Frenchman’s Creek is a private, 700-acre beach and country club community located on the southern tip of Florida. Featuring multimillion-dollar homes, championship golf courses, plentiful tennis courts, deep water marina, and an outstanding fitness center, Frenchman’s Creek offers exceptional luxury at every turn.
“The homes, facilities, and amenities at Frenchman’s Creek are all designed to support the best that South Florida living can offer,” said Mr. Corvo. “Like every other element in the community, residents here also expect the best in security, absolutely the best. From my point of view, that has implications not only for the equipment we use here – cameras, recorders, emergency communications, and so on – but also for the performance and uptime of those systems.”
Lightning a constant threat
Mr. Corvo soon discovered a severe threat to both his security equipment and security system uptime.
Renowned for its violent tropical thunderstorms, Florida leads the nation as the state with the most lightning-related insurance claims, with almost 7,000 such claims in 2019 alone! (according to the Insurance Information Institute) Lightning strikes can cause power surges and spikes within electrical systems and other wired connections, even if the strike occurs miles away. The lightning can hit a tree or the ground and then travel along underground conduits and wiring to cause hidden damage.
Over his first two years at Frenchman’s Creek, Mr. Corvo lost approximately 20 outdoor cameras due to the effects of lightning and other power surges. This type of camera is very expensive to replace, especially considering service calls and installation expenses.
Moreover, Mr. Corvo knew that the price tag for the equipment wasn’t the only cost. Every minute of system downtime exposed the community to some additional risk. These risks include not only security risks from intruders and lawbreakers, but also the ability to detect the full range of safety and emergency situations, and even to protect against false liability claims in the case of injuries or property damage. He needed a solution to reduce the damaging effects of lightning and power surges, and he needed it right away.
Security System Upgrade
After considerable Internet research and discussions with his peers, Mr. Corvo found Florida-based DITEK and its wide range of professional-grade surge protection devices. It was clear that these products were specifically designed to divert excess voltages and protect all kinds of electronic systems, including the security and communication networks at Frenchman’s Creek. This was important because he knew that protecting the cameras may not be enough – he also needed to protect the networking equipment, and other networked devices, that connected to those cameras. Some of this equipment was located in exterior NEMA housings that were also vulnerable to the effects of lightning and power surges. With many SPD models to choose from, the next task would be to evaluate his system and decide on the best solution.
Fortunately, when Mr. Corvo contacted DITEK, he reported that the DITEK team was attentive and coached him how best to use the technology.
“When I first called DITEK and shared my ideas about what was needed to protect the security system at Frenchman’s Creek, they were willing to help me look at the system diagrams and coach me through the selection and implementation process,” Mr. Corvo said. “They made me feel confident that what I was doing was right and they showed me how to do it correctly.”
Camera and network protection
After analyzing the system at Frenchman’s Creek, the DITEK team recommended a separate surge protector for each camera and for each NEMA enclosure, and helped to confirm the selection of the best SPD for each location. While no surge protector can limit the damage of a direct lightning strike on exposed outdoor equipment, the much more likely scenario is a power surge or spike caused by a lightning strike in the distance – which DITEK surge protectors can handle with ease.
When it came time to install the new surge protection devices, Mr. Corvo’s team installed a surge protector at each camera, per DITEK’s directions. They then used 8-channel DITEK surge protectors near each NEMA enclosure to protect the power and communication circuits. Mr. Corvo’s team appreciated the efficient “plug-and-play” connections designed into the DITEK equipment.
Results
“The cost of surge protection is minimal compared to the equipment damage and system downtime that will occur without it,” said Mr. Corvo. “We had a nearby lightning strike earlier this year and immediately four of our cameras went down. It turned out that the surge protectors did their job and protected the cameras, which were undamaged. When the technician arrived and replaced the surge protectors, we had all four cameras back up with minimal downtime. Without the protectors, that incident alone would have cost us a very hefty sum, and the system wouldn’t be fully operational until replacement cameras could be delivered. Instead, it cost me about $600 for the technician call and all the replacement parts – and the security system was back to full functionality in a matter of minutes.”
Contact us at www.diteksurgeprotection.com for a free evaluation of your current surge protection status!
