Why Surge Protection Is Essential for Your Home
Power surges are brief spikes in electrical voltage that can occur for several reasons. While large surges caused by lightning strikes or power grid failures grab the most attention, smaller surges occur more frequently and can also cause long-term damage to your home’s electrical system. Here are the main causes of power surges and why surge protection is essential:
- Lightning Strikes: Although rare, lightning strikes can cause significant power surges, sending an overwhelming amount of electricity into your home’s wiring. These surges can damage or destroy appliances, electronics, and even the wiring itself.
- Power Grid Fluctuations: When power is restored after an outage or the utility company switches between power sources, surges can occur. These utility-related surges can harm appliances and systems within your home.
- Heavy Appliance Use: Appliances such as air conditioners, refrigerators, and dryers can create smaller internal surges when they cycle on and off. Over time, these mini-surges can degrade sensitive electronics and shorten the lifespan of other appliances.
- Faulty Wiring: Old or poorly installed wiring can cause electrical surges, particularly when circuits are overloaded.
Without surge protection, your home’s electrical system is vulnerable to these sudden spikes in voltage. A whole-house surge protection system helps prevent damage by intercepting surges before they reach your home’s wiring, appliances, and devices.
Benefits of Installing Whole-House Surge Protection
Many homeowners rely on individual plug-in surge protectors for their computers, televisions, or other electronics. While these devices offer some protection, they are not sufficient to protect your entire home from a powerful surge. Installing a whole-house surge protection system provides more comprehensive protection. Here are the key benefits:
- Complete Home Protection: Whole-house surge protectors are installed at your electrical panel, meaning they stop surges at the source. This protects all of the electrical circuits in your home, safeguarding major appliances, HVAC systems, and smaller electronics.
- Protects Expensive Appliances: Large appliances such as refrigerators, washers, dryers, and HVAC systems can be expensive to repair or replace if damaged by a power surge. A surge protection system helps preserve these essential systems by preventing surges from reaching them.
- Reduces the Risk of Electrical Fires: Severe surges can cause wiring to overheat, leading to potential fire hazards. By installing surge protection, you reduce the risk of electrical fires caused by voltage spikes.
- Extends the Lifespan of Electronics: Even small surges that go unnoticed can cause wear and tear on your electronics over time. Surge protection helps extend the life of your devices by minimizing the cumulative damage caused by these frequent, minor surges.
- Lightning Strike Protection: While rare, lightning strikes can cause devastating damage to your home’s electrical system. A whole-house surge protector helps protect your home from the significant voltage surges caused by lightning strikes, preventing damage to wiring and appliances.
Our Surge Protection Services in Beaverton, OR
Our professional surge protection services are designed to give homeowners in Beaverton peace of mind knowing that their homes are protected from electrical surges. Our team of licensed electricians provides full-service surge protection, from assessments and installations to ongoing maintenance.
Home Assessment for Surge Protection
Every home’s electrical system is unique, and the level of surge protection needed can vary. That’s why we start each project with a detailed home assessment. During this assessment, we evaluate your home’s electrical system, the number of high-power appliances, and the sensitivity of your electronics to determine the best surge protection solution.
We look at key factors, such as:
- The condition of your electrical panel: Older or outdated electrical panels may need upgrades before surge protection can be effectively installed.
- The number of high-power appliances: Appliances that consume significant power, like HVAC systems, water heaters, and refrigerators, are often responsible for causing internal surges. We factor this into your surge protection plan.
- The layout of your home’s electrical system: Homes with complex electrical systems or multiple sub-panels may need additional layers of surge protection for optimal coverage.
Based on this assessment, we recommend the most effective surge protection solution tailored to your home’s unique needs.
Whole-House Surge Protector Installation
The heart of our surge protection services is the installation of a whole-house surge protector. This device is installed directly at your electrical panel and works by diverting excess voltage away from your home’s electrical circuits, preventing surges from reaching your appliances and electronics.
Our Installation Process:
- Permitting and Code Compliance: We ensure that your surge protector is installed according to all local electrical codes and safety standards in Beaverton.
- Expert Installation: Our licensed electricians will install the surge protector directly at your main electrical panel. For homes with multiple electrical panels, we may recommend installing additional protectors to provide full coverage.
- Testing and Inspection: After installation, we thoroughly test the surge protector to ensure it is functioning correctly. We also inspect your electrical panel to confirm that it’s in good condition and capable of supporting the surge protection system.
Our goal is to provide a seamless installation that enhances the safety and reliability of your home’s electrical system without any disruption to your day-to-day life.
Point-of-Use Surge Protectors for Added Protection
For homeowners who have particularly sensitive electronics, such as home office equipment, gaming consoles, or high-end entertainment systems, we also offer point-of-use surge protection. These devices are installed at individual outlets and provide an extra layer of protection for valuable electronics. Combining whole-house surge protection with point-of-use protectors ensures maximum safety for all of your devices.
Surge Protection Maintenance and Upgrades
Like any other component of your electrical system, surge protectors require regular maintenance to ensure they are functioning correctly. Over time, a surge protector can wear out or become damaged by a significant surge, especially if it has intercepted a major voltage spike from lightning or a grid issue.
We offer maintenance services to inspect and test your surge protection system regularly. If we find that your surge protector has been compromised, we can quickly replace or upgrade it to maintain your home’s protection.
