Pros and Cons of Whole House Surge Protector
Power surges can cause serious damage to your home’s electrical items, fixtures, and equipment. These surges mostly happen unexpectedly and become a cause of serious nuisance.
It can either occur when suddenly there is a power cut in your area, or when the power comes back and causes unexpected power breaks or bursts while coming from the main power lines.
Therefore, to protect the fittings and appliances plugged into an electrical socket, it is imperative to have a home surge protector.
In this article, we are shedding light on the pros and cons of owning a whole house surge protector. But before diving into it, let’s take a brief look at what a house surge protector really is.
What is a Surge Protector?
A house surge protector is a device used to protect electrical appliances and other fittings from sudden spike or bursts caused by the excessive or insufficient power supply in the line. There is a special feature known as Metal Oxide Varistors (MOV), which is basically responsible for protecting the electrical items from malfunctioning during power surges.
There are certain positive and negative effects of connecting the whole house to a single surge protector. Let’s get into the details.
Pros of Whole House Surge Protector
Surge Protectors are, undoubtedly, a very useful device. Not only cost-efficient but also helps you in keeping your electrical items functioning for a long time period.
Following are some of the main advantages of a surge protector.
Benefits of Whole House Surge Protector – Are they worth it?
Protection of Electrical Appliances
A whole-house surge protector is a very effective device for shielding almost every type of appliances plugged into various electrical sockets throughout the house. These protectors not only control a power surge but also keep the electrical items safe and efficient.
Such power surges can be very destructive to your expensive and extremely important electrical appliances, such as refrigerators, computers, laptops, and smartphones (if plugged in), televisions, kitchen appliances, and much more.
These electrical appliances cost a lot and even their maintenance is pricey. So it makes sense to invest in a device like a house surge protector to keep yourself away from unwanted expenses. So to keep them protected from short circuits, proper measures need to be taken.
Electricity surges are not safe and are not secured by insurance plans. So, you will have to bear the expense of repairs by yourself. This is why installing a whole house surge protector makes financial sense.
Protection of the Entire Property
The whole house surge protector keeps the appliances and fixtures protected. Moreover, this protector also makes sure that the entire house protection and keeps your family safe from any electrical hazards.
Surge protectors also protect your whole house’s electrical circuits. A single surge protector takes enough care of appliances plugged into electrical sockets throughout the house. Moreover, a whole house surge protector keeps electrical items safe, including plugs, switches, inside wiring, light bulbs and fans, air conditioners, heaters, and other fittings.
The most amazing benefit to a surge protector is that not only it protects each and every item plugged into an electrical outlet from a power surge, but also keeps the flow of current intact. Appliances like computers or televisions can be damaged severely by power spikes.
Cons of Whole Home Surge Protectors
It is true that everything has its own pros and cons. The same is the case with whole house surge protectors. Let’s shed some light on the potential and actual disadvantages of owning and installing this device at your home.
Associated Monetary Cost
A good quality home surge protector can cost you almost $500 or above. If you want to go for a cheaper option, choose a strip or outlet surge protector. These protect the item plugged into the outlet for much cheaper. If cost is the main factor for you, the latter may be a better option for you.
The Installation Costs
A whole-house surge protector needs professional installation service which may be a reason for an additional cost. The system is installed by the professional and is connected to an electrical panel of your house that connects the protector to all the outlets.
Getting professional help is necessary when installing a surge protector because if installed improperly, not only it will fail to work, but also damage your connected appliances.
You really cannot install the protector by yourself. One mistake can ruin the whole system and will cause a much bigger financial loss than the cost of the surge protector and its professional installation.
Electrical Grounding Work
The surge protector operates by redirecting the excessive electric current away from the wires of your home appliances. It redirects it into the ground instead. And therefore, it is crucial to make sure that your house has strong ground wiring in order to bear the load of electric spikes and excess current.
It is highly recommended to get your grounding checked prior to installing the surge protector and unfortunately, that is an additional service cost associated with this device.
One Surge Protector might not be enough
If you intend to install one single surge protector for your whole house, this might not be a great idea. One protector for all the appliances in your house can be insufficient.
Sometimes, the spikes and bursts are so intense that one protector can fail to bear it and as a result damage the entire system and your electrical appliances. Two is always better than one.
To get the maximum protection against power spikes, you need to install a multi-level protection system.
Conclusion
Before investing in any such electrical device or a system for your whole house’s protection, always critically analyze the ups and downs of doing so.
If you think that the advantages are more than disadvantages, then you can contact your electrician to install a protector at your house.
But we recommend having at least two of these devices to have maximum and long-lasting protection against electrical surges. One whole house surge protector connects the voltmeter with power lines and joins the voltmeter to the breaker box. The other one will cover the outlets and appliances.
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