by Mubanga Sampa 
A lightning strike can cause a home fire or other physical damage. It can also cause an electrical surge, which can damage your appliances and electronics. A few safety measures can save you a lot of money and headaches. If you protect your home from lightning, you may not even know it’s been struck. However, if your defences are down, you could be looking at a hefty repair bill that insurance may not cover. In this article, we will explore a few ways you can protect your home from lightning.
How to protect your home from lightning
There’s nothing more important than protecting your home and its contents – including, of course, your family. That’s why it’s crucial to take steps to guard against lightning strikes, which can cause major damage to your home’s electrical work and can even start a fire. Fortunately, there are several measures you can take to reduce the chance of lightning harming your home, possessions or family. Read on to learn how to keep these powerful forces of nature at bay.
Lightning protection systems
Most of us have heard of lightning rods (also known as air terminals). These are typically part of lightning protection systems. If lightning strikes, these systems are designed to help disperse the electrical energy into the ground and influence its path in a way that minimises damage to the structure. The kind of protection these systems offer is not absolute. However, they significantly reduce the risk of fire and structural damage by reducing the energy flowing through the structure itself.
Surge protection
Chances are, you won’t ever have to experience a direct lightning strike to your home. That, however, doesn’t mean that lightning can’t affect you in other ways. When lightning strikes anywhere in the immediate area, especially to an electric line or something else connected to the power grid, the resulting electrical surge can travel through utility transmission lines to nearby homes. And, of course, a direct lightning strike on your home can cause serious damage. Fortunately, you can add layers of protection to your electrical devices and appliances making them less vulnerable to power surges. The first step is to purchase surge protectors for all your devices instead of plugging them directly into your wall outlets. You can also have an electrician install a comprehensive surge protector in your circuit box which will protect the electrical work for the entire home.
Check your insurance coverage
Even if you take all the precautionary steps, you will want to make sure your homeowner’s insurance and renters insurance plans cover damage caused by lightning. Not all insurance plans are the same, so make sure yours will cover damage done to your home and electronics. It is especially important to make sure you are covered in case of lightning damage if you live in an area that has frequent lightning storms.
