Many people purchase power strips thinking they will protect their appliances and electronics in the event of a power surge. Truth is, most power strips can’t withstand the voltage that surges throughout the home during a power surge or lightning strike. They are little more than glorified extension cords. A single lightning bolt carries more than 300 million volts of electricity which is enough to devastate a 220-volt home, sending a tidal wave of electricity surging through and frying electronics, appliances and sensitive computer systems. According to the National Lightning Safety Institute, nearly 30% of businesses and 1 in every 200 homes are affected by lightning strikes each year! Power surges like those from downed power lines carry tens of thousands of volts. Even if the surge only lasts a few millionths of a second, it has the potential to obliterate home entertainment systems, circuit boards and other valuable electronics throughout the home. Major surges even have the potential to start fires. The good news is, there is an affordable and effective way to protect your home or business from the devastation of a power surge, a downed power line, or other unavoidable phenomenon and Simon Electric outlines just what that is below.
Do Whole House Surge Protectors Really Work?
A whole-house suppressor instantly blocks the surge from entering home circuits to provide comprehensive lightning protection. Therefore, by installing a whole home surge protector, you can protect your home from taking on excess voltage that has the potential to harm wiring, appliances and electronic devices. These are installed easily by a licensed electrical contractor and are affordable for all budgets. Your contractor will hard wire this equipment directly to your homes electric service panel. Because the installation requires working with live electrical equipment, this is not a DIY job. These whole-house systems can block an average of 40,000 amps of current and aid in saving your homes electrical devices and appliances by detecting the power surge and blocking or shorting the electricity to the home’s grounding path before any real damage can be done.
Surge Protection Plugs
When it comes to the more sensitive electronic devices in your home or business, it is highly recommended for you to add an extra layer of protection and install plug in protectors. These can be Uninterruptible Power Supplies which provide fluctuation free power and a back up battery to give you enough time to save precious data in the event of a power outage, or Surge stations. When these Plug in Protection devices detect higher than normal voltage, they will instantly protect the device and divert the excess energy back into the home’s grounding path. When the voltage level returns to normal, the flow of electricity will be restored to the device. The higher quality plug in devices have the ability to act is less than a nanosecond! These range in price from about $30-$250 depending on the quality. Be sure to purchase plug in protection that has,
-Clamping voltage of 400 volts or less (the lower the number, the better the protection)
-Will absorb a minimum of 600 Joules of energy
-Comes equipped with an indicator light so you can easily see if it is still functioning
-Protects all three incoming lines; hot, neutral and ground. (L-N, L-G, N-G)
-Cuts off automatically when circuits have been damaged by a surge
Electrical Wiring, Fixture Installations & More in Delray Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter & Boca Raton & Palm Beach County, Florida
Simon Electric offers many electrical services to meet all of your electrical needs. Pick up you phone and call us if you have further questions or would like to schedule a whole home surge protector installation!
