What Is Surge Protection

What Is Surge Protection?

Your home will experience surges of electricity every day. Most people associate these surges with external sources – your power going out during a storm, a lightning strike, or if there is damage to the lines or a transformer near your property. But many of the power surges your home experiences come from within.

Internal power surges are not as catastrophic as the external ones, but they still need some consideration as they can harm your vulnerable electronics like TVs, computers, or sound systems. Internal surges tend to happen when you turn large energy-hungry appliances on and off.

Having surge protection installed will ensure that you provide protection for your vital electronics.

While a surge of power may not necessarily break your electronics immediately, it can put an extra strain on various components, wearing them down over time.

Why Do You Need It

So, how does something that is meant to breathe life into your device damage it as well? Electricity is marvellous, but it is rarely constant. As we mentioned above, there will be multiple surges in your power every day.

A power surge means that there is an increased level of voltage in the lines beyond the usual designated level of electricity. This excess voltage causes an arc of electrical current which creates heat. That, in turn, can damage the electrical components within your devices. It is not limited to your computer and your television, surges can impact all appliances, including your refrigerator, washing machine and heat pump.

Surge protection is designed to reduce the effects of these power surges, protecting your electronics.

How To Get Surge Protection At Your Place

There are multiple ways that you can protect your electronics from power surges. The most common would be using point of use surges protection. Those are the devices that plug into your power points. The problem with relying on these devices is that they only protect the devices plugged into them. And some of your most relied on electrical devices (fridge, washer, stoves etc.) are not compatible with plug-in surge protectors.

You shouldn’t rely fully on plug-in surge protectors. They should be one part of a larger surge protection plan. True surge protection should be handled by a professional electrician.

Electricians have access to the best surge protection on the market. It is installed directly at your home’s switchboard to provide protection to all of your appliances, and also to the electronics that are hard wired. These easy to install devices provide an extra level of protection against surges that may be too much for a plug-in surge protector to handle.

If you are interested in knowing more about surge protection at your place, then get in touch with us here at 2E Electrical. We can help you protect all of the electronics in your home. Drop us a line today.