Transient Surges & Whole Home Surge Suppression
Residential surge suppression? Is it really necessary?
When appliances are continuously hit by low voltage surges, the inside components start to degrade. This affects their lifespan and reliability. Larger surges are much worse. While they’re less common, powerful surges can start fires in appliances that have already begun deteriorating.
In general, it is important to know that:
Residentially 30 percent of surges originate outside the house from nearby lightning strikes, which couple surges into nearby power wires.
Normal utility operations can cause electrical disturbances.
Perhaps the most common external surge source is when power is interrupted for any reason – a tree falling on wires, a car hitting a pole, wind damage, utility repairs, etc. Wires conducting electricity create a magnetic field. When power is interrupted, the magnetic field collapses, inducing large voltages in the wires. A 12-volt spark coil relies on this principle to generate many thousands of volts to fire spark plugs.
70% of surges are generated within buildings and homes every time equipment cycles on and off.
Internal surge levels are related to the magnitude of current being interrupted and the length of wire from the service entrance to the load.