Surge Protection

Before we discuss surge protection, we need you to understand what a power surge is. Basically a power surge is a dramatic power spike that typically lasts a millisecond, but delivers, at its worst, tens of thousand of volts that can fry almost everything in its path.  Most people think of lightning when they think of power surges.  And although lightning-induced surges are the most powerful, they are not the most common.  Most power surges happen from downed power lines, energy fluctuations at a local factory, or even from energy sucking devices within the home like hair dryers, air conditioners or vacuums. Picture this: Lightning strikes a utility pole sending a tidal wave of power through your house. It fries the motherboard in your refrigerator, your dishwasher, a PC and an X-box.  It kills 6 dimmer switches and all of the GFCI switches in your house.  In less than a millisecond, this has caused thousands of dollars of damage.  What’s worse…sometimes the damage effects of a power surge aren’t immediate, then a year later, the microwave stops working for no reason (another $800).