Surge Protection: Why a power strip isn't enough

Most people have a surge protection strip or two in their homes for their TVs, computers and other electronics. But what you may not realize is that there are electrical surges every day in your home, some of them caused by the very equipment you’re trying to protect cycling on and off, and that surge protector strip is probably not enough to keep your devices and appliances safe.

Today’s homes have more electronics than ever before, and homeowners may not even realize how many items need to be protected. From electronic coffee makers to laser printers, many common items have circuit boards and electronic components for programming that are vulnerable to electrical surges.

A power surge, which may also be called transient voltage, is an increase in electrical voltage significantly greater than the designated level in a flow of electricity. Normal home and office wiring in the U.S. carries a standard of 120 volts; if the voltage surges higher than that for one or two nanoseconds you have a spike; if it lasts for three nanoseconds or more you have a surge. Both spikes and surges can cause problems for your electronics.

While lightning is the most familiar source of power surges, it’s actually the least common. The most common source of power surges is right in your home – high-power electrical equipment like air conditioners, and heating elements like HVAC systems and water heaters. This type of equipment consumes a lot of power as it cycles on and off, creating sudden, brief demands for power which can interfere with consistent voltage flow, which can damage components, either immediately or over time.

Most people know to use a surge protector for their electronic equipment. Surge protectors work by diverting the excess voltage into the grounding system. While a good quality surge protection strip is a necessary part of keeping your electronics safe, it’s only one part of a two-part system. A surge protection strip is called an “end of line” or “device” type protection. To truly protect your home and your equipment from power surges you need both a whole house surge protection system, and secondary surge protection strips for specific equipment. Individual surge protectors can be placed on A/C units, water heaters, phone systems, CATV systems, computer network cable systems and CCTV systems. Whole house surge protection will eliminate any surges on the incoming utility, and coupled with specific “end of line” surge protection, will protect your electrical infrastructure from both equipment failure surges and exterior surges like lightning strikes.

Whole house surge protection is installed by a licensed electrical contractor, usually in a few hours or less. These professional surge protectors can be applied to your electrical panel (make sure the device used is listed UL 1449 third edition for the best protection), cable/satellite hookups, motors, pumps and telephone lines. This first line of defense protects your home and equipment from surges coming in through power lines and utility lines.

Quality whole house surge protection will be a static product, consistently monitoring the electrical system until needed. Because you may not know if there are power surges when you have surge protection installed, it’s important to choose a system that has easily viewed alerts so that you can check that it is functioning properly. The best systems will come with a protection warranty – Kolb Electric offers a system that provides a $25,000 primary coverage warranty, for example.

Typically, whole house surge protection systems can be installed for a fraction of the cost of replacing damaged products due to an electrical surge, and add a significant level of protection, plus insurance with the better systems. You will still need individual surge protector strips for particularly sensitive equipment (TVs, computer equipment, etc.) but this two-step protection system will go a long way toward preventing blown electronics. As more and more items rely on electronic circuitry to function properly, it’s worth the investment in whole house surge protection to make sure you don’t lose your electronics the next time there’s a power surge in your home.

Gus Boesl is a certified master electrician and chief operating officer of Kolb Electric. To contact Kolb Electric, please call 410-579-5800 or visit KolbElectric.com.