Hurricane Sandy Power Restoration Could Cause Damage to Equipment

For the millions of East Coast residents that are waiting for their power to be restored post hurricane Sandy they may find out that their electronics and other electrically connected devices are damaged when the lights come back on. Imagine the rush of water through a hose when it is first turned on. This is what happens when power is restored. This rush is what causes the damage to your sensitive electronic devices. 

Homeowners should consider unplugging sensitive devices and making sure that other equipment is turned to the "off" position or possibly tripping breakers that power specific equipment in their home to the "off" position until after the power has been fully restored. Leave a few  household light switches in the "on" position to indicate when the power has been restored. Only when you are confident that the utility workers have finished working in your area should you then plug in and power your more sensitive devices. During mass grid failures like this the power might be restored temporarily only for it to go off again soon after to correct an underlying grid problem that causes another failure. 

Consider whole home surge protection as a cost effective solution to prevent power surge damage to your electrical equipment. 

Surge Protector Haikus

My idiot box fried

How will i watch my shows now?
Need surge protection

Lights flicker quickly
I forgot surge protection
My Xbox is charred

Burst of lightning zap
All around me now darkness
Regret for fried stuff

Neighbor calls frantic
They have lost many devices
Not surge protected

Power surge problem
Electrician solution
Installs whole home surge

Brand new computer
Bought myself surge protection
Confident 'tis safe

New fridge is damaged
Surge protection is cheaper
Expensive lesson

Home Office Surge Protection

Home Office Surge Protection

How do I protect my home office equipment from surges?

Many of today’s small businesses are run from home offices. When your livelihood depends on your home office equipment running smoothly protecting it from surge damage is a wise investment. Even if you do not own a small business the home office is generally a command center for paying bills and children completing school work. Avoid the nuisance of equipment damage. Protect your home office equipment by preventing surge damage with surgeassure^TM Home Office Surge Protection. 

To fully protect your Home Office surgeassure^TM has created the Main and Interior Zone – Home Office surge protection package. The Home Office surge protection package includes: 

(a) Main Zone surge protection products (TE/1C40, SAT1, & SAVFFF) 

(b) Four Single outlet surge protectors (SAP1) for protecting appliances and additional Home Office equipment 

(c) Plug Strip surge protector (SAS8T2V2) for equipment such as fax machines telephones, printers/copiers & scanners 

(d) UPS (SA550VA) Uninterruptible Power Supply – perfect for your computer PC and monitor 

Installing a Whole Home Surge Protector

TE/1C40 Whole Home panel surge protector

If you are familiar with basic electrical wiring then installing a Whole home panel surge protector is a relatively simple task. But, be warned that most product warranties, like the surgeassure™ product warranty, require that a qualified electrician install the product for the warranty to be valid. These tips are intended for qualified electricians. 

Surge protector installation diagram

Installation of whole home surge protectors require a breaker to connect to the electrical system. For the TE/1C40 whole home panel surge protector a 20A, 2-pole breaker is required because the product is prewired with a #12AWG. Conductors must be matched to an appropriate breaker size. Frequently people ask do I need to install this in a breaker slot positioned at the top of the breaker box? The answer is no. Install the p
rotector on a 2-pole breaker at any point within the breaker box but make sure that breaker position is in close proximity to the knockout that connects the surge protector to the breaker box in order to maintain short and straight leads. Long lead lengths increase the let through voltage of the surge protector which affects its performance. 
  

TE/1C40 surge protector wiring

For complete and detailed instructions on installing the TE/1C40 check out its installation manual.

Lightning Safety Awareness Week

NOAA's annual Lightning Safety Awareness week started yesterday. Its held at the onset of the summer storm season to help people prepare. Its a great time to review not only personal lightning safety but how to protect your home. The IEEE surge protection guide helps you do just that. 


For more information on surge protection visit our website.

Lightning claim averages on the rise again

According to the Insurance Information Institute ( I.I.I.), there were more than 186,000 lightning claims in 2011. This resulted in a decrease of 13% from 2010 claims however, the average lightning claim was $5,112 , up 5.5% from 2010. So the reported claims have decreased while the claim amounts have increased. I.I.I. further reports that the average cost per claim has risen 93% from 2004 through 2011, at the same time that the actual number of paid claims fell by over 33 percent over that time frame. They speculate that an increased use of lightning protection systems has resulted in the decrease in claims.

From their Press Release: “The number of paid claims is down, but the average cost per claim continues to rise, in part because of the huge increase in the number and value of consumer electronics in homes,” said Loretta Worters, vice president of the I.I.I. “Plasma and high-definition television sets, home entertainment centers, multiple computer households, smart phones, gaming systems and other expensive devices—which can all be destroyed by power surges—continue to have a significant impact on claims losses.”

The take away from these statistics is to prevent increasingly costly damage in the 1st place and these claims will continue to decline.



Learn more about whole home surge protection.

Surge Protection references

There are a number of third party organization references for surge protection information. For instance APT (parent company of surgeassure) is a NEMA member and NEMA has a website devoted to surge protection, NEMASURGE.


Other sites for surge references include:
State Farm
NIST "Surge Happens"


There are also a number of lightning related sites such as: 
Environment Canada
National Weather Service
National Lightning Safety Institute
Insurance Information Institute