There’s a lot of scary information floating around when a discussion regarding electricity is at hand. Some of it is very valid, and some might be considered a bit of an exaggeration. But one area we really like to nail home is the dangers of a power surge. These are frighteningly common, and present very real danger to both you, and to your electronics. Protect yourselves (and your investments!) by learning how to prevent surges, and how to mitigate the possible threat they pose.
What Exactly Is a Power Surge?
Generally speaking, power is always “surging” to a minor degree. Every time a machine kicks on, or you flip a switch, the course and amount of power in your home fluctuates slightly. But more specifically, what we call a power surge is a dramatic and large spike in the current of your home.
This spike is very brief (around a thousandth of a second), but can carry some real risk. More often it carries a risk to your devices than your person, but you put a lot of money into your investments.Protect them!
Electrical Surge Protection: How to Quell Surge Damage
Protecting your home from surges is actually pretty simple. It just takes a little preparation, a minor investment and a little bit of your (or our) time:
- Know basic electrical safety.Avoid using power strips that lack safety measures (strips that come with surge protection are clearly labelled). Wires that are damaged or aged should be professionally replaced, and keep outlets, wires and cords away from water and sources of moisture.
- Never daisy chain.Daisy chaining is a colloquial term for basically plugging plugs into other plugs. Ever see someone running an extension cord to a power strip that then gets plugged into yet another power strip? A power surge would ignite that setup like dry tinder.
- Purchase safe appliances.Much like power strips, many appliances come with surge protection built-in. Do research on your purchases, and be sure to pick ones that are the safest investment.
- Strongly consider whole-home electrical surge protection.And by strongly consider, we mean it’s almost crucial to install electrical surge protection. Homeowners that opt to avoid this option are missing out on huge amounts of peace of mind and safety.
What Is Whole-Home Electrical Surge Protection?
You probably noted how adamant we were about that last one. So what’s the big deal? We could note a bunch of anecdotes about how a friend of a friend regretted not getting one, but let’s stick to the facts. Like we said, surges happen all of the time. Most of these are caused just by the general goings-on of a household. Whole home surge protection is hands down the number one most effective method of keeping you and your home safe.
Without getting too technical, a whole home electrical surge protection system polices and assists in maintaining proper, safe currents in your home. Do you have to have one in your home? Not really, they aren’t code yet. Should you get one? Absolutely. Surges can cost you huge money, and whole home protection is a very cost-efficient safety measure.
Surge Protection and Service with Lecair Electric
Want to learn more about how the expert electricians at Lecair Electric can help you and your home stay safe? Contact our team today!
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