Surge Protection Can Be The Best Investment You Can Make To Your Home Or Property
Our homes and properties are full of expensive appliances and electronics such as computers, refrigerators, stoves, dishwashers, washing machines, televisions, stereos and more.
One power surge, and one or all of these important items may need to be replaced. Costing us thousands in replacement costs.
A power surge may last for only less than a second, but at its worst, it carries tens of thousands of volts, which in turn can crash your hard drive, and render your television or home entertainment system useless.
As we are heading into the summer months, we most likely will be hit with many thunderstorms. Lightning-induced surges are the most powerful and most scary: A 200,000-amp jolt crashing through a power line will burn standard 20-amp wiring like a lightbulb filament. Lightning can be dangerous even if it doesn’t strike right at your home, it can still do damage if striking a half mile away.
The most common surges are caused by downed power wires, sudden changes in electricity use by a nearby business, or even a defective fan or hairdryer in your home. These surges can cause damage to your valuable electronics, appliances and many other items.
The Myth: Many homeowners believe adequate surge protection can be solved with plugging their electronics into a power strip. Unfortunately, that is not enough protection. First of all, not all surge protectors live up to their name; some are little more than just an extension cord. Second, a surge will follow any wire into a home including phone and cable wires and jeopardize dsl lines, phones, televisions, your satellite systems, computers, and more. These “plugged in surge protectors” cannot protect against large power strikes affecting the whole house.
The Solution: Guarding against surges requires two approaches: a whole-house suppressor to help with the big, dangerous power strikes and an individual plug in surge suppressor for your most expensive and delicate appliances and electronic devices. Both types regulate the flow of the electrical current. Normally they just sit there, allowing electric current to flow through them. But when higher-than-normal voltage occurs the devices instantly sends the excess voltage to the grounded wire. As soon as voltage levels return to normal, the flow of electricity is restored.
Typically, whole-house suppressors are hard-wired to the service panel, a process that takes a licensed electrician about two hours. Whole-house systems should be rated to stop a 40,000-amp surge, at minimum. Features to look for include thermal fuses, and lights or alarms that indicate when a device has taken a hit. Separate but smaller whole-house units are recommended for the phone and cable lines. These protect telephone, televisions, and modems.
Surge Protection can cost less than $500, far less than replacing one or many of the items mentioned above. Keep your valuables safe this summer, and call Walter Electric today for an estimate for Surge Protection.