What Is Whole Home Surge Protection? Why Do You Need It?
September 23, 2019Throughout hurricane season, we’re sure you’ve heard about the importance of generators in your Southwest Florida home.
While generators are essential to keep your home protected and keep your family safe in the event of a hurricane, there are other things you can do to keep your home and appliances well connected. Another aspect of keeping your home protected during severe weather is having whole-home surge protection.
What is Whole Home Surge Protection?
A whole-house surge protector is a device installed to protect all the appliances in your home from any electrical spikes by limiting excess electrical current through blocking its flow or shorting it to the ground. They typically use a feature called metal oxide varistors (MOVs) to protect you against the surge. So, if a power surge occurs, the device will keep any harmful electrical currents from damaging your home devices. Surge protectors are typically installed connected to a home’s electrical service box.
Power surges can enter your home through electrical systems such as A/C, pool pump, generator, solar, cable, network, and communication connections, so all these devices’ interior and exterior should be protected. In addition to the device being installed on the main electrical panel, we also recommend adding protective devices to appliances (which is something we can also help with).
Why Do You Need Whole Home Surge Protection?
Power surges can often come as a result of storms during hurricane season, but they can occur every day from other grid disruptions. Surges can be caused by lightning strikes, power outages, tripped circuit breaks, short circuits, power transitions, malfunctions from your power company, electromagnetic pulses, and more. Any system powered by electricity is susceptible to power spikes.
As our use of technology in the home grows, so does our reliance on our home’s electrical system working properly. These surges can often be small and inconsequential, but there is a risk of your expensive electronics and home appliances to be damaged or completely taken out by a power surge.
Surges can cause fried circuit boards on any of your home appliances, including washers, dryers, stoves, dishwashers, computers, smart devices, TVs, LED lightbulbs, and more. Not only can large surges cause immediate damage, but smaller surges that produce mini bursts of electrical energy can slowly degrade your appliances over time and shorten their lifespan.
By investing in a professionally installed whole-home surge protection, you can protect your investment.
Do I Need A Professional to Install My Whole Home Surge Protection?
As with all things in your home’s electrical system, it is strongly recommended to work with a licensed local professional electrician to install all of these devices, including the device on the main panel and individually on large appliances and electronics.
The electrical wiring in a home service panel can be confusing when taking the DIY approach, and an improperly installed device could result in defects or danger to those installing it. The home surge protector may not function properly if not installed correctly and at worse, could cause more damage.
For best results and the safety of your home, your appliances, and your family, consult a professional for whole-home surge protection installation.
Work with A Southwest Florida Licensed Electrician
If you are ready to get whole-home surge protection installed in your home, look no further than Empowered Global.
We are a Southwest Florida licensed electrical contractor that services in both commercial and residential electrical work in Bonita Springs, Estero, and Naples. We even specialize in high-end luxury neighborhoods in the area such as Talis Park, Mediterra, and Quail West.
We can help you protect your investment by protecting all the appliances in your home through professional whole-home surge protection. Call us today at (239) 330-4520 or contact us online today.
