Lightning Safety Basics for Your Home - A Plain-English Guide
Last verified: September 2026
Lightning does harm two ways: a rare direct strike, and the far more common nearby strike that sends a surge down your power and data lines. Here's how to protect your electronics and yourself, calmly. Want a hand? My number is (330) 200-8042.
Lightning Safety, at a Glance
Lightning damages electronics two ways. A direct strike is rare and catastrophic — and honestly, nothing plug-in reliably survives one. Far more common is a nearby strike, which sends a surge into your home on the power lines, and on your cable and phone lines too. Layered protection — a whole-home unit plus plug-in protectors — greatly reduces that everyday and nearby-strike damage, and in a severe storm the surest step is simply to unplug your treasures, data lines included. This guide keeps it calm and plain, including how to keep yourself safe. There's a printable 29-page version up top.
Common Questions
1 Will a surge protector stop lightning?
It greatly reduces damage from the common threats — nearby strikes and grid jolts — but nothing plug-in reliably survives a direct hit. That's why unplugging your treasured devices in a severe storm is still the surest step of all.
2 Does lightning have to hit my house to hurt my electronics?
No — and that's the big surprise. A nearby strike some distance away can push a surge onto the power lines, and along the cable and phone lines too, that travels right into your home.
3 What's the surest way to protect a device in a bad storm?
Unplug it — the power cord and the data lines both, like the cable or coax. An unplugged device gives a surge no wire to reach it on. Do the unplugging as the storm approaches, not during the worst of it.
4 How do I keep myself safe during a storm?
Calmly and simply: stay off corded phones and wired devices, keep away from plumbing and water, and stay away from windows, until the storm has clearly passed. A cell or cordless phone is fine to use.
5 Do I have to unplug everything, every storm?
No. For everyday storms your layered protection handles things quietly in the background. Save the unplugging for the rare, violent storm sitting right overhead.
6 Is whole-home protection worth it against lightning?
Yes — it's your first line of defense against the nearby-strike surges that ride in on the lines, and it guards hardwired gear a strip can't reach. It's a licensed electrician's job, and it pairs with plug-in protectors for full coverage.
Would You Rather I Just Help?
Storms are a lot less scary once you're set up for them. I'll put good plug-in protectors on your electronics and their data lines, label the plugs so unplugging is quick, and line you up with a trusted electrician for a whole-home unit if you want one. Nothing to sell you, ever. $99 flat for a visit, 30-day come-back-free.
Would you rather I just do this for you?
No shame in it — plenty of folks would rather hand it off, and that's what I'm here for. I'll come to your home, set it up right, and make sure it's working before I leave. Flat $99 per visit — no jargon, no upsell, and every visit is 30-day come-back-free.
Not a hardware job? I can often fix it remotely for $49 — a secure screen-share, up to 2 hours, that you watch the whole time and can end whenever (included free for $39/mo Support Plan members, and it counts toward the $99 if it turns out I need to come out).