Surge Protection from Lightning

simonx314

Getting the hang of it
Feb 29, 2016
23
86
This site motivated me to get a license plate cam, but I'm worried that lightning could strike the tree in my front yard and follow the LPR cam's ethernet cable inside to fry my entire network. I'm using a Ubiquiti ETH-SP-G2 ethernet surge protector, but I read that nothing can stop a direct strike. So I also ran a 25' fiber network cable from my main network rack to a cheap PoE switch, which then powers the LPR camera. The cheap switch is plugged into a different electrical circuit than my network rack. What do you guys think?
grounded switch.jpeg
Is the Ubiquiti ethernet surge protector even necessary? I read that it is for absorbing minor surges from lightning that hits in the vicinity, so I guess it is still good to have especially since it is $18, but I have at least 3 other cameras that are exposed enough that they should be on the fiber-isolated switch, and it seems silly to have a bank of ethernet surge protectors for each outdoor camera.

You can see in the picture that I'm grounding the ethernet surge protector by just wrapping the wire around the ground wire running into my electrical panel. Does anyone know what I should use to properly attach the ground wire?
grounded ethernet wire.jpeg
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gimmons
That setup will protect your NVR at the expense of a blown camera and switch. The surge suppressor is great for induced voltage spikes from lightning, but cannot withstand a direct lightning strike. As for the wire connection, I would use a copper split bolt for the connection of the grounds. I would also install a whole-house surge suppressor which you can purchase from Home Depot and install for less than $150.