Any experience with the effect of lightning on LED bulbs and 12V transformers? We had several close strikes last night and I lost a MR11 and MR16 bulb, each of which tripped the transformer breaker when I finally isolated the spotlights they were in. The plastic socket in my Volt motion sensor was also partially melted. I swapped the bulbs with others I had in my supply to make sure the spotlights still worked and ordered new bulbs and a new motion sensor but I was concerned about the future impact on my transformer. Thoughts?
Hey Robert, A very good question! Our magnetic transformers are built like tanks with robust toroidal cores and primary and secondary circuit protection inside (rigorously tested to meet ETL standards as well). They are designed to trip to prevent any fatal arching as you've witnessed, but if you live in an area with repeated lightning strikes, the relentlessness of mother nature is unavoidable and will likely harm any electrical device overtime in this type of scenario. Some peace of mind I can offer is that we do not receive many transformer returns with this type of damage, and most units we do receive are in fact still operational. Compared to traditional electronic transformers or laminated/stacked transformers, our magnetic toroidal designs are far superior and built with lifetime durability in mind (internally and externally).
Thanks Evan, that’s good news. It was the bulbs that surprised me the most. They looked brand new, with no visible damage to the LED or housing or obvious discoloration. In fact, they looked so good I thought there must be something wrong with the spotlights (shorted Ace connector, water intrusion, fire ant nest?). So, I cut the lead wire to the gutter mounted light and took it down, pulled the other light out of the ground and disassembled them both. Only after finding nothing amiss did it occur to me to check the lights by swapping bulbs. Live and learn. Next time I’ll know better and will start with the bulb. Thanks again. Bob
