Power strips vs. Full surge protection
Surge protection is NOT provided by those power strips. They are good to provide power to multiple devices but that's about it. Only a FEW of them are actually surge protectors. Even then, they only protect what's plugged into them. Larger appliances or electronics can still suffer damage. For the best protection, invest in a whole house surge protection installation for your Columbia CT home.
What is a power surge?
A power surge happens when there's a spike in your electricity. They can happen at anytime and usually happen without warning. The most common type of power surge is caused by lightning. Common household appliances can cause a surge as well. Some examples include turning on a vacuum or hair dryer. To help you understand how it works, think about a garden hose. If it gets a kink in the line, the pressure builds and builds until the hose bursts. That's exactly what happens with the electricity. If there's nothing divert the extra electricity, it "bursts" and blows up your TV, microwave, well pump, and sometimes even your outlets. It's not only very expensive to replace everything, but a fire hazard.How does whole house surge protection work?
A whole house surge protector is a small piece of equipment that's installed directly into your electrical panel. It "catches" any extra burst of electricity and safely diverts it to your home's grounding system. It can protect not only your appliances and electronics, but big ticket equipment like your boiler, furnace, water heater, or well pump. Every summer, we replace well pumps that were fried during a lightning storm. The cost of a whole house surge protector is TINY compared to replacing everything.This is what it looks like once it's been installed inside your electrical panel. The large 'breaker' with red lights is it:
Your local Columbia CT electrician
Rapid Service LLC is pleased to offer an end of summer special on whole house surge protection to Columbia CT homeowners for only $499. To take advantage of this special, please call 860-228-1036 to schedule your installation. Receive the promotional pricing by simply mentioning that you read this blog post and saw our YouTube video!Please note: There is no device that can handle a DIRECT lightning strike. The best surge protection is to unplug your devices if you suspect strong lightning storms are headed your direction!