It is becoming ever more necessary to double up on your home’s surge protection capabilities. Power surges aren’t just created within your home; they come from outside the home as well. This is why you need a service entrance surge protector as well as your outlet surge protectors you use on all your appliances. The service entrance variety is also known as a whole house surge protector. It stops surges coming in through your power lines. The wall surge protector guards everything plugged into your outlets.
There is no all-in-one surge protection device that can protect your entire home. All it would take is for one lightning blast to hit your home’s electrical system and that surge protector would no longer protect you. That is the reason it is best to have layers of protection: to impede surges from advancing. Having one system of protection at the baseline of your incoming power receptacle and others within your home at the outlets will create a system of protection that will ensure your equipment survives.
Whole house surge protectors protect power coming into the house. They protect incoming power line, any telephone lines, and cable or satellite hookups you have coming into your home. You can either have one device that covers all incoming lines or you have one protector for each incoming line. There are two types of whole house surge protectors: one that connects on the utility side of the breaker board and one that connects on the line side of the breaker board.
This system of whole house surge protection will cover your entire electrical interface. It covers all motorized equipment, outside house lights, and all interior outlets and light switches. Basically anything that is hard wired to the breaker board is protected. This means anything behind your walls and outlets is covered.
Point-of-use surge protectors will actually plug in to your wall outlet and act as a buffer between the outlet and your electrical appliances. Many people confuse this device with a power strip that has three or more outlets on it. This will not protect you. A surge protector is a regulated piece of equipment that guarantees a level of protection from power surges.
Wall surge protectors are geared to protect your televisions, VCRs, DVD players, home stereo equipment, personal computers and all other electronic equipment that has sensitive electronic components. You can readily identify appliances that require surge protection as they usually have electronic buttons which turn them on or off. Your computer is one that could require several types of surge protection in one device as it often has a phone modem or a cable connection to access the Internet. All lines, no matter what the device, should be protected.
With that said, consider using a two tier surge protection system to protect your home. A service entrance surge protector will safely reduce the chance of all external power surges from entering your home and causing serious damage. Your second line of defense, the wall surge protector is added security for all your equipment and incoming lines such as your phone. Any surge that is created within your home will benefit from this type of surge protection.
As technology moves forward the circuitry installed within them becomes smaller and more sensitive to electrical current. A power surge will damage if not outright destroy these sensitive components. Also equipment is becoming more and more interconnected through compatible accessories, which means surge protection is ever more important to prevent the spread of surges through layers of equipment. Energy companies are deregulating at a time when there is more demand for power which increases the risk of damage from power surges in your home. Do yourself a favor and get surge protection today.
Understanding the benefits of a two-tiered surge protection system is the first step. A whole house surge protector is only one line of defense. Yet there are many kinds of wall surge protectors that can help you protect your home and your equipment. Shop around and find the one the fits your needs.
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