I thought this group might like some “lessons being learned†from a lightning strike at my house and may be able to offer some insight to how others have addressed related issues. For all the planning that most people put in to this technology, protection for lightning is usually an afterthought. I thought I was careful but it found some things I hadn’t considered.
Friday, August 21st in Bedford, Texas around 7:13:34 lightning struck a 80’ Post Oak about 12 feet off my house, ripped most of the bark off the lower portion of the tree, went into the ground and entered my house through the gas line. It came out in the front furnace closet when it hit a 180 degree bend in the flex line starting a gas-fed fire.
Through a series of events that were 1-in-a-million, there was nobody in the house when this happened and a neighbor noticed “too much steam†coming off my roof, walked over to investigate, smelled something burning and called the fire department. The smoke/fire damage was relegated to just the furnace closet but to show up to 11 emergency vehicles and a ladder up over your house is unnerving to say the least.
The most “humerous†part, if there is one, was that while the firemen were in the house the heat detector (135) in the furnace closet tripped and scared the living daylights out of them – my father arrived before I did and they asked him to shut it off because “it is so loud we can’t talk†but it ultimately told them where the fire was. I was asked by one fireman what type of system it was because “we’ve never had one talk to us beforeâ€.
Now for the fun part: What can only be described as a “Selective Electromagnetic Pulse†went through the house leaving some things just fine while smoking others. Due to the layout of the house, there is a closet in the back with 4 “cans†in it (2 for Elk, 1 ALC, 1 Altronix), 1 ‘can’ in a front closet for ALC, Elk Expansion, Ethernet and 1 ‘can’ in the garage for sprinklers, pump, etc.
This house, over the years, has been slowly retrofitted with:
• Elk M1
o Multiple smoke/heat zones
o 30+ doors, windows, motion, temperature
o Integration to RCS TR-36 and RCS Zone controller
o Integration to UPB
o Integration to ALC
o 24 relays running sprinklers, pump, tank fill
• OnQ ALC
o 3 branches (divided on house breaks)
o ~18 switches total
• UPB
o ~7 switches (still playing with them)
• RCS T-Stats
o RCS TR-36
o RCS TS-36 x2 + Zone controller
o All tied to Ethernet via Digi One SP’s
• Altronix 12VDC 16A Power Distribution
o Multiple fuse panels, each run individually fused
• Hard wired Ethernet to most rooms
A quick walk through of what-lived, what-died and what is somewhere in between:
Commercial AC Power:
• All TV’s, DirectTV, Tivo, DVD, clocks, etc. still worked
• Fridge, near furnace closet, had the control board blown and it spewed water and ice – it was the most damage of anything to the house
• Front Furnace control boards blown (huge burn mark on back where it discharged to the metal furnace)
• 1 UPB switch killed
• 1 ALC Relay switch “welded on†and putting 18VAC out on ALC control lines. This was closest to strike and was on at the time.
• 2 ALC 4-scene switches dead (both near relay). All others still work via local control.
• Old Music & Sound Intercom
• Handful of chargers for cell phone, Bluetooth, etc.
Ethernet:
• Every Ethernet switch in the house is dead or for the high-end cisco’s (side business) any connected port is now dead.
• Except for 3 devices, if it was plugged into Ethernet then the Ethernet port is now blown (laptop, 2 desktops, Digi One SP’s, …)
Elk, ALC & UPB:
• M1 was very upset, even though the fire alarm went off, and wouldn’t communicate (serial, telephone) or reset.
• M1 Ethernet expander
• 2 Elk zone expanders & 1 Elk relay expander
• ALC HLC Controller (and the replacement because I missed the 18VAC on the control lines)
• 2 UPB switches
RCS
• T-stats were fine, both controllers died.
• Replaced everything because of the generation – Tx36 up to Tx60
• Also to note, the controllers didn’t just “die†– when power was reapplied they turned on an invalid set of relays for the unit (I had already unplugged furnaces first)
Altronix 12VDC Power system
• 2 fuses “blackened†on the path from the front furnace closet (used on RCS and Digi One) to the Rectifier/Battery panel.
• But not all of them blackened/blown in the path (???)
• Motion detectors and some other stuff just “not rightâ€
• I suspect that the RCS Zoning controller was taken out by the surge on 12VDC (no proof)
Wiring
• At this time, I have had to replace all Cat 5 and 18/2 CL2 from the front furnace closet to the T-Stat and panels because equipment wasn’t working. Voltage not passing (12VDC was showing 6VDC 30’ away) and TStat acting funny (bad data connection). All worked fine after replacing cables.
• Bundle of Cat-5 (12) from front of house to rear is “suspect†at this time but I really don’t want to replace it.
Conclusion
Based on what was taken out and where it was located, there appear to be 2 distinct paths taken through the house: (1) was from the strike and was purely a “pulse†that was picked up by cat 5 cabling for Elk, ALC and Ethernet which took the biggest hits; (2) The 12VDC pulse came in from the furnace closet (based on fuses blown).
What I have learned to date, not that I have solutions yet:
• ALC is very sensitive to surges. I’ve lost switches in the past and the HLC controller once before.
