Anyone buy the SECO Surge Protection for your home?
 

Since central Florida gets so many lightning strikes, we were thinking of buying this system, but wondered if it's really necessary. We do, of course, have our TVs and computers on surge protection, but this is for the whole house. Anyone have any experience with this?

When we built our house in The Villages, we signed up for the SECO whole house surge protection. We never heard anything more for a while. Then one day, there was a box on the front porch.

In the box was a bunch of those little surge suppressors that you plug in the wall then plug your appliance into. The same kind that you buy at Radio Shack.

There were no instructions, nothing. No mention of having put any kind of central suppression system on the house.

Since I already had surge suppressors on our computers and TV, the box has been sitting on the self in the closet for six years.

I hope they now have a better system.

You sure got different service that we did. We have had SECO install the surge protection on three houses in TV. Each time we were told the installer would be putting the whole house surge protector on the outside meter and also supplying us with individual surge protectors. The individual protectors were to be used on things that we wanted covered by their insurance in case of electrical failure, such as the microwave, garage door opener, television, etc. (There were protectors that you could use with your phone and cable as well.)

Has it worked? I don't know if we have ever been hit with a power surge that was stopped by the protector but I doubt it. I think I would have heard from a neighbor that did not have the protection if there was a power surge. But it gives me some piece of mind that I have one more level of protection for my home and electrical "stuff".

Surge Protector at Electric Meter
 

At our previous home in KY we had the electric company install surge suppressors. We had 2 electric meters and the units were installed at the base of the meter. Having a total electric home I felt as though it was advisable. The way we found out they worked was I walked by the meter and heard a high pitched sound. It was an audible alarm that suggested there had been a spike in the system. I contacted customer service and they came out and replaced the surge unit for no cost. I'm sure SECO could explain the operation of the unit.

At our home here in TV I had 2 breakers installed in the fuse panel. "Supposedly" does the same thing for a nominal fee of $150. Hope I never have to prove that it works.

Didn't think we needed them, but.....
 

After being in Sarasota for 9 years without whole house protection we didn't think we needed it, until we were here in August.

A clap of thunder that seemed to be right outside our sliders then, combined with the several house fires in T.V changed my mind.

SECO's protector was in place when we returned in Nov.(it sits between the house and the glass head on the electric meter. It's labled and has a "ready" light on it).

I feel invincible now!:shrug: ???

We didn't have such a device on our house, just the box of wall plug in protectors

What did it cost six years ago?

I really don't remember, but I will try to check.

Should have metioned....
 

Separate inside plug-in protectors were also included.

How does one know it is working well?
 

Any differently than those who do not have it and are in the super majority that do not get struck??

btk

It's kinda like those bogus "deer whistles" that people put on their cars. If you don't hit a deer, you think they are working. If you do hit a deer, the company that made they says, "you didn't clean them out once a week, they weren't working right."

We rent the surge protection from SECO. The math does not work for me to purchase. I'm happy with my rental and would do it again.

Surge Protection from SECO
 

They installed a whole house protecor behind the meter with a new ground system and gave me the small protectors to use also for added protection. Have never had any problems and has been over 3 years.

We did. Also got the in house kit with it that they give. We paid for it outright instead of the monthly lease.

Army Guy

Ditto for us.:thumbup:

What is the price on this system?

Go here:

http://www.secoenergy.com/surge.html
For future reference, google SECO, go to there site, click on services, click on surge protection and there it is.

We have one on the house and one on each appliance , and this includes my electric razor, remember what happened to RICHARD PRYOR ,,,

My old razor was gas.........

Fumar

We got the SECO deal in 2008. A whole house outside protector on the box and a small boxful of individual protectors. central Florida is the lightning capital of the world, this gives us a bit of peace of mind and seems a nominal cost. a direct hit by lightning won't be stopped by anything, but it will protect against surges.

Seco
 

We have lived in the Villages for 6 years and have the surge protection through SECO. They put a house surge on the meter outside plus gave us other surge protectors for small appliances. We get a lot of lightning in this area and for $6.00 a month I think the piece of mind is worth it.

