Friday, March 16, 2012

How long will a surge protector last?

Under normal operation, surge protectors operate indefinitely. Quality surge protectors are built to withstand multiple surge events. Keep in mind that every surge degrades the protection components.


surgeassure™ assesses a 10-year product warranty period for its' electrical panel mount protectors and for the Interior Zone plug-in protectors offers a lifetime product warranty. 


With all this in mind be cognitive that you should use your own judgement to replace surge protectors that protect your valuable equipment as needed. The surge protection industry regularly changes its safety and performance testing standards. In the last decade alone there have been numerous changes to the UL standard for surge protection. The last two occurred in close succession, 2007 and 2009, resulting in better performing and safer products than earlier in the decade. So even if you are using a plug-in protector that is only 6 years old you may choose to replace them for products that meet the new standards. 

As a rule of thumb you should consider purchasing new surge protectors as you replace your electronics and other electrical equipment. Imagine plugging your brand new flat screen into a surge protector you've used for a decade, it's kind of like buying a new front door and using an old rusty lock on it. 

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