Surge Protection - What You Need To Know To Keep Your Home And Appliances Safe

What happens when too much electricity passes through the wiring of your home? A United States home is typically designed to withstand 120 volts. When you get more than that, it fries the wiring and can cause lasting damage. This is why it's essential to have surge protection for your home. Fried wires may or may not pose a health risk, but they will definitely cost you some serious money on repairs.

Different Types Of Surge Protection

The truth is that no surge protection is guaranteed to protect your home completely against any power outage. But it can be the difference between your home's wiring surviving it or not. This is why every home needs to have it. There are two types of protectors that you can buy - service entrance and point of use.

Service Entrance Surge Protection

Service entrance is a protector that deals with external surges. These could be things like trouble with the power grid, a transformer that's not working properly, or animals tripping up the power lines. In any case, external surges are when too much voltage enters the house. When this happens, all of your appliances suffer. You're especially at risk for external surges if you often use a number of different electrical appliances at once.

Point Of Use Protectors

Point of use refers to protectors that handle one appliance or outlet. These are for internal surges, which are much more common in most homes. You may have one for your washer and dryer, your kitchen appliances, or any other area in the house. These protectors are designed to handle smaller surges. They can't take the high voltage that you get when there's one coming from outside.

Which Type Is Right For You?

When considering surge protection, it's really not a matter of which is best. Both types handle different types of electrical surges. If you want to make sure that your home is as safe as possible from high voltages, it's best to invest in both.

You can either buy them and install them yourself, or hire a professional to do it for you. Installing your own is not an extremely tough job, but you have to know a few things about your home and about electrical charges. There is a vast array of protectors for you to choose from, and for folks that don't know much about wiring and electricity, it can be a bit confusing. This is especially true when shopping for service entrance protectors.

If you hire a professional to handle your needs, you not only get their skills and experience but also their expertise. They can help you decide which protectors are right for your home and also where to install them. It's essential to make sure that your home is safe from power surges both inside and out.