Anyone who has lived around Waco, Temple, Killeen or Clifton for a few years has a story about a storm that took something out. The power blinks, there's a loud crack close by, and the next morning the internet is down, half the cameras are dark, or the phone system won't boot. Spring and fall storms roll through Central Texas hard, and the network and camera gear in a business or a rural property is often the first thing to suffer.
No one can promise that a nearby lightning strike won't damage equipment. What we can do is close the easy paths a surge uses to get in, so the odds are a lot better and the damage, if it happens, stays smaller. Here's what that looks like in plain English.
How a surge actually reaches your equipment
A direct hit on a building is rare. Most storm damage to low-voltage gear comes from a strike nearby that pushes a voltage spike into anything long and conductive. That spike looks for a path, and it usually finds one of these:
- The power line. Spikes come in through the outlets and into every power supply plugged in.
- Cables that run outside. A camera cable on an exterior wall, a run to a detached shop, or a line down a fence row is basically an antenna for a nearby strike.
- The internet provider's line. Coax, copper phone lines and outdoor dish cables can carry a spike straight into the modem or router.
- Poor or missing grounding. When equipment isn't bonded to a good ground, the surge goes through the electronics instead of around them.
That's why a storm often kills a specific pattern of things: every port on a switch that had an outdoor camera, or the router and everything plugged into it. The surge followed the copper.
Step one: protect the power
A good surge protector or a battery backup unit with surge protection on the network rack is cheap insurance. A few things matter:
- Plug the important stuff into it. Router, modem, network switch, camera recorder and phone system. Not into a bare wall outlet.
- Replace old strips. Surge protectors wear out as they absorb spikes, and many give no warning when they're spent. If yours has been through several summers of storms, it may not be protecting much anymore.
- Battery backup helps twice. It rides through the short blinks that happen during storms, so equipment doesn't power-cycle over and over, and it gives the recorder time to keep running instead of shutting off hard.
Whole-building surge protection at the electrical panel is another layer worth asking about. That's work for a licensed electrician, not a low-voltage crew. We handle the network and camera side.
Step two: protect the cables that go outside
This is the part most people miss. Any network cable that runs outdoors or between buildings should have a surge protector where it enters the building, tied to a proper ground. For cameras, that means a small protector near the point where the outdoor cable comes inside, before it reaches the switch or recorder.
For runs between buildings, like a house to a shop or an office to a barn, it's worth thinking about whether copper is the right choice at all. Fiber optic cable carries light, not electricity, so it can't carry a lightning surge from one building to the other. On a rural property where two buildings are a few hundred feet apart in open ground, fiber is often the most dependable link you can install. We wrote more about running cable to outbuildings in our post on Wi-Fi in metal buildings and shops.
Step three: get the grounding right
Surge protectors only work if they have somewhere to send the extra energy. That means a solid connection to the building's grounding system, not a loose wire to a water pipe or nothing at all. A properly installed network rack has its equipment and its surge protection bonded together. Outdoor camera mounts and cable protectors should be grounded too.
When we clean up a network closet, missing grounding is one of the most common things we find. It isn't visible, so nobody notices until after a storm.
Step four: plan for the day something does break
- Know what you have. A simple list or diagram of what's connected where makes it much faster to find which port, switch or camera took the hit.
- Keep camera footage safe. If a storm takes out the recorder, the footage on it may be gone too. Ask about having recordings copied somewhere else as well.
- Back up settings. Router, switch and recorder settings can usually be saved. Having that file turns a full day of setup into a quick restore.
- Unplug if you're leaving. For a cabin or seasonal property, unplugging the modem and router before a long trip in storm season is free and effective.
A quick storm-readiness checklist
- Network and camera equipment on a surge protector or battery backup, not a bare outlet.
- Surge protectors that are not years past their prime.
- Surge protection on every cable that runs outdoors or between buildings.
- Fiber, not copper, for longer runs between separate buildings.
- Equipment and protectors bonded to a proper ground.
- Settings backed up and footage stored in more than one place.
Let's take a look
J&J Technical Services is a low-voltage contractor serving Central Texas, including Waco, Temple and Killeen, Clifton and the surrounding counties. If a storm has already cost you equipment, or you'd rather not find out the hard way, we can walk your setup, point out where surges can get in, and give you a straight answer on what's worth fixing. See our services or our Central Texas service area, call (254) 978-5534, or send us your project details.