed to know what he was talking about.

I don't mind the electrical work... the guy is only charging a couple of bills for everything.

We are going to contact the power company today about adding a "whole house" surge suppression system at the service entrance for a monthly fee.

Maybe between the two, it will help. I don't think it will stop it but, maybe help.

The owner doesn't mind spending the money. I have told the owner that this is not our specialty but, we would be willing to assist as needed (within reason).

Much of what you need to know was already posted. A connection from the cable TV coax must be as short as possible (ie 'less than 10 feet') to those earth ground rods. That wire must have no sharp bends. No splices. Be separated from other non-grounding wires. Not inside metallic conduit. All grounds must meet at those rods.  Inspection that every layman can perform.

The telco ground for that telco installed surge protector must meet the same connection requirements.

A bare copper ground wire from breaker box to earth that goes up over the foundation was also defined insufficient.

Triangle separation is defined by code requirements. Each rod should be almost a rod length away from all other rods to both meet and exceed code.

The electrician could have installed a 'whole house' protector that costs (for example) $50 in Lowes (as posted previously). Or pay $6 per month to rent one. Reread that previous post. If the information is new (and if like me), then important facts will still be discovered in a third reread.

  Above was only a secondary protection system. A primary protection system should also be inspected.

Protection is defined by earthing. For some, a single earth ground rod is massive grounding. (Water pipe is no long considered sufficient for earthing.) For others with less conductive soil, a large earthing system is required (ie Ufer ground). Better earthing and low impedance connections (ie 'less than 10 feet') are necessary.

The ground conductor is supposed to be unbroken from the panel to the last ground rod. I have the NEC article about this, somewhere, but I think it was Article 24. If you have access to the NEC book, they have a whole section for low voltage. Also, as of '05, any old work to be abandoned is to be removed as far from the new work and dead-ended so it can't be easily connected to in an attempt to re-use it.

I find it interesting that the cable guy commented on how well it was grounded, considering how "well" they usually ground their service.

It sound like the electrician has a better handle on this than many. If your state is like Wisconsin, they no longer offer the whole-house surge protection meters. I think they should all offer this.

If you are talking "surge" or "lightning" then you are talking basically two different things. The grounding conductor that runs to the grounding electrode at a building service is for lightning to have a path to ground. No bends in that conductor are going to impede that lightning. You are also assuming a direct strike as a path into the house, but when lightning strikes nearby, it creates a momentary EMF pressure wave that causes the electrons in the building conductors to "surge". This is what the SPD (surge protection device) is protecting the equipment from in the case of lightning. Normal surges on the line can come from inside your house from things like the AC and other motor loads that generate voltage spikes. Those surges degrade the equipment over time.

The grounding conductor that equipment uses is for a low impedance path to ground in order to open the fuse or breaker in case of a short. No current should be on that conductor, though there will be stray current, phantom current etc on there sometimes. The current that flows when equipment is used (120v) travels on the grounded, white, conductor back to the utility companies transformer.

The electrician mentioned is installing a delta ground. I know that a lot of commercial buildings use it, I don't know if it is really any better. When they stopped using copper pipe in the ground, they lost a great part of the grounding electrode system. All that copper in contact with the earth made a great ground. A lot of jurisdictions now require that the rebar in the slab be bonded to the service so that you are getting that earth contact. Two ground rods are the minimum.