When a thunderstorm hits, power surges can increase the electrical current flowing into your home’s electrical wiring, affecting your lighting, appliances and other electrical equipment.
In fact, power surges can be caused by a variety of factors, including lightning, faulty or damaged electric wiring or suddenly operating a high-power electrical device.
It’s vital to protect your electronic equipment by surge protection devices and proper grounding of your electrical system.
“Any and all electrical appliances that are connected to a home power source are susceptible to damage from a power surge,” said State Farm Agent Ed Martinez Jr. “Ideally when you build your home you should install a whole house surge protector that can absorb power surges over 169 volts.”
With more people having expensive electronic components, having point-of-use surge protectors connected to each expensive appliance can also enhance your protection.
“This could include protecting phone systems and cable boxes,” Martinez said.
Select a quality surge protector with indicator lights to show it’s functioning correctly because after repeated use the metal oxide varistor, the component that diverts the extra voltage, will burn out. Once the MOV burns out, the surge protector is just a power strip that will offer no protection from a power surge. The indicator lights will tell you it’s time to be replaced.
When selecting a surge protector, pay attention to several measurements that pertain to the protection level it provides.
“Look for the clamping voltage, which is the amount of voltage it will take to make the MOV start working,” said Jonathan Swarer, electrical contractor with Airco Service Inc. “The lower the number, the better.”
Swarer also recommends checking the protector’s joules rating. “This is how much energy the protector can absorb before failure. In this case, the higher the number, the better.”
Lastly, note the product’s response time. “Look for one nanosecond or faster,” Swarer said.
External and internal sources of power surges are unavoidable.
Homeowners must take steps to protect their investments. While basic protection includes surge protector strips for electronics, including phone and cable, medium protection adds a whole house protector.
“For the best protection, consider adding surge protectors on higher power consumption equipment such as compressors and air conditioning units,” Swarer said.
Have a licensed electrical contractor install a whole house surge protector at the electrical panel. Also, have maintenance performed on the electrical panel to check for loose connections and have them upgraded as needed.”
Surge protection is important for every homeowner especially in Oklahoma.
“I love the beauty of Northeast Oklahoma, but I realize that we never just have an April shower,” Martinez said. “We usually have thunderstorms with embedded hail or rain, and we have damaging lightning. Investing in both whole house and point-of-use surge protection is not only prudent, it also will save a deductible and keep your homeowners rate low.”
Lightning strikes have the power and intensity to overcome surge protectors. One of the best ways to protect against possible damage from a direct lightning strike is disconnecting appliances and expensive electronics, such as televisions, computers and game platforms, when not in use.
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