• My A/C surge protection and grounding is descent. Nothing really lost.
• Cat-5 (Ethernet, ALC, Elk) is a huge antenna that needs firm demarcation points for surge suppression
• 12VDC is susceptible if a surge has a way in. Need to look at suppression at each panel.
• My alarm is unmonitored at this time – and it wouldn’t have helped because it couldn’t send email or call me – but I need to install the outside siren just in case a neighbor isn’t in the right place.
Afterthoughts
Oddly enough, my biggest concern for lightning entering the house was from all the yard runs for sprinkler valves because they come into both the front closet and garage. For this, I wrapped all the lines coming in through a ferrite core twice to stop the “pulse†and figured the relay boards would take the rest. All of this is still in fine.
The Elk, though it managed to sound the alarm, was “dead†when I restarted it – specifically the modules in the front closet were causing comm errors and wouldn’t even show up. Not sure how they managed to set off the alarm but they did.
I was also questioned by the building inspector. Fire inspector called him because I have Brultech Energy monitors and he saw bundles of wires (wrapped in heat-shrink tubing) coming out of the panels to the devices. I wasn't neat on the outside wiring at the time. Required that I get a licensed electrician and he wanted to talk to him personally. The Fire Marshal was also not happy that after they turned off power there was a lot of stuff still running - UPS's on systems, Elk didn't shut off (it was yelling loud) and other things on the 12VDC were still live. I had to explain.
A Checklist (built on experience): Just before power was turned back on, I had to do a "mental" list of what to pull power on so it didn't come back up (elk, 12vdc, UPS's, ...) then my second list was a "partition all the systems so I can power/test each system 1 by 1" which was not as easy as I had initially thought. Second to this would be how to test each system - ALC had 18VAC on the control lines from a switch that didn't go over too well and I never considered metering the control lines...
Plug for Worthington Distribution: I called Debbie at 4pm EST on Friday to get RCS replacements so I could have A/C back up “correctly†instead of “wire jumper†– she managed to get everything I needed drop-shipped from RCS for Saturday delivery and called me back well after their closing hours to confirm I should be receiving it Saturday AM. (hefty price tag for shipping, but …)
IF YOU ARE A CONTRACTOR in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area and understand this technology, I need 2 things that Insurance will cover:
• TDR of Ethernet cabling and report to evaluate for replacement
• Review of ALC & other damage for a “written report†to state the damage is consistent with lightning. Not that they are arguing at all, but it would be nice.
Comments, questions and suggestions welcome. It will be a couple months before everything is back working again (with some upgrades) and I realize I will be seeing other things fail in the next 6 months (even Insurance told me that).
Jay
Friday, August 21st in Bedford, Texas around 7:13:34 lightning struck a 80’ Post Oak about 12 feet off my house, ripped most of the bark off the lower portion of the tree, went into the ground and entered my house through the gas line. It came out in the front furnace closet when it hit a 180 degree bend in the flex line starting a gas-fed fire.
Through a series of events that were 1-in-a-million, there was nobody in the house when this happened and a neighbor noticed “too much steam†coming off my roof, walked over to investigate, smelled something burning and called the fire department. The smoke/fire damage was relegated to just the furnace closet but to show up to 11 emergency vehicles and a ladder up over your house is unnerving to say the least.
The most “humerous†part, if there is one, was that while the firemen were in the house the heat detector (135) in the furnace closet tripped and scared the living daylights out of them – my father arrived before I did and they asked him to shut it off because “it is so loud we can’t talk†but it ultimately told them where the fire was. I was asked by one fireman what type of system it was because “we’ve never had one talk to us beforeâ€.
Now for the fun part: What can only be described as a “Selective Electromagnetic Pulse†went through the house leaving some things just fine while smoking others. Due to the layout of the house, there is a closet in the back with 4 “cans†in it (2 for Elk, 1 ALC, 1 Altronix), 1 ‘can’ in a front closet for ALC, Elk Expansion, Ethernet and 1 ‘can’ in the garage for sprinklers, pump, etc.
This house, over the years, has been slowly retrofitted with:
• Elk M1
o Multiple smoke/heat zones
o 30+ doors, windows, motion, temperature
o Integration to RCS TR-36 and RCS Zone controller
o Integration to UPB
o Integration to ALC
o 24 relays running sprinklers, pump, tank fill
• OnQ ALC
o 3 branches (divided on house breaks)
o ~18 switches total
• UPB
o ~7 switches (still playing with them)
• RCS T-Stats
o RCS TR-36
o RCS TS-36 x2 + Zone controller
o All tied to Ethernet via Digi One SP’s
• Altronix 12VDC 16A Power Distribution
o Multiple fuse panels, each run individually fused
• Hard wired Ethernet to most rooms
A quick walk through of what-lived, what-died and what is somewhere in between:
Commercial AC Power:
• All TV’s, DirectTV, Tivo, DVD, clocks, etc. still worked
• Fridge, near furnace closet, had the control board blown and it spewed water and ice – it was the most damage of anything to the house
• Front Furnace control boards blown (huge burn mark on back where it discharged to the metal furnace)
• 1 UPB switch killed
• 1 ALC Relay switch “welded on†and putting 18VAC out on ALC control lines. This was closest to strike and was on at the time.