Progress Energy Meter Base Protector
 

We just received a letter about a "Meter Base Protector" from Progress Energy.
My initial reaction is to turn them down and save $5.95 plus tax a month.
The underground power lines are not a great target for lightening strikes.
I have a bird cage, pool, and solar pool heater that seem like lightning targets.
Is there separate lightning insurance that we should buy?
What happens if we get struck and the AC is fried?
Does anyone have any insurance claim stories that they would care to share?
Thanks

Underground utilities are not a safeguard. We have had homes destroyed by lightning strikes in TV and the utilities are all underground. There was a strike in our neighborhood on a telephone junction box that wiped out phone service for several homes for up to a week. For me, the cost of the whole house surge protector is cheap enough to add a level of protection. I also have individual surge suppressors as well as UPS units for my computers.

I had SECO install the whole house system after my computer got messed up twice by surges. The installer gave me a box of surge suppressors for computer, TV, etc. and installed a new circuit box. It cost about $200. You can also rent them by the month, forgot what that costs

The charge of renting the whole house surge protector from SECO depends upon when you signed the contract. My sister pays $5 per month. We signed up a few months later and we're paying $5.50 a month. I see from a post (kwachowski) below they're paying $6 a month. So you better decide before SECO raises their monthly rent again. The advantage of renting rather than buying the surge suppressor unit from SECO, is that they'll replace it if necessary. If you buy it and it needs to be replaced, you have to pay all over again. It also comes with insurance. You have to register your appliances and if they're damaged by lightening, they'll give you replace costs.

I don't know remember anything being said about having the added insurance and registering of each appliance.

I had the whole house system installed and it works well. How do I know ? my neighbor lost his Micro and garage door opener, but I had no failures. I did the monthly payments since we never know what will happen. Don't wait.

You made me spit my coffee across my desk! You are a hoot.....

Army Guy

We did the SECO surge
 

suppressor earlier this year. Seems like a good deal to me. For a $25.00 installation cost they put a suppressor on the meter and give you a box of individual suppressors for the more delicate equipment in the house. That box of suppressors seemed to be very high quality and would be worth considerably more than the install price. We are then billed $5.00/ month.

The suppressor has a red indicator light. Very easy to see. In my case every time I drive in the garage it's visible, at night it's impossible to miss. If that light is out your house has been hit and they will come out and replace the unit at the meter, N/C. It would be highly unlikely to be hit a second time before the main suppressor could be replaced.

You can buy the suppressor outright but if it is fried you pay to replace.

Made me blow a SNOT BUBBLE....

SECO Surge Protection for your home
 

We do have the SECO surge protection.

The back of our first home bordered Buena Vista Blvd. During a storm, lightning struck one of the large street light poles on Buena Vista. The charge came through the underground cable tv line and damaged our television set, only the tv, no other equipment. Another house also sustained damage, although not severe.

Also during another storm, a home on the same street, was damaged when lightning hit the 'irrigation sensor' mounted on the gutter. Somehow this caused a small fire in the garage. The people were away at the time, and a neighbor who was checking the house noticed the damage outside.

So, it's better to be safe than sorry is probably the best motto.

Check Lenhart Electrical, they also do the whole house surge protectors.

I was lazy and never registered my appliances because you had to provide a S/N for each. Wonder if it's too late to do so?

Applance registration
 

If you are required to register each appliance with SECO with a serial number, would you then be obligated to update your registration each time you purchased or replaced a new appliance?

Who would remember to do that?

Excellent question. It's like sending in the warranty card when you make a purchase. How many people remember or take the time to do so? By state law in NY, not sending in the warranty card does not affect the warranty. Not sure about FL. I'm so anal about things, I'm not sure why (lazy) I didn't follow through. When we're back in Oct, I'll deal with it. By some of the comments here, I wonder how many did follow instructions and register. My memory is less than perfect but it may be only three appliances that they'll cover, and I don't know if there's a way to update the three or if you can make substitutions with new s/n's.

We recommend it. We've had it for about 5 years and one of my neighbors got fried (he didn't have it) by a strike between our houses. We didn't have a problem. I think it's worth it, put another way, it floats our boat.

Surge suppressors are not installed to provide protection for lightening strikes, but rather to just smooth out the current coming into ur home. There are many reasons why houses experience spikes in their electircal system; some man made and some nature made. Appliances do not like spikes in the lines and can malfunction if they experience one too many of them. I would recommend putting the system in either by SECO or any electrician, but do not be fooled into believing that these devices will prevent lightening strikes.