Do Whole House Surge Protectors Require a Dedicated Breaker?
While Florida is the Sunshine State, it is also recognized for its frequent storms and occasional hurricanes. Often, these storms bring cloud-to-ground lighting. Lightning flashes can send a high-voltage stream of electricity through your home if a bolt strikes your property.
These bolts cause personal injury, fires, and damage to items throughout the home. In fact, any item plugged into your home’s electrical system at the time can get fried. A surge protector is an easy solution to this common risk.
How a Power Surge Affects Your Home
When you think about a power surge, you might initially think about your TVs, computers, and appliances getting irreparably damaged, but there are other effects as well. For example, power surges can damage your electric water heater, air conditioner, and the electrical wiring that runs throughout your home.
Keep in mind that electrical power surges aren’t only caused by lightning strikes. For example, a damaged appliance or faulty wiring can cause frequent cycling on and off. In addition to power surges caused by over-cycling, they can also be caused by overloading outlets and other factors.
The Benefits of a Surge Protector
Surge protectors prevent sudden and potentially devastating voltage surges. Many people use surge protector power strips for their home computers and televisions. These power strips protect only the products that are plugged into them. Even with surge protector power strips installed at every outlet, some risk remains,
What Is a Whole-Home Surge Protector?
A superior alternative to power strip surge protectors is a whole-home surge protector. A whole-home unit detects and prevents voltage surges from entering the home at the electric panel, so it effectively protects the electric wiring and all electrical features and products inside your home.
A whole-home surge protector accomplishes this important task by grounding the electrical system. More than that, it reduces the risk of surge-related fires and personal injuries. A whole-home surge protector is referred to as a Type 1 unit.
How a Dedicated Breaker Works
A dedicated breaker is a circuit breaker in your home’s electrical panel that is assigned to one task. In this case, the dedicated breaker is assigned to a whole-home surge protector. This type of breaker is essential for the functionality of the surge protector.
Essentially, it provides a dedicated power source to the surge protector. In the event of a power surge, this breaker will trip. By doing so, the entire electrical system for the home won’t experience a devastating jolt of electricity from a power surge.
The Need for a Dedicated Breaker
While a whole-home surge protector is undeniably beneficial, an important question remains. Do you really need a dedicated breaker used exclusively for the surge protector?
The answer is yes. In addition to ensuring that the surge protector has its own power supply, a dedicated circuit breaker prevents the surge protector from damage if other circuits get overloaded. This might happen if you overload a power outlet in your home.
In addition, it’s far easier to maintain a dedicated breaker for your surge protector. If an issue develops with the circuit breaker, you can turn off the breaker without impacting access to power in other areas of the home.
Schedule Installation Today
Installing a whole-home surge protector and a dedicated breaker comes with risks of property damage and personal injury, so it should be completed by a licensed electrician. Your electrician will complete the installation while maintaining all applicable safety codes. Don’t put up with any malarky, call Mister Sparky.
