Whole house surge protection St. Catharines ON
If you’ve heard of power surge protection, you might be picturing the power surge strips found commonly at your local Home Depot, Lowe’s, Canadian Tire or other home improvement stores. But are you aware of the whole house surge protector? You may be able to find it at your local hardware store, but you’d have to contact a licensed electrician in St. Catharines to install it for you.
But first, let’s talk about the whole house surge protector installation, especially if you’re unfamiliar with it. What do they actually do? In a nutshell, in the event of nearby lightning or a sudden power surge from the power grid, your appliances and devices will be protected. Great, time to toss out the power surge strips and let the whole house version handle it all. Not so fast! Both types work well together in layers. What does that mean? Well, there are pros and cons of the whole house surge protector. The obvious advantage is that it can prevent high voltages from passing through and damaging sensitive equipment in your home or business. BUT… That depends on the protector’s Voltage Protection Rating, or VPR. In a nutshell, the lower the VPR, the better the protection. The VPR describes how much voltage will be “allowed through” after it’s neutralized the majority of the voltage after a lightning strike or a sudden power surge from power grid scenario. |
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Wait, you might ask, there’s still voltage let through? Can’t that still damage my electronics? Yes, there is usually residual that passes through. That’s why the lower the VPR, the better. However, certain devices are sensitive to even the smallest excess current, and that’s why we highly recommend layering.
Layering, something you not only do in the cold Canadian winters, but something that can protect your electronic investments. To protect the residual voltage from damaging your devices, it is highly recommended to install the familiar and widely known power surge bars to catch the small amount of excess power that passes through. So think about installing the point-of-use surge protectors in areas where computers, home theatres, media centres or any sensitive and/or important equipment is used.
How do you find the best whole house surge protector? Every year, you can find lists online of retailers’ favourite brands and products. Feel free to ask our St. Catharines electrical contractors for their recommendations. But in general, these are the features you’ll want to look for:
If you’re still on the fence about investing in whole house surge protection, ask yourself how valuable your most cherished electronic equipment or appliances are, how likely they would be damaged in the event of lightning or a sudden power surge from downed power lines, and how costly would it be to replace them. Feel free to contact our licensed electrical contractors to guide you through these questions, and we’ll take care of the rest.
Layering, something you not only do in the cold Canadian winters, but something that can protect your electronic investments. To protect the residual voltage from damaging your devices, it is highly recommended to install the familiar and widely known power surge bars to catch the small amount of excess power that passes through. So think about installing the point-of-use surge protectors in areas where computers, home theatres, media centres or any sensitive and/or important equipment is used.
How do you find the best whole house surge protector? Every year, you can find lists online of retailers’ favourite brands and products. Feel free to ask our St. Catharines electrical contractors for their recommendations. But in general, these are the features you’ll want to look for:
- Low VPR
- Lifetime or many years warranty
- UL certified
- Type 1 or Type 2 (Type 3 is generally the point-of-use surge protector); ask us which Type works best for your situation (Type 2 is the one commonly referred to in whole house surge protection as it is hard-wired to your electrical panel and installed by your professional electrician, whereas Type 1 is installed on the line side of the power and will involve the power company in the installation process)
If you’re still on the fence about investing in whole house surge protection, ask yourself how valuable your most cherished electronic equipment or appliances are, how likely they would be damaged in the event of lightning or a sudden power surge from downed power lines, and how costly would it be to replace them. Feel free to contact our licensed electrical contractors to guide you through these questions, and we’ll take care of the rest.
