The basic purpose of a home is to provide safety and shelter. As you know, storm season arrives with an increased risk of power surges, which may result in severe damage. Power surges are usually caused by lightning strikes but can also occur suddenly without warning. Even if your home has a well-insulated electrical system, whole-house surge protection is the best way to prevent storm damage.
Data from various studies have indicated that storm-related outages contribute approximately between $20 billion and $55 billion annually to the U.S. economy. Data also suggests that the trend of outages resulting from weather-related events is increasing. (Campbell, 2012)
Your home experiences multiple small surges throughout the day which might not seem to be problematic but over time, these mini-surges can damage your expensive appliances and electronics. Whole house surge protectors are devices installed in your home’s electrical panel that offer resilient, cost-effective protection of your entire home. In the event of electrical voltage spikes, these devices ground or block the spikes, preventing your electronics from getting damaged which is what makes them worth considering. Since appropriate grounding is indispensable for effective surge protection, this task requires professional labor. If you are planning to invest in whole-house surge protection, Sparkwise Electric is here to help you. Our trained and certified electricians and electrical engineers have been providing a broad range of electrical services for years with guaranteed customer satisfaction.
In this post, you will learn about what are whole-house house surge protectors and their benefits.
WHAT IS A WHOLE-HOUSE SURGE PROTECTOR?
A whole-house surge protection device (SPD) is hard-wired to your home’s electrical panel. It works like a strainer, allowing only safe electrical current to pass through the circuit while blocking high voltage from entering the electrical system of your home. As soon as an SPD senses a power surge, it redirects the excess voltage or current into the ground using a ground wire. This helps protect your expensive electrical equipment against damage and thus, reduces the risk of electrical fires. A high-quality whole-house surge protector can block surges of over 40,000 amperes.
Multi-level surge protectors are designed to prevent surges coming from outside of your home as well as those generated by your appliances when they are switched on and off. Always remember that a whole-house surge protector should be installed not only between the power lines and the electric meter but also between the circuit breaker box and the electric meter. Many homeowners use point-of-use surge protectors but we don’t recommend them as they cannot shunt and prevent damage to electronics caused by lightning or other high-energy spikes.
5 BENEFITS OF WHOLE HOUSE SURGE PROTECTORS
There are multiple benefits of whole-house surge protectors which make them a must-have option for homeowners. These benefits are discussed below:
Protects Your Appliances and Devices
Your electronics are highly sensitive to power surges. A sudden rise in voltage, even though it lasts just for a fraction of a second, is enough to damage your computer, TV, air-conditioner, refrigerator, dishwasher and other expensive appliances. The prime purpose of whole-house surge protectors is to ensure an environment where your appliances and devices can operate safely, last longer and your data stay protected. That’s why most modern houses with expensive electrical systems and LED lightbulbs are offered with whole-home surge protection for added safety.
They are also cost-effective as you don’t need to replace your entire set of appliances and electronics due to damage, you can save money spent on electrical repair and the best part is that most options cost you not more than a few hundred dollars which makes them quite affordable.
Protection against All Types of Surges
It is often considered that surges are caused only due to electrical storms but in reality, there are multiple other reasons that you might not be aware of. These include power outages, voltage dips, faulty wiring, electrical overload and malfunction in electrical appliances. Investing in whole-house surge protection is the best way to prevent these and other forms of power surges.
Prevents Electrical Fire
Power surges not only degrade, destroy or damage your electronic equipment and circuit boards, but they can also lead to overheating, electrical arcing, sparks, and even fire. As mentioned earlier, whole-house surge protectors can prevent surges of over 40,000 amperes. This means that high external voltages can’t hit the internal circuits. A whole-home SPD acts as a guard against current of high magnitude and stops it from entering your home’s electrical system. Hence, by making use of these devices, you can avoid damage caused by internal surges. Outdated wiring, faulty outlets or sockets and malfunctioning appliances are some other possible causes of an electrical fire that also need to be addressed. Every step taken to ensure a smoothly working electrical system will add to the safety of your home and family.
Layering
If your home has an elaborate electronic setup like gaming systems or interconnected computers, speak to one of our skilled electricians about layering the whole-house surge protection. It is recommended because if any of your appliances transmit a surge via a circuit it shares, other outlets could instantly get compromised. This is why you can’t just rely on the surge protectors located at the circuit panel. It is evident through studies that up to 80% of surges are generated from within the home. It can be a motor in your air conditioner/ refrigerator or even smaller devices like hair dryers or food processors. A skilled professional will connect the layered system directly to the electrical panel as well as at the point of use. Since this technique limits the exposure of circuits, in case, a spike is produced by a circuit, only the appliances and outlets on that particular circuit will get affected.
Offers Multiple Options
There are a variety of options available for various voltage needs. So, you can definitely find the one that suits your home’s power needs. If your home has a 120 V system (as is typical for U.S. homes), you can opt for an 80 kA-rated SPD. In a standard home, power surges higher than 10 kA are rare and those over 50 kA are highly unusual.
If your home has subpanels, you should select a surge protector which is about half the kA rating of the main unit. Higher-rated systems are relevant only for those who live in areas with excessive exposure to storms and harsh weather. Always remember to buy SPD from a credible brand, with an extended warranty. When buying online, review the feedback of previous customers to make sure that you’re going to get the right product.
Conclusion
We are living in an era where we immensely depend on electronic gadgets and electrical appliances for most of our tasks. There is a multitude of such gadgets running simultaneously and continuously in our homes. In such conditions, a strong power surge can lead to huge damage. You might have spent thousands of dollars in building up such a system of technological devices but if you haven’t still invested in the protection of your home’s electrical system, this storm season can cause you a big loss because storms arrive with power surges. The above-mentioned benefits of whole-house surge protectors depict that they are definitely worth it. Hence, it is now high time to invest in these highly-secure systems that offer you safety and peace of mind. To get the best whole-house surge protection services, reach out to us via call, message or email and our experienced professionals will be there to provide you with quick and efficient service.
