I had a customer once when I worked in the computer tech industry that was older but wanted to know about the modern technology he could get installed in his computer. He came to me and said ” I want some UBS ports added to my computer, and what is this I hear about Wire Fire?”
If you know you know, but it was pretty hard not to laugh out loud how close he was to the right terminology. So what is all this about surge protection and how important is it?
Here is how I think of surge protection. I’m not a scientiest, or a phsisist, so take this as a grain of salt. The power that we use here in the Pacific Northwest is created mostly from water. The water pushes a turbine and it powers a motor. The motor begins to spin and with a modern marvel of magnetism it begins to produce a sine wave of current. Here in the land of the free someone decided that 60hz is a good frequency on how this wave should function. So everyone else and their brother designed all these appliances and gadgets that use resistance to the flow of current to power whatchamacallits inside of things we use everyday. All is good and well until something goes wrong and that little wave becomes too big. Most of the stuff we made is out of silica and little networks of solder and when the current flows too strong it melts their little brains. Those things that could go wrong are transformers blowing up, crazy people shooting guns at sub stations, and every once in awhile lightning. It sends a “surge” of energy down the copper wires we run all across the telephone poles and wrecks havoc on people who don’t have devices meant to limit this flow. It’s kind of like we are all playing this weird game of electrical jump rope all the time and the beat of the song is always 60hz and then every once in awhile some idiot spins it too fast and the whole game comes to a halt. So people invented these shin guard kind of things that when the rope slaps it doesn’t hurt as bad.
So here are some types of surge protectors. Your standard plug-in power strip, your on-device surge protector, and a whole house surge. Your plug-in types are going to be rated in joules, the bigger the number the bigger it is going to protect against. Many brands such as APC, or Cyberpower will have a recommendation on what should be plugged into this device. If you have a $2000 computer I would not be plugging in a $2.99 surge protector from the Dollar Store. However, if all you have are laptops or mobile devices in your house, you do not need a fancy $200 Monster branded surge protector. These things work pretty well and they are convenient because you plug lots of stuff into them. One thing people tend to forget is that these things are designed to take that surge but once they have done so, they no longer protect the devices plugged into it. So it could be pretty exhausting keeping dates on all your surge protectors and replacing them.
Alternatively, some stuff has a surge protector built in. Some electronics will have one or 2 surge protectors built in so you don’t lose that expensive device right off the bat. You would need to read the manual to see if the items you own has one built-in. Sometimes when I run AC units, I put a little surge in the disconnect. I’ve only seen surge protection built into high-end electrical equipment when I was working in the IT industry. Most appliances you buy nowadays don’t seem to last very long, so I wonder if they want to get fried so you have to buy a new one because the board is more expensive after time and materials to repair than replace.
Lastly are the Whole House Surge Protectors that you can put into a panel, or add to a panel. There is even electrical code that requires me to put these devices in during a new installation.
230.67(A) “All services supplying dwelling units shall be provided with a surge
protective device.” Surge protection is required for all single occupancy and multiple unit
dwelling services. A Type 1 or Type 2 surge protective device (SPD) is required integral to
or adjacent to the electrical service, even when an existing service is replaced.
I went to a convention once and a vendor that sold these devices told me how they functioned. The device itself is rated to allow the sine wave to enter the panel. When the surge goes beyond that level, it diverts it to the grounding system. First you need to make sure your GEC “Grounding Electrode Conductors” are up to date, and second EGC “Equipment Grounding Conductor” are installed properly. I’d recommend you have an electrician such as myself from Empowered Electric inspect your system. Once we know that it is all up to date and good, we want to put in a surge protection device that is rated for your load center. There are many options, some have very little warranty coverage and some have quite a bit. I would opt for what fits your budget and get a warranty that can cover the electronics in your home. Why do I say that? Well, the device is engineered to do its job but I can’t guarantee you that lightning won’t strikes your house. There is no surge protector that will protect everything in your home. Luckily I live in Yelm and it is pretty flat here so I don’t really worry about lightning.
The obvious benefit is that this device will protect everything in your house. Does that mean you should not use any other surge? I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it, but I’d be willing to bet one condom and birth control is probably safer than just a condom alone. Hell, most people aren’t using any protection at all, so the fact that you made it this far reading my nonsense means you might be well on your way to not having a surge coming inside your house.
I would recommend a whole house surge for anyone that is a homeowner. A tiny cottage in Olympia, quaint Craftsman in Steilacoom, or even a historical house in Centralia with knob and tube. They are relatively inexpensive, so give me a call and I’ll be over with one soon.