Complaints about the destruction of household devices by overvoltage or fire have increased in recent years. As a result, home equipment won’t function properly as a result of the input voltage’s sudden fluctuations.
Voltage surges are aptly named, reflecting their sudden and dramatic increase in voltage that can wreak havoc on your electronics. Integrating a surge protector into your setup is a savvy strategy to neutralize these unpredictable threats efficiently.
This gadget is usually found in close proximity to a computer. The protectors that can be purchased come in a variety of shapes and sizes. They make it possible to connect multiple electronic devices to a single wall socket. You can find great use in this tool.
A surge protector is an inexpensive way to safeguard your electronic devices from unpredictable power surges that can cause irreparable electrical damage.
Here’s how surge protectors and suppressors protect your electronics and help you avoid fires.
Contents
Surge Basics
If you’re curious about the function of a surge protector, the first question to ask is, “What are surges?” Surges are a type of electrical disturbance that can damage electronic equipment.
” And then, “Why do electronics need to be safeguarded from them?”
A power surge, also known as transient voltage, occurs when the voltage of an electrical current suddenly spikes well above the safe operating range. In the United States, 120 volts is the norm for residential and commercial wiring.
A surge protector can save your computer from being fried if the electricity suddenly spikes above 120 volts.
Knowing the basics of voltage will help you better grasp the issue at hand. Electric potential energy differences can be quantified by measuring their voltage. Electric current flows from one location to another because electric potential energy is greatly enhanced at one end of a wire compared to the other.
Similar to how increased pressure at one end of a hose forces water to flow toward the lower pressure at the other end, this is the same concept that causes water to flow out of a hose when subjected to pressure. Voltage is a measurement of the force exerted by an electrical current.
We’ll see that a spike in voltage can be caused by a number of different things that we won’t learn about until later.
- An increase is considered a surge if it persists for more than three nanoseconds (billionths of a second).
- An event is considered a spike if its duration is less than two nanoseconds.
Heavy damage can be done to a machine by a surge or spike if it is sufficiently large. The result is analogous to what would happen if a hose were subjected to excessive water pressure. If the water pressure is too high, the hose will explode.
Imagine overloading an incandescent bulb, causing its filament to burn out; similarly, excessive electrical current can cause your device’s internal wiring to fail, leading to gradual degradation or immediate harm. This underscores the importance of managing voltage to protect your valuable electronics from long-term damage.
How Do Surge Protectors Actually Function?
To clarify, how do surge protectors perform? The surge protector acts as a conduit for the electricity from the wall to your electronics. The surge protector’s grounding wire receives any excess electricity during a surge and channels it away from the device.
This procedure of switching to the grounds when the voltage is too high is often handled by some component within the surge protector.
It may seem simple, but it has a major impact on the cost of these gadgets. There are three elements that affect the price and level of surge protection:
Clamping Voltage
A smaller number is preferable. This is the point where the redirection begins to operate. 330 V is a very low number, but 500 V is too high and could damage your electronics.
Energy
The maximum amount of power that may be safely absorbed by the surge protector before it catches fire is indicated below. It is measured in joules and can go from the low hundreds for little protection to the high thousands.
Time
Some surge protectors have a slight delay before they begin blocking the surge, leaving your electronics vulnerable for a longer period of time. You should look for a surge protector that reacts quickly.
A surge protector with an LED status light is another useful feature to look for. You wouldn’t want to continue using it if it got fried and you couldn’t safeguard your gadgets anymore. You might not realize your surge protector is dead until it’s too late if it doesn’t have an indicator light.
A Guide to Surge Protection and How It Can Help You
There are a few things you can take to protect your gear from any potential dangers, including lightning strikes and power surges. Keep in mind that you’ll need to contact your power company or electricity supplier to get assistance with them.
Proper Grounding
There must be adequate grounding at the point where the wires from the power company enter your home and enter the box in the ground. Power surges from the lines can damage your home if the box isn’t properly grounded.
If you have any concerns about your electric service, you can phone your utility provider and have them come out and conduct a free inspection. You had no idea, but it turned out to be correct. An improved grounding may also be available, depending on the offerings of your local utility.
Protecting Against Direct Hits
It would be ideal if lightning never struck your home. A lightning rod would be useful for this purpose. These can be purchased online and, after proper grounding, installed on the roof of a home or elsewhere.
If lightning strikes, the rod will take the brunt of the force and send it crashing to the ground below instead of your home. Again, this is something that requires professional installation, but it’s the only foolproof way to prevent lightning damage to your home.
Full-House Safety
That’s exactly what We meant up there. This might be your third line of defense against surges or your first if you don’t want to or can’t afford the other two.
In-Line Surge Protectors
You should consider this your last line of defense. Ethernet surge protectors and coaxial surge protectors are only two of the options available.
