I've seen more than a few systems damaged by nearby lightning strikes and power surges. In the worst case, the surge caused each component in the system to fail, one at a time, over a period of weeks. In the least damaged case, only the dial-up modem was fried.
I've also seen monitors, televisions, answering machines, printers, and scanners be affected.
In the last ten years, I've only seen one computer suffer damage that was connected to an UPS, and that device did not have line conditioning. All the other systems were either connected to an old, outdated surge protector, or were plugged directly into a wall socket. The same goes for modems, which are the component I've replaced the most often. Even if the user makes arrangements to protect the CPU and monitor, they often forget to run the telephone line or networking cable into the UPS before connecting to the computer.
I've read that each year, buildings in the USA are struck by lightning 21 million times. A strike within 500 to 1000 feet can cause damage or fire. Lightning <i>kills</i> approximately 100 Americans annually.
Records for the decades since the 1960's show that the danger from lightning increases sharply in May, hits its peak in June and July, and lasts until September. It is estimated at any given moment that nearly 2,000 thunderstorms are in progress over the earth's surface and lightning strikes the earth 100 times each second. It is a myth that lightning never strikes the same place twice. In fact, lightning will strike several times in the same place in the course of one discharge. The electrical potential of a lightning strike can be as much as 100 million volts and the temperature can reach 30,000 degrees Celsius.
Your house and electrical equipment could be next!
Toey
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