Surge Protection
Your First Source for Electricians
Whole Home Surge Protection is very much needed! Especially in a new world
of multiple electronic devices and appliances used to make life easier.
Whole home surge protective devices are typically wired to the electrical
panel to protect all the appliances and
electrical systems in a home.
An electrical surge, or power surge, can follow any wire into a house —
including incoming phone and cable/satellite dish lines. Once a surge
enters your home, all of your plugged in appliances - including device
charger left plugged in - are vulnerable to damage.
When installed properly on a home's panel, a whole home surge protector
can help prevent or minimize damage to electronic devices, home appliances
and other equipment in the event of electrical surges.
Mike Holmes, contractor and host of the television show “Holmes on Homes,” and Eaton Corporation offer a line of electrical surge protectors. “People never think it could happen, but it happened to me,” said Mike Holmes. “A large electrical surge entered my house and I lost all my electronics
that were plugged in. All of them. The first thing I did after replacing
everything was install an Eaton Complete Home Surge protector.”
Surges can come from inside or outside of your home. For external surges, nothing can be prevented; protection is the only option to save your appliances. You may, however, be able to do something for internal surges. If your wiring is not up to date, it can cause uneven power transfer. An electrician can help you correct this and prevent future surges related to this.
Surge protection is important because even small surges or spikes can eventually destroy or affect the performance of electronic equipment such as televisions, computers, modems and microwave ovens. Damage can occur instantaneously or over time, as small surges gradually degrade internal circuitry. The common use of microprocessors (chips) in home electronics increases the need for surge protection because these chips are very sensitive to voltage fluctuations.
Surge protectors act like a sponge, absorbing dangerous excess voltage and preventing most of it from reaching electronic equipment. Like a sponge, surge protectors have a limited capacity to absorb. Once the capacity is reached, the unit is no longer able to protect and should be replaced.
Surges and spikes are often caused by sudden changes in electricity demand, like when a motor or compressor runs on a large appliance. Other causes of surges and spikes include turbulent weather and electric company maintenance. Even small spikes in electrical current can weaken or destroy vulnerable electronics.
These lines carry low levels of electricity, so surges and spikes can enter through those lines and destroy sensitive computing equipment, telephones, televisions and satellite equipment.
