Our Denver residential electricians remind you that surge protection is not just for the office!
Thunderstorms and lightning are a fact of life in the Denver area from late spring through summer. Power outages from high winds are a threat year-round. Beyond the inconvenience, these weather events can be costly if they result in a power surge that damages electronics in your home.
Can you walk through a room in your home that doesn’t have some sort of electronic device in use? Let’s start with the kitchen. How about the electronic controls on your stove, refrigerator, dishwasher, microwave oven, and coffee maker? Move on to the laundry. Yep, electronic control pads on the washer and the dryer.
Don’t forget the television and sound system in the family room. Also, the computer and printer in the office. What about the cell phones charging in every bedroom, along with maybe a tablet or laptop? Don’t forget the toothbrushes charging in the bathrooms! What?? You have a car charging in the garage?
Understanding Surge Protective Devices survey from ESFI is an interesting read on surge protection for home and office.
Preventing damage due to power surges requires two simple steps:
- First, call Electri-Serve at 303-892-0027 and arrange to have a whole house surge protector installed at your breaker box. This will protect against externally generated surges that result from outages caused by lightning strikes, downed power lines, and blown power company transformers.
- Next, use high-quality surge protection devices (SPD) at wall outlets where electronics are plugged in. This, in combination with the whole house SPD at your breaker box, achieves layered surge protection that is recommended by NEMA (National Electrical Manufacturers Association) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and many other industry experts.
One quick note about SPDs for televisions and computers: be sure to use multi-port plug-in SPDs. These devices have ports for television cable and phone wires. Not having protection for these low voltage lines will leave your electronics vulnerable to surges from lightning strikes direct and nearby.
Call our office at 303-892-0027 or use our contact form. One of our experienced Denver residential electricians is ready to help you.
