Ever had one of those aggravating moments when you’re about to save your work, but a power surge hits and your computer shuts off? More than a pesky work inconvenience, power surges can be dangerous. In this enlightening guide, we’ll illuminate the causes of power surges, how they affect your electronic devices and appliances, and most importantly, how to protect your home, belongings, and loved ones.
Whether you’re a homeowner looking to safeguard your electrical appliances or you’ve experienced the frustration of a power outage or blackout, we’ll arm you with everything you need to know about the volts and jolts of these unexpected power fluctuations. Let’s light up this topic to keep your home safe and sound.
What is an Electrical Power Surge?
Picture this: you’re cozily nestled on your sofa engrossed in a movie when suddenly, the lights flicker, your TV screen goes blank for a second, and then everything’s back to normal. What just happened? You’ve been visited by an electrical power surge!
But what exactly does that mean? An electrical surge is a brief, sudden spike in your home’s electrical current, significantly exceeding the standard 120 volts. This voltage spike, often lasting less than a thousandth of a second, can send a surge of excessive electrical power through your wall outlets, jeopardizing connected electrical devices and appliances.
Signs of a power surge can be as subtle as a flickering light or brief interruption in your electronic equipment, or as alarming as a burning smell coming from an electrical outlet.
Common Causes of Power Surges
The most common culprits behind power surges are:
- Lightning strikes and severe storms. A single lightning strike, even if it’s miles away, can send a wave of electrical energy through power lines, causing an electrical overload in your home’s wiring and damaging connected devices. That’s why in areas like Houston, where lightning strikes are prevalent, homes are at an elevated risk of experiencing power surges.
- Faulty wiring. If your home’s electrical system wiring isn’t in tip-top shape (frayed or outdated, for example), it can’t effectively manage the electrical current flowing through it, leading to internal power surges.
- Electrical system issues. Malfunctioning transformers and power supply interruptions from your utility company can also send power surges into your home.
Why Power Surges are Dangerous
Now, why should a blink-and-you-miss-it power surge concern you? Well, the dangers are more insidious than you might think.
Power surges can inflict gradual, cumulative damage to your electrical devices, shortening their lifespan and reducing their efficiency. For instance, your refrigerator or air conditioner could slowly lose its ability to cool.
They also pose a fire hazard. That sudden influx of electrical power can overheat your electrical wiring, creating an arc of electrical current that could ignite surrounding materials. Another safety risk for individuals is electrical shock.
Understanding the dangers of a power surge can protect your appliances and other belongings as well as your loved ones from the danger lurking in your electrical system — and so can taking the right precautions.
How To Protect your Home From a Power Surge
A surge protection strategy ensures the function and longevity of your home’s devices and appliances, and it might even save someone’s life. Here’s how to put one in place:
Using surge protectors
In areas like Fort Worth, where past incidents have put a strain on the local power grid, surge protector power strips are indispensable. There are several types of surge protection devices you can use to layer your home’s safety against the hazards of a power surge:
- Whole-house surge protectors. These are installed directly into your electrical panel as a first line of defense against external power surges, like those from lightning strikes or power grid issues.
- Surge protector power strips. You’ve likely seen these familiar power strips in many office spaces. They protect the connected electronic equipment from voltage spikes.
- Surge protector wall outlets. These are integrated directly into wall outlets for localized surge protection of plugged-in devices. They’re often used for large appliances like refrigerators, dishwashers, and HVAC systems.
Choosing the right surge protector for your needs involves considering a few key factors:
- The joule rating. The higher its rating, the more energy a surge protector can handle.
- Clamping voltage. This refers to the voltage at which the protector will start diverting energy.
- Response time. The faster a protector will spring into action, the better.
Whatever types you choose, make sure that your surge protectors are properly grounded, and get them inspected regularly to make sure they’re working properly. Keep those electrical currents in check and your home safe from unexpected surges.
Preventing power surges
Now, let’s go over a handful of strategic approaches to keep power surges from wreaking havoc in your home.
- Proper electrical wiring. Wiring should be in optimal condition to transmit a smooth, uninterrupted flow of electricity. Faulty or outdated wiring can cause internal surges and pose a significant fire hazard. Ensure that all wiring is up to code and in prime condition to prevent unnecessary electrical mishaps.
- Hiring a professional electrician. Always rely on the expertise of a certified electrician to make sure your electrical system is installed and maintained correctly. An electrician can identify potential issues, offer surge protection solutions, and ensure that any electrical work adheres to local and national electrical codes.
- Regular inspections and maintenance. Routine inspections can help identify and fix problems like overloaded circuits or faulty wiring before they turn into bigger problems.
- Lightning protection systems. Lightning rods and grounding systems can direct lightning when it strikes, guiding it safely away from your electrical system and into the ground. This mitigates the risk of a surge reaching your internal wiring during a severe storm.
- Unplugging electrical devices during storms. This simple yet effective action eliminates the risk of electronics being damaged by a surge, keeping your most valued electrical devices unscathed.
- Power conditioning and voltage regulation. These ensure a steady, clean power supply to your devices and appliances even in the event of a fluctuation or surge. Power conditioners can basically filter and smooth out the electrical current, while voltage regulators maintain a consistent voltage level, mitigating potential damage from unexpected spikes.
A combination of these strategies is a reliable way to shield your home, along with all its electrical devices and appliances, from the erratic ebbs and flows of electrical power.
Power Surge FAQ
Can power surges occur without lightning?
Absolutely, yes. Power surges can originate from various sources other than lightning, including faulty wiring, issues with your utility company’s power grid, large appliances cycling power, or problems with local transformers. These surges can be internal or external and do not necessarily require a storm in order to happen.
Do all electrical devices need surge protection?
While not all devices are equally susceptible to surge damage, it’s a good idea to provide surge protection for any valuable device. Those with microprocessors — like computers, smart appliances, and entertainment systems — are particularly sensitive to power surges, so you may want to prioritize those.
Can power strips provide sufficient surge protection?
Power strips can offer a basic level of surge protection for connected devices, but not all power strips are surge protectors. Surge protector power strips do provide some defense against voltage spikes, but for the best protection — especially for highly valuable devices — you may want a higher level of surge protection including whole-house surge protectors and proper grounding.
Can power surges damage appliances even without visible signs?
Yes, they can. Power surges can cause latent damage to electrical appliances and devices, gradually degrading their performance and lifespan, even if there are no immediate visible signs. This “invisible” damage can accumulate with each subsequent surge, eventually leading to device malfunction or failure.
Illuminating the Path to Electrical Safety
Electrical surges represent a silent threat from internal and external sources, so it’s imperative to protect your home and belongings with meticulous maintenance, surge protectors, and other preventative measures. That includes having a keen awareness of how your electrical system works as well as access to reliable energy.
Ready to take that step? Enroll with Payless Power today and get dependable, affordable energy. Light up your Texas home with stability, safety, and peace of mind.
