Quote:
Originally Posted by dewilson58
During construction, I had a whole-house surge protector installed. An insurance policy. No monthly fee.
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Whole house surge protectors protect things like motors and compressors. So they protect things like washing machine and refrigerators.
Whole house surge protectors, in general, don't protect electronics. When lightning strikes a house or even just nearby it induces high voltages in the house wiring itself. So you need a surge protector on each piece of electronics plug and on each network cable near where it goes into the electronics.
Even if you completely disconnected the main electronic line going into your house if lightning strikes nearby it will induce a voltage surge into all of your house wiring and network cables. The voltage surge it induces probably won't hurt a motor or compressor but it can easily destroy electronics.
You might check the insurance policy and see exactly what it will pay off on. If it really covers all the electronics in your house for replacement cost you got a really good deal.
Here is what one whole house surge protector sold by Home Depot says about electronics:
"Square D brand Home Electronics Protective Devices (HEPDs) are compact and affordable surge suppressors designed for residential load centers. HEPDs work
together with surge protection plug strips to provide surge suppression for sensitive electronics. HEPDs reduce surges that might otherwise overwhelm plug strips and damage connected household equipment. HEPDs also provide surge suppression for important items such as washers, dryers, refrigerators, stoves, and air conditioning that plug strips may not or cannot protect."