Imagine what it would be like to have all your electrical appliances, such as your HVAC system, your computer, your washer, your microwave, your refrigerator, and your overhead lights stop working all at once? It wouldn’t be all that fun, would it? But this is what can happen in the even of a power surge.
Power surges pose a real threat to your home’s electrical system, so it is important that you do everything in your power to protect your home against them.
First of All, What Is a Power Surge?
To put it simply, a power surge is a brief spike in your home’s electrical current. These surges can be caused by several things, including high-power electrical devices like refrigerators or air conditioners, downed power lines, faulty wiring, high demand, or lightning strikes. A lightning strike doesn’t have to occur near you to cause a spike in your electrical current.
The average home might experience up to twenty power surges a day, and more than half of all power surges are internal. Just by switching on and off our appliances, we can alter the flow of electricity.
Here’s How You Can Protect Your Home
There several ways to protect your home from power surges. Here are a few:
Protect Specific Electronics
There are some things in your home that you might be extra concerned about, like your expensive computer equipment. There are three main options to protect specific electronics:
- Power strips
- Surge stations
- Uninterruptible power stations
Your home system might not be able to catch every surge, so it is important to protect those devices that are especially susceptible.
Be Careful When You Plug Things In
Another great way to protect your electrical devices and appliances from power surges is to be careful about where you plug things in. It is recommended that you don’t plug sensitive appliances, like a computer, into the same power strip as something that uses a lot of electricity, like an AC. It is also important that you do not overload your outlets with lots of appliances and devices.
Ask About a Whole-Home Solution
You will need more than just a power strip to protect your home from large power surges. You need a unit that installs directly into the breaker box to flip off the power supply when a surge occurs. There are also larger surge protectors that attach to the outside of your breaker box. Although they are more expensive, they can block a surge of up to 60,000 amps.
Just remember that with a main line surge protector, you should still have smaller protectors for each individual outlet. These main line protectors are designed for appliances like your heating system, cooling system, or refrigerator, not your computer or television.
Remember to call us when you need an electrician in Everett, WA.
Are you ready to invest in surge protection? Great! All you need to do is contact the team at G & S Heating, Cooling & Electrical today to get started.
A Service Company You Can Depend On.
