Across the U.S. there is a recorded average of about 25 million lightning strikes per year. States located along the Gulf of Mexico experience the highest frequency of lightning strikes annually. While you may generally take precautions to protect the everyday electronic items in your house, such as the television, computers and refrigerator, your garage door may be overlooked. This can become quite inconvenient when your garage door suffers some damage and fails to respond.

Despite having an 85 percent return-on-investment, it can be inconvenient to have to replace your garage door due to lightning. So, to prevent having to spend between $350 and $2,000 on a new garage door under these conditions, here a few things you can consider.

Protect From Power Surges

The many electronic parts of your garage doors that can be affected by lightning can be damaged through a direct hit or from electrical surges that can travel through the phone jacks, Ethernet cables, and electrical outlets. They can also be affected by the electromagnetic pulses from indirect lightning that can create powerful electrical shortages. To prevent problems such as those, it is recommended that you install a surge protector that can be plugged directly into an outlet and prevent unwanted voltage surges above the safe threshold of 120-volts of electricity.

A surge protector can be had for about $15 to $36 and should be selected according to the amount of joules it has (the more the merrier). There are even some that will offer a warranty on their ability to protect your appliance. Selecting one of these can't hurt, even if you have inbuilt power strips, as not all of these provide protection from electrical surges. 

Signs of Damage

Despite the best surge protector, which can wear out over time, it is still possible that your garage door can be affected. This is especially true as it is difficult to ascertain when the joules may no longer be sufficient to provide the needed protection for your garage door. In that case you need to recognize the signs that may indicate that your garage door has sustained damage from lightning to differentiate from other garage door issues. These may be especially important since it is possible that there might not be any obvious signs of burning even when your garage door has become affected.

A few of the more common problems include: your opener that starts to function inconsistently, the remote and keypad which may have stopped working, LED lights found on the safety sensors that may not be lit and regular flashing of the lights that are found at the back of the circuit board. You should check for these signs and call in your local garage door technician to address them. Contact a business, such as Kaufman Overhead Door, if you have additional questions.