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Household technologies have advanced dramatically over the past several years, and homeowners have many exciting options for implementing them. One of these is the whole-home surge protector, which is becoming standard in modern-day homes. Below, we address what this is and why it can be an excellent investment for your home.

What are Power Surges?

A power surge occurs when the electrical voltage in your electrical line spikes suddenly. Many times, this surge of excess power can cause internal damage to your appliances and other electronics plugged into your electrical system. Lightning strikes are one of the most common causes of power surges.

When lightning strikes near a power line, it can send a massive surge of electricity through your electrical system. Local utility grid switching is another common culprit behind power surges. As the electricity is rerouted through different grids, the transition can cause spikes in voltage. Other potential causes include downed power lines, electrical overloads, faulty wiring, large appliances cycling, and malfunctioning electrical devices.

What are Surge Protectors?

Surge protectors are specifically designed to absorb excess energy and reroute it to your home’s grounding system. This prevents that excess voltage from flowing through any items you have plugged into that particular circuit or panel box, depending on the type of surge protector you have. Most people are familiar with point-of-use surge protectors. These come most commonly in power strips and are great to use with sensitive electronic devices, like televisions, laptops, and computers.

Whole-home surge protectors protect your entire electrical system and everything you have plugged into it, like your appliances and electronics. These whole-home versions are installed directly at your panel box so they can absorb any excess energy coming in directly from your main power line.

All whole-home surge protectors have a specific rating that indicates how much energy they can effectively absorb during a power surge. While most standard whole-home surge protectors can protect your home from a large surge of electricity, they can’t protect you from every potential lightning strike. There have been some rare instances of extremely powerful lightning strikes that no surge protectors currently available can withstand.

Why Are Whole-Home Surge Protectors Necessary?

When you first learn about what a whole-home surge protector is, it becomes pretty easy to see why it’s a good investment for any homeowner. Below, we’ll address some of the most common reasons that you really should consider getting one for your home.

Protect Your Appliances

Purchasing a new appliance these days can be quite expensive. The thought of having to replace even one appliance unexpectedly due to damage from a power surge can be overwhelming. If a massive power surge damages all your household appliances, you could be looking at a massive bill for replacement, a bill that ultimately might not be within your budget and insurance might not cover it entirely. A whole-home surge protector can provide you with the peace of mind that your appliances are safe in the event of most power surges.

Preserve Expensive Electronics

Homeowners commonly have a lot of expensive electronics throughout their household. Think of televisions, computers, stereos, and even laptops. A whole-home surge protector can be a great line of defense, protecting these items from unintentional damage due to power surges in your local area. A surge protector can give you financial peace of mind that you won’t be caught off guard having to replace these expensive electronics in the event of a nasty power surge.

Extend Lifespan of Appliances and Electronics

Apart from protecting your home from the larger power surges caused by lightning strikes and rerouting of your local electrical grid, whole-home surge protectors can also work to protect against smaller and more frequent surges created by your appliances and electronics. If you’ve ever noticed the lights flicker when one of the motors or fans in your appliances kicks into high speed, you’ve witnessed a power surge.

Unfortunately, even these little power surges can create consistent damage over time to your electronics and appliances. This can slowly degrade their internal electrical components and shorten their overall usable lifespan. Installing a surge protector is a great way to absorb these smaller power surges and extend the longevity of both your household appliances and your electronics.

One Device Solution

While point-of-use surge protectors can be helpful for some things, you would have to purchase many of them to protect all the electronic items throughout your home. A whole-home surge protector is a one-unit solution that is more cost-effective. Additionally, it safeguards all the components of your electrical system, including your wiring, circuit breakers, and so forth.

Potentially Lower Homeowner’s Insurance Premium

Your homeowner’s insurance premium is based on the total risk for your home. When you install a whole-home surge protector, there’s less of a risk of damage to your appliances, electrical system, and other electronics. Because you reduce the risk of damage, you may notice a reduction in your homeowner’s insurance premium.

Easy to Use

One other thing to keep in mind with a whole-home surge protector is the level of convenience it can provide you. You don’t have to worry about manually plugging your appliances or electronics into special outlets with built-in surge protectors. Instead, you can use your electrical system as normal while having the peace of mind that everything you plug into it is protected by your surge protector.

Reduce Risk of Electrical Fire

One thing that no homeowner wants to deal with at their home is an electrical fire. When power surges happen, the excess electricity going through your wiring can cause it to actually overheat. In some cases, the power surge may be so strong that your line catches on fire. A whole-home surge protector will mitigate the amount of energy that can travel through your electrical lines to prevent this overheating and potential fire risk.

Maintenance and Longevity

When you invest in a whole-home surge protector for your household, it will require some minimal maintenance to stay in good working condition. You should be checking it periodically to ensure that the indicator light is showing, which depicts that your device is working correctly. Many modern-day surge protectors have an indicator light that will flash or go out if your surge protector stops working.

Your electrician can inspect your whole-home surge protector whenever they’re doing your annual home electrical system inspection. Most whole-home surge protectors will last anywhere between five and 10 years with proper care and upkeep. The longevity of your specific device will depend on the frequency and severity of power surges in your area.

Helpful Whole-Home Surge Protection Service

Jco Heating A/C Electrical offers whole-home surge protection services for the Springfield, OR area. We can also gladly assist with all your home electrical installation, replacement, repair, and inspection needs. Just call us today to discuss your next service appointment or to schedule the installation of a whole-home surge protector.