Power surges are common with our modern world. We often put a lot of power into one outlet or run all of our power equipment in one place. When a power surge happens, it can cause a lot of problems with how well your electronics will work.
Finding ways to work through this and prevent a power surge before it can happen will protect your outlets and all of your electronics. Some of the different methods you can use to help protect your home and its electrical system from a power surge includes:
1. Have Whole-Home Surge Protection
Purchasing whole-home suppressors will be a great way to protect the whole home from unwanted leaps in how much power goes to our appliances and devices. You should talk with a professional to help you set up this kind of device.
It is most likely that the suppressor will need to be connected right to the service panel and it can turn into the gateway for electricity. As soon as the levels of electricity start to get high, the suppressor will be able to shut down the power, redirecting all the extra to the ground wire to keep it all safe.
You should make sure the suppressor will have thermal fuses along with some method so you know when these increases are happening. You can then make plans about electronics or see some of the common trends to prevent this from happening in the future.
2. Protect Electronics That are Sensitive
Even with the suppressor that we talked about above, it is possible for some of your devices to be susceptible to surge damage. It may do a great job, but it is not able to catch it all. You may need to consider some additional protection for some of the items that are very valuable in your home, like your computer.
There are several options that homeowners can use to protect specific electronics that are important to them. These include:
- Power strips
- Surge stations for things like cable lines and phone lines.
- A UPS or an uninterruptible power station. This will help create a stable supply of electricity and also comes with a battery to give you a few minutes of protection when the power goes out.
The method you use will depend on the type of electronic you are trying to protect. This will not be a permanent option but does give you a little relief in the process.
3. Give the Electricity Somewhere to Go
When electricity comes into the home, it has to go somewhere. There are options that will make sure it does not go straight to your electronics and cause a power surge, but you still need to give the electricity somewhere to go, or it will continue to cause more trouble.
While thinking about the different ways that you can handle and prevent a power surge, you need to make sure that there is a safe and proper escape route for all of that electricity to go. This is going to usually be done with the wiring of the home but check into it to start.
Ideally, there needs to be some kind of path that can take the electricity and move it away from the home. This is often known as the ground and a professional electrician will be able to help you get this set up to keep your home safe.
4. Be Smart About Where You Plug
You need to think ahead a bit about where you plan to plug in all of the electronics that you would like to use. Do not leave the delicate electronics into the same power strip like your air-conditioner or something else that uses a lot of power. Computers and big appliances, for example, will not get along.
Those appliances that take on the larger electronic loads are going to put the sensitive devices at risk because they are powerful enough to cause some of their own mini-surges in the process.
It is best to keep the delicate items on their own power strips for protection. Or at least do not put them on the same power strip with the big appliances. This can keep them safe in case those bigger appliances start to cause some issues along the way.
5. Do Not Overload the Outlets
It is important to be careful about how much you can add to each outlet or power strip in your home. Plugging as many things as possible into the same outlet can cause a lot of issues.
For example, even though the power strip is big enough to hold six or seven things, it is probably not smart to make those be a dishwasher, fridge, air conditioner, and entertainment system all in one.
With all that power being taken out in one area, it is likely that a power surge will happen. And if you notice a lightning storm, you can guess where all that power is going and how badly everything will get fried.
It is much better to keep things separated to help keep them safe. If you are concerned about this, you will need to work with a professional to help you figure out the voltage that can go on each part and then stick with this. It is always best to err on the side of caution and have fewer things on an outlet rather than too much.
Keeping Your Electronics Safe
With these tips in mind, you are able to protect all of your devices, and your home, from power surges that could cause a lot of damage within the home. It is always best to not take chances when it comes to the electricity in your home.
While your insurance may be strong enough to cover electronics and other things that get damaged through a power surge, such as those that happen with lightning, but you do not want to lose those powerful electronics. Take some of the steps above to help prevent a power surge and keep things protected.