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If you’ve lived in Fort Myers long enough, you know our storms don’t mess around. The air gets heavy, the sky turns that deep gray, and then it hits—lightning close enough to shake the whole house. Most of the time, it’s just loud. But every now and then, that lightning does real damage.
We got a call one morning from a homeowner off McGregor Boulevard who’d had one of those nights. Lightning struck somewhere close by, and after the flash, half his house went dark. The A/C was dead, the Wi-Fi was out, and a few outlets smelled like something had burned inside the wall. He’d flipped the breakers, unplugged everything, and waited until daylight to call us. Smart move.
At Coharbor Electric, we’ve seen this story too many times. It’s a headache, but it’s preventable—and this case turned into the perfect reminder of why proper surge protection and grounding matter so much in Southwest Florida.
When we arrived, you could tell something serious had happened. The homeowner—let’s call him Mike—looked like he hadn’t slept much. He told us the lights flickered three or four times, then half the house went dead.
We popped open the panel right away. A few breakers were tripped, but a couple wouldn’t reset. The smell of burnt insulation was strong near the garage wall where the service came in. That’s a classic sign of a surge hitting the main feed.
It wasn’t a direct lightning strike on the house, but probably hit a utility pole or transformer down the street. When that happens, that voltage spike races through the power line, right into the main electrical panel.
And in this case—there was nothing there to stop it.
Once we isolated the damaged circuits, it didn’t take long to see what took the hit:
The air conditioner was completely dead—control board blown.
The garage door opener and irrigation timer were both fried.
The cable modem, router, and TV were toast.
A few kitchen outlets tested fine, but you could see small arc marks on the screws.
The appliances—fridge, range, washer—luckily survived. But Mike still had a few thousand dollars in damage between the electronics and A/C repair.
When we looked closer at the panel, it told the whole story. There was no whole-home surge protection installed. The house was built in the early 2000s—solid construction, decent wiring—but no protection at the panel.
Mike had a couple of surge strips around the house, but those don’t stop big surges coming through the wiring. They only protect the items plugged into them, and only to a point.
We also noticed the grounding system was in rough shape. The clamp on the ground rod had loosened, and the resistance reading wasn’t where it should’ve been. That means when that surge came through, it didn’t have a clean path to dissipate—so it traveled through everything else instead.
We started by separating the damaged circuits and checking each leg of the service to make sure the voltage was balanced. A couple of breakers were scorched, so we replaced those first. Once we had stable power, we reconnected the unaffected parts of the house.
Then we installed a whole-home surge protector right at the main panel. We used a heavy-duty model rated for Florida lightning conditions—something that can handle up to 80,000 amps. It’s not a fancy gadget; it’s a simple, solid piece of equipment that quietly does its job for years.
After that, we replaced the corroded grounding clamp, verified the bond to the water line, and tested the resistance again. Once it hit code specs, we buttoned everything up, powered the system back on, and ran through a full safety check.
Before we left, we sat down with Mike and went over what happened. We explained that whole-home surge protection acts like a pressure relief valve—it keeps sudden voltage spikes from tearing through your system.
He was surprised to learn those power strips he bought at the hardware store didn’t do much against something like lightning. They’re fine for small fluctuations, but big surges? They’re useless.
We also talked about adding a few point-of-use protectors for sensitive electronics—TVs, computers, routers, anything that runs on circuit boards. That “layered defense” setup is the way to go.
By the end of it, Mike understood exactly what went wrong—and how to make sure it wouldn’t happen again.
This lightning event is a perfect example of what we see every storm season. It doesn’t take a direct hit to cause serious damage. A strike a few blocks away can still travel through underground lines and wreck thousands of dollars’ worth of electronics.
And honestly, Fort Myers homes are more vulnerable than most. Between the lightning, humidity, and salt air, our electrical systems get pushed hard. A $400 surge protection setup can prevent a $4,000 repair bill, not to mention a possible electrical fire.
It’s one of those upgrades you don’t notice—until the day it saves you.
If you live in Southwest Florida, do yourself a favor and check your system. Here’s what we suggest:
Make sure your main panel has surge protection. If it doesn’t, call us. We can usually install it the same day.
Check your grounding. A loose or corroded ground clamp makes your system weaker.
Add good-quality surge strips for your sensitive gear. (The cheap ones don’t cut it.)
Have your electrical system inspected every few years. Especially before storm season.
Don’t ignore flickering lights or tripping breakers. They’re often early warning signs.
That storm could’ve gone much worse. Fortunately, Mike called before turning things back on and avoided any fire or shock risk. We left that day with his home fully powered, properly grounded, and protected against the next surge that comes through.
At Coharbor Electric, we see this kind of thing every summer. We’ve helped countless Fort Myers homeowners recover after lightning damage—and even more prevent it entirely.
If your home doesn’t have surge protection, now’s the time. Don’t wait for the next storm to find out the hard way.
⚡ Call Coharbor Electric today to schedule a surge protection and grounding inspection. We’re your local, licensed electricians in Fort Myers—dedicated to keeping your home safe, powered, and ready for whatever Florida weather throws your way.
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