Installing surge protectors at every outlet is essential for comprehensive home safety, protecting everything from your kitchen appliances to your home entertainment system.
This proactive approach ensures your everyday devices are shielded from electrical harm, offering peace of mind and extending their lifespan.
It’s convenient since it gives you access to more outlets, but it also saves money if you use just one knob to power everything.
Conclusion
Voltage surges are so called because the voltage increases suddenly and dramatically. Surge protectors are a common piece of gear that can be used to counteract this issue. They make it possible to connect multiple electronic devices to a single wall socket. Knowing the basics of voltage will help you better grasp the issue at hand. A surge protector acts as a conduit for the electricity from the wall to your electronics.
The maximum amount of power that may be safely absorbed by the surge protector before it catches fire is indicated below. There are a few things you can take to protect your gear from any potential dangers, including lightning strikes and power surges. Proper grounding is the only foolproof way to prevent lightning damage to your home. It’s crucial to install surge protectors at every possible outlet in your home for full-house safety.
Content Summary:
- Complaints about the destruction of household devices by overvoltage or fire have increased in recent years.
- As a result, home equipment won’t function properly as a result of the input voltage’s sudden fluctuations.
- Voltage surges are so called because the voltage increases suddenly and dramatically.
- A surge protector is a common piece of gear that can be used to counteract this issue.
- This gadget is usually found in close proximity to a computer.
- A surge protector is an inexpensive way to safeguard your electronic devices from unpredictable power surges that can cause irreparable electrical damage.
- Here’s how surge protectors and suppressors protect your electronics and help you avoid fires.
- If you’re curious about the function of a surge protector, the first question to ask is, “What are surges?”
- Surges are a type of electrical disturbance that can damage electronic equipment. “
- A power surge, also known as transient voltage, occurs when the voltage of an electrical current suddenly spikes well above the safe operating range.
- A surge protector can save your computer from being fried if the electricity suddenly spikes above 120 volts.
- Knowing the basics of voltage will help you better grasp the issue at hand.
- Electric potential energy differences can be quantified by measuring their voltage.
- Voltage is a measurement of the force exerted by an electrical current.
- We’ll see that a spike in voltage can be caused by a number of different things that we won’t learn about until later.
- Heavy damage can be done to a machine by a surge or spike if it is sufficiently large.
- The result is analogous to what would happen if a hose were subjected to excessive water pressure.
- If the water pressure is too high, the hose will explode.
- Similar to how the filament of an incandescent light bulb will burn if too much electricity is forced through it, a wire will “burst” if electrical current is allowed to flow through it at too high a temperature.
- The additional voltage may not immediately destroy your equipment, but it could damage the parts by overworking them.
- How Do Surge Protectors Actually Function?
- The surge protector acts as a conduit for the electricity from the wall to your electronics.
- The surge protector’s grounding wire receives any excess electricity during a surge and channels it away from the device.
- This procedure of switching to the grounds when the voltage is too high is often handled by some component within the surge protector.
- It may seem simple, but it has a major impact on the cost of these gadgets.
- 330 V is a very low number, but 500 V is too high and could damage your electronics.
- The maximum amount of power that may be safely absorbed by the surge protector before it catches fire is indicated below.
- Some surge protectors have a slight delay before they begin blocking the surge, leaving your electronics vulnerable for a longer period of time.
- You should look for a surge protector that reacts quickly.
- A surge protector with an LED status light is another useful feature to look for.
- You wouldn’t want to continue using it if it got fried and you couldn’t safeguard your gadgets anymore.
- You might not realize your surge protector is dead until it’s too late if it doesn’t have an indicator light.
- Keep in mind that you’ll need to contact your power company or electricity supplier to get assistance with them.
- There must be adequate grounding at the point where the wires from the power company enter your home and enter the box in the ground.
- Power surges from the lines can damage your home if the box isn’t properly grounded.
- If you have any concerns about your electric service, you can phone your utility provider and have them come out and conduct a free inspection.
- An improved grounding may also be available, depending on the offerings of your local utility.
- It would be ideal if lightning never struck your home.
- A lightning rod would be useful for this purpose.
- These can be purchased online and, after proper grounding, installed on the roof of a home or elsewhere.
- Again, this is something that requires professional installation, but it’s the only foolproof way to prevent lightning damage to your home.
- This might be your third line of defense against surges or your first if you don’t want to or can’t afford the other two.
- You should consider this your last line of defense.
- Ethernet surge protectors and coaxial surge protectors are only two of the options available.
- Keep in mind that a whole-house protector won’t do any good if a surge within the home doesn’t make it to the main electrical panel.
- This is why it’s crucial to install surge protectors at every possible outlet in your home.
- So, the Surge protector is the focus here.
- Based on this data, we may deduce that these protectors will also serve to safeguard common household electronics like refrigerators, washing machines, and dishwashers.
