We live right in the middle of the lightning capital of world.  This time of year lightning strikes account for 50% of our business.   Many customers are surprised to find out that the surge protector they thought was protecting their expensive electronics is useless.  Surge protectors are designed for one thing and one thing to protect from slow minor surges in power.  This however is rarely what damages computers.  There are two types of electrical events that will damage your computer, sudden massive surges in power, and even more dangerous sudden dips in power.   A dip in power or brownout can be deadly to computers.  When you lights flicker or dim during a storm this is what is happening to your computer, your computers power supply is designed to have a certain amount of voltage coming in, it then takes this power and distributes it to the components inside your computer.  When you have dip in power your computer will have enough power to remain on but your power supply will be stuck in the middle unable to distribute enough power, this can cause your power supply to burn out, I have actually witnessed power supplies burst into flames during a dip in power.

The answer to this problem is not a surge protector, but instead an Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS).  These units use batteries to isolate your computer from the electrical system.  Your computer is running on conditioned power supplied by the batteries and not the wall outlet.

If your computer has been taken out by a lightning strike give us a call and arrange an appointment.