A site cannot survive a direct strike, so why bother?
This is not true! A direct strike to the AC power feed need to a site, or a direct strike to the structure is the worst surge that can be expected. There is enough scientific data available to define the surge currents that can be expected. These state that the median surge current for a negative flash is 35 kA and that less than 1% of surges exceed 120 kA. If you have a surge protector that has a surge current capacity of 40 kA, then you have a 55% percent probability of surviving a direct strike to the site. Using surge protectors with insufficient surge current capacity and the lack of understanding the damage coupling mechanism, creates the myth that your site cannot survive a direct strike. A surge protector with 150 kA of surge current capacity is capable of surviving 97% of all direct lighting strikes. This is not merely a claim. There are thousands of sites in the SE USA that have survived multiple direct strikes for years and not sustained damage.
