Power surges pose a significant threat to modern homes, especially ones that are filled with sensitive electronics. Sudden spikes in electrical voltage can damage or destroy everything from smartphones and laptops to refrigerators and washing machines.
Many homeowners rely on power strips with built-in surge protection for their most expensive electronics. However, these offer only limited defense against electrical surges. Whole-home surge protection provides a more comprehensive solution by installing protective devices directly at the electrical panel. A whole-home system creates a robust barrier that guards all your electronics against both external and internal power surges, extending the life of your valuable devices and preventing costly repairs or replacements.
Power Surge Risks
A power surge happens when the electrical voltage in your home suddenly spikes well above its normal level. Dangerous surges may originate from various sources, both outside and inside your home. Lightning strikes represent the most dramatic and destructive type of surge, but most surges come from everyday sources like utility grid switching, nearby construction, or accidents involving power lines. Surges can even occur when animals get into electrical infrastructure and damage equipment on or off your property.
Even more common are the mini-surges that occur within your house when large appliances cycle on and off. Particularly, appliances with large peak power draws, such as your home’s HVAC system and refrigerator, can briefly destabilize your household’s electric supply. While these smaller surges might not cause immediate damage, they gradually degrade your electronics over time. The consequences of power surges range from subtle performance issues to catastrophic failures that can destroy your devices.
Modern electronics face significant risks because their circuitry is quickly becoming more delicate as devices get smaller, more efficient, and more sophisticated. TVs can suffer irreparable screen damage or complete system failure. Computers and laptops might experience corrupted hard drives, fried motherboards, or permanent data loss. Gaming consoles also fall victim to power surges, leading to damaged processors and corrupted or destroyed storage drives.
Nearly everything in a modern home contains some form of computer technology. Audio systems, security systems, and smart home features all rely on advanced electronics. Even appliances like dishwashers, dryers, washing machines, and refrigerators are packed with electronic components. More concerning, modern medical devices contain highly sensitive electronics that can fail if exposed to a power surge.
Understanding Power Surges
Electronics operate within specific voltage ranges, and power surges disrupt this delicate balance with potentially devastating effects. Most household electronics in North America run on 120 volts. Nearly all modern electronics can handle small fluctuations fine, so a small spike of something like 122 volts doesn’t matter. However, a surge can send several thousand volts coursing through your electrical system in a fraction of a second.
When excessive voltage hits during a surge, it forces too much electrical current through your devices’ components. The effect is somewhat similar to water pressure in a pipe. Too much pressure can cause the pipe to burst. Excess voltage has to go somewhere. It tries to find paths to other circuits, and it also will try to escape as heat energy. The heat can burn out microprocessors, damage circuit boards, and melt the coating on wires. Even if the damage isn’t immediately apparent, repeated small surges gradually weaken components, leading to premature failure.
Voltage spikes pose an even more immediate threat. These extremely brief but intense bursts of electricity blast through your devices’ normal protective barriers. Modern electronics use intricate integrated circuits and microprocessors that operate internally with very low voltage levels. Most power blocks adjust the incoming voltage to a level that’s usable for the device. When a spike hits, it can jump between components like a tiny lightning bolt, creating electrical shorts and burning through delicate circuitry.
Whole-home surge protection addresses these threats by acting as an electrical fortress around your home’s wiring system. The protection system connects directly to your home’s electrical panel and creates a safe path for the surging current to follow. Instead of flowing through your devices, the dangerous excess voltage gets channeled harmlessly into your home’s grounding system.
When a surge occurs, the protector detects the spike in voltage and quickly diverts the excess electricity away from your valuable electronics toward the ground. Whole-home surge protectors contain specialized components that can absorb or redirect thousands of volts safely, much like a pressure relief valve on a water system.
Whole-Home Surge Protection
Whole-home surge protection is a compact device typically installed near or alongside your home’s main electrical panel. A professional electrician mounts it to intercept voltage spikes before they reach your home’s wiring. Unlike individual surge protectors or power strips, which only safeguard specific devices, this system protects every circuit in your home. It also offers more advanced protection than basic power strips, which work by redirecting excess voltage to the home’s ground wire.
This advanced protection works through specialized components called metal oxide varistors (MOVs) that respond instantly to voltage irregularities. When electrical current flows normally, MOVs stay inactive. But when a surge occurs, they spring into action. The MOVs detect the excess voltage and quickly redirect it, preventing dangerous levels of electricity from reaching your devices. This happens in nanoseconds, far faster than you can blink and faster than a power surge takes to peak.
Installing whole-home surge protection offers significant advantages over relying solely on point-of-use surge protectors. It shields everything plugged into an outlet in your home simultaneously, protecting both obvious electronics like computers and TVs and often-forgotten devices like garage door openers, hair dryers, and smart thermostats. You won’t need to worry about whether you’ve plugged everything into a surge protector because your house’s electrical system now serves that role.
Choosing a Surge Protection System
A surge protector’s capacity determines its ability to handle power surges effectively. The key measure is its voltage protection rating (VPR), which indicates how much voltage can pass through to your devices during a surge. Lower VPR numbers mean better protection because the system kicks in sooner.
Choosing an under-powered surge protector puts your electronics at serious risk. High-power devices like refrigerators, air conditioners, and microwaves require robust protection because of their substantial power demands. Low-capacity surge protectors also degrade faster as they absorb multiple surges, leading to an increased likelihood of failure or replacement.
The total capacity for absorbing an individual electrical surge is measured in amperes. To ensure as close to full protection as possible, look for whole-home surge protectors rated for at least 40,000 amps of capacity. This level provides adequate protection for most homes while handling multiple surges over its lifetime. Households in areas with frequent lightning strikes or utility problems may want to consider units with ratings that go as high as 100,000 amps.
Contact Your Local Pros
At Potts Electric, we are a family-owned electrical company that has been serving the residents of Fenton, MO and the surrounding areas for over a decade. Our electricians can install, repair, and maintain generators, car chargers, electrical panels, wiring, and smart home systems. If you are considering whole-home surge protection, contact us today to schedule an appointment with one of our experienced team members.
