Lightning protection AND putting a receptacle on UPS

[Ignoramus10397]

We bought an expensive TV.

Our house is on top of a little hill, but still the tallest in the area, and was hit by lighting 3 years ago:

I want to redo some things in the house so that some things are done better.

Specifically:

1. Replace existing APC 1400 VA UPS that the "consumer electronics" including the TV and various audio/video things is on, with an APC

2200.

1. Since the 2200 UPS is too big to hide it near the TV, and too ugly (I bought a few military surplus used ones) and unsightly, we want to put it in the basement below the TV area and route the circuit through it. That is, the UPS would be in series with that receptacle.

Is it safe to wire a receptacle to be on a UPS 100% of the time?

1. I want to install surge protection not only on the incoming power line (which the APC 2200 should take care of), but also on the "dish" cable.

What kinds of options do I have?

1. Install a proper lightning rod. I already have a copper rod beaten into the ground. Can I connect my lightning rod to it? Or do I need a separate grounding rod?

i

[Joseph Meehan]

Why are you running a TV on a UPS? UPS is good for some computer type applications where you want a little time time to save what you have been working on. Surely you can live with out the TV for a short while.

???? I am not at all sure what you are talking about here.

I recommend whole house surge protection, but I also suggest real (as in more than the $10.00 jobs at the home store) point source surge protection in addition for all your sensitive expensive equipment.

Have a professional come out and give you an estimate for a proper lightning protection scheme. Call your insurance company and talk to them. They may offer discounts for properly installed professional work. Lightning protection is not a DIY thing. You can make it worse not better.

[trader4]

"3. I want to install surge protection not only on the incoming power line (which the APC 2200 should take care of), but also on the "dish" cable. "

A UPS is a poor substitute for proper surge protection, which should be located at the service panel and have a very short path to a single point earth ground. There it will be effective because of the short ground and will also protect all the electrical eqpt in the house. A secondary surge protection located near the equipment it's intended to protect can serve as secondary protection or for situations where whole house protection is not possible, eg a rental apartment. But it will never be as effective because it relies on the house wiring to get to an earth ground. And the impedance present between whatever place it's connected in the house and the earth ground will be enough to greatly diminish it's effectiveness. Plus, if something does take a hit, I'd rather replace a $100 surge protector at the panel than a $1000 UPS.

Unless you live in an area with frequent power problems, like short outages, or brownouts, or have some mission critical computer applications, IMO, a UPS is waste of money. And I think a UPS is pretty usless for any type of TV, which only needs surge protection.

As far as installing lightening rods, if you want to do that, I would only have that done by a professional. For it to be effective, you need to have it done right. Plus an incorrect install could be worse than having none at all.

[Ignoramus10397]

Well, actually. it would be nice to turn on the TV to see local news or some such. Plus, a UPS provides great protection from bad power.

I am talking about plugging a UPS so that the receptacle (not an extension cord, but a receptacls in the wall) is powered by a UPS.

Circuit Breaker panel ----- APC UPS ---- Receptacle

That's interesting, would you point me to some example product?

Aha, that's helpful to know. I will check around a little bit, you see, it is useful to be informed before talking to any professionals.

i

[Brian]

APC for a " tv and various audio/video things "...

So why you need APC? if you are out of power you could finish watching last 30 min of american idol?

Why, any show that worth anything will have about 20 - 30 reruns. Well unless it is Bush speech, cause noone can handle his speech in reruns, small bits and you can stil see Cheney in the background pulling strings attached Bushes mouth.

Get whole house surge suppressor.

4 not

[chickenwing]

a surge protector does not protect you from lightning

what you want is a lightning arrestor

surge protector only resolves mild surges from your local power company (and they do surge)

[Ignoramus10397]

Make it a $15 UPS.

Thanks. I would like to read a little bit about what it entails, so that I make right choices when talking to those professionals.

i

[Ignoramus10397]

Why not. I do not watch TV at all, but I have no problem with my wife wanting to finish whatever she is watching.

sounds like getting a whole house surge suppressor is a good idea.

i

[Ignoramus10397]

Is a APC 2200 UPS adequate for lightning?

You see, I am not paying a lot of money for these UPSes. I just got four of them for $60 total, this morning. I can easily use them if they offer some benefits.

i

[m Ransley]

Lightning can just as easily come in your satellite dish, cable , antenna, phone or no apparent line and affect your tv. You have alot to protect. A mains surge plus lightning arrestor are a good place to start

[Joseph Meehan]

AND for protection from surges generated within the home.

[Joseph Meehan]

I suggest a good generator setup and a battery powered radio.

[bebo]

"Ignoramus10397"

no, a surge protector is not fast enough to stop lightning. we talking nanoseconds, like...under 5 nanoseconds and circuits are fried.

the arrestor is super fast,(like inside of 5 nanoseconds) it creates a bottleneck to regulate the flow.

[m Ransley]

Trip lite advertises 0 or 1 nanosecond response I think for their better outlet strips, there are phone , power and maybe coaxial ones also in one unit .

[trader4]

"a surge protector does not protect you from lightning what you want is a lightning arrestor surge protector only resolves mild surges from your local power company

and they do surge) "

That depends on what your definition of lightning protection is. Will a surge protector at the service panel protect all the electrical devices in the house from a direct strike hitting the house? Probably not. But that is not the typical case. More typical is lightning hitting some distance away, like a utility pole or wire somewhere down the street, sending a surge down the power line. And that a whole house surge protector will protect against.

[w_tom]

[w_tom]

[Stubby]

And they usually employ MOV devices -- Metal-Oxide Varactors. They work fine, but only once when the oxide gets punched. But there's no way to tell if they have been damaged!

[w_tom]

Any protector that fails on the first transient was defective when installed. Grossly undersized protector is ineffective and overpriced. Any MOV that fails during a transient did not provide necessary protection. Just another fact that plug-in protector manufacturers hope you never learn since such unacceptable failures actually promotes their product among those who don't know what a protector should do.

Effective protectors perform their job so that you never knew a transient even existed.

Stubby wrote:

[trader4]

"no, a surge protector is not fast enough to stop lightning. we talking nanoseconds, like...under 5 nanoseconds and circuits are fried.

the arrestor is super fast,(like inside of 5 nanoseconds) it creates a bottleneck to regulate the flow. "

This is totally wrong. First, go look at a datasheet from any major manufacturer of whole house surge protectors. They clearly state that these devices provide lightning protection on the incoming power line. Second, the response time of any decent whole house surge protector is faster than the rise time of lightning, which is why they work. And finally a surge protector/arrestor does not create a bottleneck to regulate the flow. A surge protector provides a path to ground for the surge,when the voltage exceeds a maximum safe level.