Home Surge Protection

Posted on: July 13, 2016
By: Alan O'Neill
Posted in: Electrician

Houston Homeowners Are Afraid For Assessing The Risk Associated With Lightning Strikes

There is no cookie cutter approach to lightning protection and it involves more than just preventing a strike. Each situation like each installation is unique and should combine protection from lightning’s primary effects (a lightning Strike) with its secondary effects (grounding/earthing/surge). After repeated power surges, the protective circuitry will burn out so it’s important to know whether or not your surge protection is still functioning.

This will help you to Install a Whole House Surge Protector

Will Your Surge Protector Still Protect Your Equipment After a Power Surge?

Let’s say you had a weather-related power surge at your home or facility, and you had all your important electronic equipment protected by a surge protector. Your connected equipment is working properly post-surge, so you assume the surge protector did its job. But now you’re wondering, “What about next time?” How do you know if the previous power surge damaged your surge protector to the point where it will no longer provide the same level of protection? The answer depends on the severity of the power surge and what type of surge protector you have.

While all surge protectors say they protect PCs and home electronics from damaging power surges and spikes, their level of protection (in Joules) varies. A high quality surge protector will have a Joule rating of at least 1200 depending on the number of outlets that need to be protected. In the case of a power surge that was much higher than the rating of your surge protector, the internal protective components may have been damaged beyond repair. But how would you know that? Well, that’s where the type of surge protector can help you answer the question.

Most surge protectors include up to three diagnostic LEDs that tell you the operational status of your surge protector before and after a power surge. To determine if the internal surge protection components are working normally, look at the “Protection Present” or “Protected” LED on the front of the surge protector’s casing. If it is illuminated green, your surge protector is ready to go and prepared to protect you when the next power surge occurs. However, if this LED does not illuminate, there is likely something wrong with the surge protector’s internal components, or the wall outlet is not wired correctly. Read more.

How Surge Protectors Work

When you put together a computer system, one piece of standard equipment you’ll probably buy is a surge protector. Most designs serve one immediately obvious function — they let you plug multiple components into one power outlet. With all of the different components that make up a computer system, this is definitely a useful device. For more info just Call ABACUS Plumbing, Air Conditioning & Electrical (713) 812-7070 for your home service and repair needs.

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