It takes only milliseconds for a power surge to travel through your home, potentially leaving behind extensive damage to appliances, computers, electronics, and more. Sometimes, you are alerted of a power surge by noticing the lights blink or your television set turns itself off. By seeking whole house surge protection, you can eliminate the risk of a costly incident in your own home.
A power surge can occur from an outside source, such as lightning or a fallen power line. Something internal, such as a cycling air conditioner or refrigerator, can also cause electrical circuits to burn out, causing a surge. Whole house surge protection isn’t required as part of building codes, but it’s typically something that professional electrical contractors recommend that can add to the overall protection level of your investment.
A few different options are available for surge protection, but the most effective is a whole-house surge protection device, which is installed as part of the circuit breaker box and can block as many as 40,000 amps of electrical current. The current is then sent through a grounding path instead. The device can sense when a surge has occurred and springs into action at that point. For a minimal charge, this form of electrical protection goes a long way.
For people who wish to add even more protection from a power surge, you can use extremely affordable, individual point-of-use surge protectors at different electrical outlets that are home to your more sensitive electronics. A few key factors to look for when buying one of these units is making sure electrical triggers of 400 volts or even less, if possible, are blocked. The unit should also be able to block surges that are coming from your cable or phone jack as well.
Utilizing whole-house surge protection is a great way to make sure you are protecting not only this electrical system but also various equipment and appliances that you have purchased for your home. Power surges show no warning signs, so it’s best to be prepared whenever possible.
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