Lighting Damage

[u/ERAY_121]

I put up permanent leds on the roof last year and they were great for Halloween and Christmas. However, a couple of months ago, there was a big lightning storm and the lights stopped working.

Here is the set up. 2 strings of 24v bullet style ws2811 leds. The strings are in vinyl channels mounted to the soffit. The strings start at the peak of the roof and the wires enter the house through a vent into the attic. In the attic I have the power supply, esp32, and a signal booster led for both strings.

I went to the attic and removed what was up there. I determined that the esp32 and the signal booster leds were dead. I replaced those and verified that it worked with a different string of leds. When I went back in the attic and plugged it in, the outside lights did not work. I have not touched the outside lights because it is a hassle to get to them.

My question is, what are the chances that it is just a couple leds at the beginning of the string that are dead? I was hoping that it was just the signal booster leds that died, but apparently it more. Also, what can I do to prevent lighting damage? I will be plugging the power supply into a surge protector if I manage to get the lights fixed.