Quote:
Originally Posted by Dusty_Star
Here is a detailed discussion from last year when a house in DeLuna was struck. Lightning Strikes Home in DeLuna
If I may be allowed to paraphrase JRef, then lightning protection is a phased approach. Use all of them. The best is to get lightning rods. He recommends (strongly) using a certified installer & he supplies contact names.
Next up is a whole house surge protector as in the Eaton, installed by electricians at the breaker box. Next is point of use surge protectors at your electronics, computers, TVs, unfortunately most appliances nowadays have a electronic panel, ie: fridge, washer, dryer, microwave, garage door opener, etc. so all of them. Finally the SECO surge mitigator. If you have the financial resources to do all at once, then that is the answer. Otherwise, proceed as you can. Keeping the ultimate goal in mind.
The reasons are: the lightning rods protect your house & your life. The cost is the highest, several thousand dollars. But the likelihood of getting hit is relatively low. The risk is unimaginably high.
The whole house surge protector protects your major appliances. Cost moderate, & likelihood of surges greater. Risk: pretty high if you lose AC, fridge, etc.
The point of use surge protectors may help. No use in a big surge. But many tiny surges may be why your TVs, etc. just stop working someday. Worthwhile.
Seco surge mitigator helps with surges from SECOs power, but the likelihood of getting hit is in the 20% range.
JRef, please correct, amend, add on. Thank you as always. |
You summarized it very well. To add, Induced power surges, according to a Levitton study occur approximately 20% from the utility power feed and 80% from everywhere else. The Seco surge protector that they install on your meter basically is designed to stop and or reduce a power surge coming from the utility. How does this happen if the utility has lightning protection and all kinds of grounding? When lightning strikes near your home, the induced EMI pulse can couple to the utilitie's transformer and or lines creating a power surge in your home. It's also possible to get an unintended power surge from work being done on the power system or an accident knocking down a power line, etc.. The surge protection circuitry in this Type-1 device is slightly different than a Type-2 protector that is installed at your circuit breaker panel. The surge protector installed at your circuit breaker panel such as the Eaton Ultra is designed to shunt (stop) and or reduct power surges coming from the power feed from the utility AND the branch circuits connected to the circuit breaker box as well. This is why it's sometimes called a "whole house" protector. It adequately protects your appliances, HVAC and any devices where it's not easy to install a point of use surge protector. This is why the Surge Protector at your meter's warrenty does not cover any device with an electronic chip but the Eaton Ultra does. The point of use surge protectors which are you power strips, power cubes, etc., installed at your TV, computer, and other sensitive devices is your final layer of defense.
What many don't realise is power surges can also come into your home through your cable line and or your irregation system. If you have conventional cable from Xfinity or Spectrum for example, you can purchase a surge protection device that can be installed at the main splitter from Amazon. There are no protectors for the irregation system that I know of. If you have Fiber internet, then there is nothing to worry about becasue they use a non-conductive glass fiber cable coming to you house vs a copper cable.
So as discussed, surge protection is a layerd system. Personally, I would recommend getting the surge protector such as the Eaton Ultra installed by an electrician at your circuit breaker panel first along with making sure your point of use surge protectors are in place. Then when you can, either rent or purchase the Seco surge protector at the meter. For installing the Eaton Ultra call Lenhart Electric since if you mention you read this post they were giving a $100 discount on the install. I understand there might be a wait give the number of people installing this type of surge protection with all the storms we have been having recently.
There was some mention that surge protectors need to be replaced every 5 years. I'm not so sure this is necessary if you have a surge protector from a reputable company such as Eaton, Siemens, Tripp-lite, Belkin and others. As long as the lights on the protector are ON, showing a working state you should be fine as long as you have a layered surge protection system in place. The reason for this is because with a layered system, day-to-day surges that "wear down" the surge protector circuitry will be reduced by all the surge protectors vs your point of use protector handling all the surges.
As a final note, there are many Type-2 surge protection devices in the market that can be installed at your circuit breaker panel. They all work but the cost can vary a lot. The reason why I personally talk about the Eaton Ultra is because I've had a lot of personal experience with this device and the cost is reasonable. It has also been around for many years and has excellent reviews. My personal opinion is I don't believe you are getting significantly more protection with a more expensive Type-2 protector for the extra cost because their specifications are very close. The UL specifications is what you need to go by. You also have to consider if you ever have to collect on the insurance I would believe it's easier to collect from a large company such as Eaton, Siemens and other's vs a small privately owned company. Finally cost is always the final gate when implementing a layered surge protection system in your home. Most people here in the Villages want and will install the most cost effective devices vs being un-protected.
I'm working on reviewing some of the other Type-2 surge protectors such as the PSP Vortex and will get back to everyone interested on this site.
Hope this all helps.