Five Things to Know About Home Surge Protection

When it comes to home surge protection, many people feel installing a power strip with the capability is enough to defend their devices. However, this approach overlooks some key fundamentals. Here are five things to know about home surge protection to help keep your electronics safe.

1. Causes of Power Surges
   While lightning is the culprit most often contemplated, power surges can originate from a number of other sources. Normal utility company operations can sometimes trigger them, as well as downed power lines and other events causing unintentional grounding.
   Devices within the home — such as air conditioners, furnaces, and even computers and entertainment systems — can generate them as well. Understanding this is key to selecting the right devices for given situations.
2. Whole Home Surge Protection Is Worthwhile
   Your first line of defense should be located where the current enters your home. This will guard your home against sudden surges when power is restored after outages, as well as other types of unintended surges caused by your utility company.
   That suppressor should be connected to your service panel, where it can serve as sort of a gateway for electricity entering your home. Most experts recommend deploying suppressors with thermal fuses and the capability of handling a surge of at least 40,000 amps.
3. Choose the Right Device for the Situation
   Surge protection is classified by type, of which there are three primary classifications.
   Type 1 – Discharges partial lightning current, usually with spark gap technology, these are typically used in service-sector and industrial buildings.
   Type 2 – The primary protection system for low-voltage installations, these helps prevent the spread of over-voltages within electrical installations to assist in the defense of connected equipment.
   Type 3 – Should only be used as a supplement to Type 2 devices, as Type 3 protectors have a low discharge capacity.
   A Type 1 surge protector is usually installed at the service box and can be overkill for home applications. Type 2 is usually better suited to home protection. Type 3 protection should only be used inside the home, in line with the devices it’s intended to protect.
   It’s also important to consider the specific voltage requirements when choosing surge protection. Ensuring the device you select meets the highest performance standards regarding reliability and safety is advisable as well.
4. Filters Are Insufficient for Defense
   Filters are typically designed to operate within a specific frequency range. Lightning-induced surges can overwhelm them, as can non-lightning sources for that matter. With that said, filters can be a good supplement to a well-matched surge protection device.
5. Placement Is Critical
   Ideally, the protection device should be installed as close as possible to the device(s) it is tasked with defending. You want to use the least amount of cabling you can and do everything possible to ensure the path is straight — rather than circuitous or kinked.
   You must also ensure the connection to the grounding conductor is solid. While it’s OK to install Type 3 surge protection devices in line with your electronics yourself, only an experienced electrician should put in whole-house systems.
   By the way, electrical transients can also be admitted through phone/fax lines, cable or satellite systems, and local area networks. Surge protection devices should be installed on all such systems to guarantee maximum protection.

These five things to know about surge protection will help you ensure the best defense for your home and the electrical devices it contains. You’ll avoid damage to expensive equipment, as well as fires and other catastrophic electrical events.

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