WEATHER WARNING: Thunderstorms expected

Skies are looking grey and temperatures are dropping!

For the remainder of the week, minimum temperatures will range between 13°C and 15°C with scattered thunderstorms throughout Johannesburg.

Every year, several lives are lost because properties are not properly earthed. Apart from this, is the inconvenience of going through the process to recover lost data and reinstalling electrical components, not to mention the costs thereof.

Here are some helpful tips from Discovery Insure to keep in mind during thunderstorms:

Are you safe when lightning strikes?

Ever wondered what happens to your home when it’s struck by lightning? It’s not all as simple as a flick of a switch on your electrical switchboard. The electrical charge that is caused by lightning or a surge, will always take the shortest route to earth.

Your power supply and Telkom cables are only two examples of entry points into your property’s electrical system and will offer a path to ground level. Anything along the path of the current will be dealt some sort of damage. Even though you might think there is no way to avoid it, there are some measures you can take to minimise the damage.

Take these steps to set up a line of defense for your home:

1. Make sure that all entry points that expose your property are earthed to natural ground level. This also includes the plumbing system seeing as 99% of properties have either copper or galvanized piping installed.
2. Install surge protection at the main power supply point to your property.
3. Install designed surge protection devices at each electrical component of value, like a home automation system.
4. Unplug your electronics and electrical appliances at the power point to ensure that your items are not damaged during the storm.