• 2 ALC 4-scene switches dead (both near relay). All others still work via local control.
• Old Music & Sound Intercom
• Handful of chargers for cell phone, Bluetooth, etc.
Ethernet:
• Every Ethernet switch in the house is dead or for the high-end cisco’s (side business) any connected port is now dead.
• Except for 3 devices, if it was plugged into Ethernet then the Ethernet port is now blown (laptop, 2 desktops, Digi One SP’s, …)
Elk, ALC & UPB:
• M1 was very upset, even though the fire alarm went off, and wouldn’t communicate (serial, telephone) or reset.
• M1 Ethernet expander
• 2 Elk zone expanders & 1 Elk relay expander
• ALC HLC Controller (and the replacement because I missed the 18VAC on the control lines)
• 2 UPB switches
RCS
• T-stats were fine, both controllers died.
• Replaced everything because of the generation – Tx36 up to Tx60
• Also to note, the controllers didn’t just “die†– when power was reapplied they turned on an invalid set of relays for the unit (I had already unplugged furnaces first)
Altronix 12VDC Power system
• 2 fuses “blackened†on the path from the front furnace closet (used on RCS and Digi One) to the Rectifier/Battery panel.
• But not all of them blackened/blown in the path (???)
• Motion detectors and some other stuff just “not rightâ€
• I suspect that the RCS Zoning controller was taken out by the surge on 12VDC (no proof)
Wiring
• At this time, I have had to replace all Cat 5 and 18/2 CL2 from the front furnace closet to the T-Stat and panels because equipment wasn’t working. Voltage not passing (12VDC was showing 6VDC 30’ away) and TStat acting funny (bad data connection). All worked fine after replacing cables.
• Bundle of Cat-5 (12) from front of house to rear is “suspect†at this time but I really don’t want to replace it.
Conclusion
Based on what was taken out and where it was located, there appear to be 2 distinct paths taken through the house: (1) was from the strike and was purely a “pulse†that was picked up by cat 5 cabling for Elk, ALC and Ethernet which took the biggest hits; (2) The 12VDC pulse came in from the furnace closet (based on fuses blown).
What I have learned to date, not that I have solutions yet:
• ALC is very sensitive to surges. I’ve lost switches in the past and the HLC controller once before.
• My A/C surge protection and grounding is descent. Nothing really lost.
• Cat-5 (Ethernet, ALC, Elk) is a huge antenna that needs firm demarcation points for surge suppression
• 12VDC is susceptible if a surge has a way in. Need to look at suppression at each panel.
• My alarm is unmonitored at this time – and it wouldn’t have helped because it couldn’t send email or call me – but I need to install the outside siren just in case a neighbor isn’t in the right place.
Afterthoughts
Oddly enough, my biggest concern for lightning entering the house was from all the yard runs for sprinkler valves because they come into both the front closet and garage. For this, I wrapped all the lines coming in through a ferrite core twice to stop the “pulse†and figured the relay boards would take the rest. All of this is still in fine.
The Elk, though it managed to sound the alarm, was “dead†when I restarted it – specifically the modules in the front closet were causing comm errors and wouldn’t even show up. Not sure how they managed to set off the alarm but they did.
I was also questioned by the building inspector. Fire inspector called him because I have Brultech Energy monitors and he saw bundles of wires (wrapped in heat-shrink tubing) coming out of the panels to the devices. I wasn't neat on the outside wiring at the time. Required that I get a licensed electrician and he wanted to talk to him personally. The Fire Marshal was also not happy that after they turned off power there was a lot of stuff still running - UPS's on systems, Elk didn't shut off (it was yelling loud) and other things on the 12VDC were still live. I had to explain.
A Checklist (built on experience): Just before power was turned back on, I had to do a "mental" list of what to pull power on so it didn't come back up (elk, 12vdc, UPS's, ...) then my second list was a "partition all the systems so I can power/test each system 1 by 1" which was not as easy as I had initially thought. Second to this would be how to test each system - ALC had 18VAC on the control lines from a switch that didn't go over too well and I never considered metering the control lines...
Plug for Worthington Distribution: I called Debbie at 4pm EST on Friday to get RCS replacements so I could have A/C back up “correctly†instead of “wire jumper†– she managed to get everything I needed drop-shipped from RCS for Saturday delivery and called me back well after their closing hours to confirm I should be receiving it Saturday AM. (hefty price tag for shipping, but …)
IF YOU ARE A CONTRACTOR in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area and understand this technology, I need 2 things that Insurance will cover:
• TDR of Ethernet cabling and report to evaluate for replacement
• Review of ALC & other damage for a “written report†to state the damage is consistent with lightning. Not that they are arguing at all, but it would be nice.
Comments, questions and suggestions welcome. It will be a couple months before everything is back working again (with some upgrades) and I realize I will be seeing other things fail in the next 6 months (even Insurance told me that).
Jay
