Florida is well known as the "Lightning Capital of the World"!     Lightning arrestors can help prevent damage to internal wiring during a lightning strike.   The lightning strike does not have to be a "direct" hit.   It can hit anyplace on the secondary of the transformer.   This is the wiring from the transformer to your house and your neighbors house that is supplied from the same transformer.  If the lightning hits the pole or wiring that supplies you as well as your neighbors, the lightning will come in your house through the wiring.   I have seen where the wiring insulation is completely burned from the wire and the framing members in the house is charred from the quick flash of electricity.   Needless to say, it is expensive to repair. That's "if" the house is still intact!

The only way you can help prevent lightning from entering your house is through lightning rods and/or whole house lightning arrestors.   Lightning rods can help prevent damage when lightning hits your house.   Lightning arrestors help protect you by directing potential damaging voltages, (Which comes in through the electric wires) to an earth ground at the electrical service.   Remember, the overhead electric wires outside acts like a giant antenna for lightning!

Whole house lightning arrestors can be installed in your home very inexpensively.   This is a small price for peace of mind!

Surge suppressors do what the name says.   They suppress voltage surges.  Whole house surge supressors are designed to standby doing nothing until a high voltage surge comes along.   This most likely will be during a storm but can be anytime.   Then they will do all in their power to prevent the surge from getting through and damaging equipment inside.  If a large surge comes in they will actually "self destruct" if necessary, trying to prevent the surge from getting through. This all happens within 5 nanoseconds or less!

A note should be mentioned here.   Whole house surge suppressors do a great job of saving electrical equipment in your house.   They DO NOT clamp all voltages that would be damaging to sensitive electronic equipment.   The best solution is to have the whole house surge protection "along with" small plug-in surge suppressors that have a "lower" clamping voltage which will give additional protection to sensitive electronic equipment such as computers, tv, vcr etc.

Whole house surge suppressors can be installed for slightly over $200.00.   You can see that protection doesn't cost - It PAYS!

In addition to protecting things on the AC lines, your computer, if connected to the telephone line is in danger.  Surges can come in the telephone line as well.   You may want to consider a surge suppressor for things like a computer, fax machine or answering machine.  This type of suppressor is available many places including, Radio Shack, Office Depot, K-Mart, Wal-Mart etc.