Reversing loop reliability.

[Rhinochugger]

Sheeeeet lightning strikes???

Yeah, I know it can be frightening, but I've never quite .............

Although we did call on my mother in New Malden on one occasion just after a thunderstorm - she was standing rather unsteadily in the kitchen looking exceptionally pale ................ the fire brigade were just putting some temporary covering over the roof of a house about 5 doors away after a lightning strike

 

[Paul M]

I never thought about it at the time, but the first house we lived in, deep in the London suburbs and within shouting distance of the local gas works and walking distance of the power station with two whopping chimneys, had a lighting conductor. Nowadays I wonder why? There were three storey houses across the road on two sides (we lived on a cross-roads) so what was the point (apart from the fact that it was in the ground - the point that is )?

Because the lightning conductor is there to draw the lightning away from anywhere else and to send safely to earth, rather than hitting something unearthed

 

[JimmyB]

All electric equipment should be disconnected whilst not in use where possible.

Some years ago, as a serviceman the "keys" person, i.e. the locker upper would turn the building main isolator off, as this was the policy, however with the advent of the IT system, overnight servers and automatic backup the policy changed, with the isolator being left on and just non-essential items turned off at the socket.

As a lot of sockets these days are not easily accessible disconnection is not always feasible, however I use the remote socket switches to at least switch the power off at the socket.

 

[melph1]

A house opposite my parents house was hit by lightning.....it caused sparks in the plug sockets of my parents house. Easy to see how electronics are damaged or worse, start a fire.

 

[trammayo]

I'll never forget what happened a few years back. Lightning struck the power lines, through the transformer to the 230v domestic feed. I could see the bolt of lightning travel at ceiling height the full length of our cottage. The mains came in next to the room window and the bolt jumped across to the telephone line and then down to the underground cable ducting.

I was on my PC at the time so it got the volts through the power socket and through the phone line! Even with the protection sockets it fried my PC! One of the joys of living in a rural area!

 

[dunnyrail]

I'll never forget what happened a few years back. Lightning struck the power lines, through the transformer to the 230v domestic feed. I could see the bolt of lightning travel at ceiling height the full length of our cottage. The mains came in next to the room window and the bolt jumped across to the telephone line and then down to the underground cable ducting.

I was on my PC at the time so it got the volts through the power socket and through the phone line! Even with the protection sockets it fried my PC! One of the joys of living in a rural area!

Not just rural area’s. Friend of mine lives in Chesham (not a village nearby it should be stated) and the main power line in is a cable from a pole.