Experts warn that this is the most vulnerable appliance. When the sky darkens and the first lightning bolts begin to strike, the same question is asked in many homes: should electrical appliances be turned off? The answer from technicians is categorical: the television is the first appliance that must be turned off without fail if you want to avoid headaches and a significant loss of money.
Why the television is the most sensitive appliance to lightning and power surges
Modern televisions — especially LED, QLED, and OLED — have very delicate power supplies and electronic boards designed to operate at stable voltages. But when there is an electrical storm, the domestic network can suffer:
- Sudden voltage surges and drops.
- Electrical impulses of thousands of volts if lightning strikes nearby.
- Micro-cuts that cause the equipment to restart.
Lightning does not have to strike your house: a single strong fluctuation can burn out the main board, the internal power supply or the capacitors. And the damage can be total. Behind the television, the devices that burn out most often due to storms are modems and decoders.
What technicians recommend: turn everything off, it’s not enough to just switch it off
Home electronics experts leave no room for doubt: during electrical storms, the safest thing to do is to disconnect the television from the physical network. Switching it off with the remote control is not enough.
To really protect it, technicians suggest:
- Unplug the television from the mains.
- Disconnect the HDMI cable that goes to decoders or consoles.
- Remove the antenna or cable TV cable, as it can also transmit voltage spikes.
A single strong impact can leave you without a television, and repairs in 2025 can cost between 40% and 70% of the value of the equipment.
Is it useful to use a stabiliser or UPS?
Many believe that a stabiliser is sufficient, but experts at INTI warn that voltage spikes caused by lightning exceed the capacity of these devices. Quality UPS or protectors with IRAM varistors offer more security, but the only 100% effective measure is to turn off all equipment while the storm lasts.
Other equipment at risk: modems, consoles and more
In addition to televisions, there are other devices that should be protected:
- Modems and Wi-Fi routers.
- Video game consoles.
- Audio equipment.
- TV decoders.
All of these have very sensitive electronic boards and can be damaged by a single voltage surge.
