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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend June 11, 2005 Since You Asked: Breakers aren’t best lightning defense Regarding lightning strikes, do you know if flipping your circuit breakers off would have the same effect as running all over the house and unplugging everything? — Tony B., Medford Unfortunately, Tony, the answer is no. Switching off circuit breakers provides only about half of the protection from voltage surges as unplugging electronic equipment, say the folks at Pacific Electrical Consultants. "If you turn off the breaker, you are just disconnecting the ungrounded conductor, but the grounded conductor is still connected, so the voltage spike could come through that very fast and very hot," said Richard Duron, an electrician with the Medford-based company. But there are other options to help prevent delicate electronics from blowing a fuse during a lightning storm. Advertisement Fitting your home’s electrical panel with a surge-suppression unit can help guard electronics from spikes. "It will absorb and clip the voltage, so it cannot cause as much damage," Duron said. Surge-suppression units are especially useful when you are not home to unplug equipment. The units, however, are not impregnable, Duron said. "If there is a direct lightning hit not too much is going to stop that," Duron said. Pacific Electrical Consultants will install a panel unit for about $300, he said. Less expensive plug-in surge protectors are also available. RadioShack offers basic plug-in modules from about $5 to $150. Cost depends on the number of outlets and whether the unit is for an appliance, computer or home theater, said Brady Lorenzen, manager at the RadioShack store at 1345 Center Drive in Medford. Duron recommends taking such precautions year-round. Most electrical surges come from causes other than lightning, such as problems with electrical transformers, he said. Send questions to "Since You Asked," Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by e-mail to [email protected] . We’re sorry, but the volume of questions received prevents us from answering all of them. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker dvd-r Distance Education Computer Security Ztech Media Hosting Sports Equipment Student Loans Online Pharmacy tcg student loan consolidation Online Casino Reviews Myspace Home Equity Loans Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Discount Hotel Reservations Southern Oregon Loans Online Casino News Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Salvia Divinorum Online Casino Fundraisers Advertisement s