With storm season coming, there’s a lot of concern about whether homes are protected from electrical surges. Surge protection is an integral part of your home electricity concerns. Without proper protection in place, surges can cause irreparable damage to a home’s electrical system. Surges travel at the speed of electricity, so you might be hit by a surge and not even realize that all that electricity is coursing through your home. Surges aren’t limited to storms either; they can happen any time during the day as well. Each day your home gets several minor surges from the power company. Is your house designed to deal with these constantly fluctuating voltage problems?
What Causes Surges?
When the power company does grid switching or load shedding, massive “waves” or electricity flood the local distribution network. These waves are called surges. Many appliances aren’t designed to deal with these massive changes in voltage, and if one is turned on when a surge hits, it could fry the circuitry. Minor waves are frequent when turning on some appliances. If you have a water pump, you might notice that your lights dim when it switches on momentarily. The switching on of the pump changes the voltage of the circuit and causes a minor power surge. Large power surges can come from when lightning strikes power lines. These can be especially devastating to electrical systems. As a building gets hit with surges, the equipment within it wears down, shortening their lifespan.
Why Whole-Home Surge Protection is Important
Why Whole-Home Surge Protection is ImportantWhole-home surge protection devices (SPDs) are perfect for dealing with surges of all sizes and types. They are usually wired to the electrical service box, but situated in an easy-to-reach area. Many people prefer to opt for surge protectors that plug into wall sockets, but they aren’t as good as you’d think. They may protect against minor surges, but significant fluctuations are beyond their ability and may lead to a false sense of security for the homeowner. Among the vital considerations homeowners should have for that whole-home protection are:
- Saving your Electronics: Anything with a circuit board is at risk during an electrical surge. Voltage changes can also corrupt computers and data storage devices. Whole-home protection ensures that anything that’s plugged into an outlet can withstand electrical surges quickly enough.
- Layering Circuits: Having your whole-home SPD at the circuit box is an excellent idea if you think all your fluctuations are going to come from outside your home. However, studies show that as many as 80% of surges are generated from inside a house. Layering limits the exposure of circuits so that if one circuit generates a fluctuation, only other outlets and appliances on that circuit will be affected.
- Protecting Infrastructure: Outlets and other hardware, including sockets, get worn down over time, having to deal with surges. Whole-home SPDs do more than just protecting your appliances. They also ensure that these bits of infrastructure are similarly protected. Even if you have whole-home protection, you should make sure to test your outlets once every thirty days to ensure that they haven’t been compromised.
Installing Whole-Home SPDs
Deciding to put in a whole-home SPD is a significant decision. It’s not a job you can complete on your own, even if you are skilled at DIY installations. Electrical systems can be dangerous to mess around with, and getting certified personnel to install your whole-home SPD is probably your best bet. As professionals who have been working in the area for years, LiveWire is well-acquainted with the details of whole-home SPD installations. Contact us today if you’d like some of North Carolina’s best electricians to help you get your whole-home surge protection sorted out.
