Lightning Strike on Your Home

Anyone who has been in a home hit by lightning will tell you the sound can be deafening and the experience somewhat disorienting. Fire A typical bolt of lightning can result in heat of up to 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Naturally, the odds of a resulting fire are great. Often such fires may not be immediately noticeable, emanating in attic space or within the walls of the home. Even if there is no visible flame, responding firefighters quickly can determine whether there is an immediate hidden danger. Call 911 following a lightning strike on your home. Keep in mind, however, that your fire department only can address the current situation. Have a qualified electrician diagnose frayed wiring and other potential hazards as soon as possible. Power surges Perhaps even more common than fire damage is the electrical chaos resulting from severe power surges following a lightning strike. While a typical household normally will experience everyday flows of up to 220 volts, lightning voltage measures in the tens of millions. The good news is you're not completely at risk. Virtually all houses are equipped with some level of surge protection. Surprisingly, the average home has thousands of surges each year, most caused by everyday devices. Power tools, refrigerators, and hair dryers are among the usual surge suspects. This "whole house" protection is different from the devices you may have connected to various appliances within the home. The surge protector used with a personal computer, for example, is simply an added level of precaution. Your home also should be grounded, meaning there is an alternative path around the electrical system that is intentionally connected to the earth. The National Electric Code requires home electric systems to be grounded. If you suspect inadequate grounding in your home, a licensed electrician can perform an evaluation. When lightning strikes, proper surge protection and grounding usually will spare a home's electrical system from complete destruction. Many of the residing appliances won't be so lucky. The speed and sheer magnitude of a strike can and will render many electrical systems useless, burning out circuit boards in less than a second. Appliances lost Like other natural disasters, lightning carries with it a sense of inconsistency and mystery. Just as a tornado leaves a single house standing in a neighborhood of devastation, a lightning-induced surge seems to randomly choose victims among the dozens of appliances in your home. Among the most common to fall prey to a strike are telephones and personal computers, likely due to their multiple outlets. Both are connected to potential strike paths through electrical outlets and phone lines. Therefore, the best defense is to remove such appliances from the path of the surge. Unplug computers and telephones from electrical outlets and phone lines during a thunderstorm. Don't rely on any surge protector to keep such appliances out of harm's way. More important, make sure the occupants of the home follow a similar rule. The warnings you recall from childhood are true--when a storm is in the air, avoid contact with electrical appliances. Lightning may strike nearby electric and phone lines, traveling to your home from there. For added safety, avoid water and stay clear of doors and windows. Exterior damage One would imagine that the force of a lightning strike would cause considerable exterior and possibly even structural damage, particularly at the point where the bolt hits the home. While such blows can and do result in some level of disrepair, the strike contact often causes little or no damage to the home. A typical lightning bolt is only about as wide as a half-dollar, and damage done at the point of contact may not be much larger.