Lightning protection is an arbitrary subject in the surge protection industry as it is, like you said, unclear which products provide adequate protection. The fact is a single point-of-use surge protection device can protect connected equipment from an INDIRECT lightning strike given the distance of the impact point of the strike is far enough from the connected device. There is NO device that can protect equipment from a DIRECT strike from lightning.

An arc of lightning can carry up to 100k Amperes in a single microsecond. A direct hit is defined as impacting an overhead power line or transformer and will certainly overload and destroy any equipment, surge protection devices included. This goes for a strike as far away as several miles.

Most common forms of lightning strikes that affect homes are indirect, meaning the lightning strikes the ground and enters an underground cable connected to the home. The magnitude of the strike is diluted through ground contact and has a better chance of being stopped by surge protection equipment.

Several studies on indirect lightning strikes have concluded that peak current of an indirect blast surges not far beyond 80 Volts; this is still enough to melt semiconductors however, it is not out of range for adequate surge protection given proper grounding of the device. Grounding is the key to proper lightning protection. Many people miss this fact and then wonder why their device didn’t protect them.

Read more at http://www.telebyteusa.com/primer/ch6.htm for further facts.

Thanks for your question.

Please provide supporting evidence for ANY product/combined product arrangement that supports these collective protections, in particular, lightning strikes(direct or indirect).