Surge Protection in Webster & Rochester

Let Lon Lockwood Electric protect your valuable electronics with a whole house surge protector. If you are like most people, you probably have a few power strip surge protectors throughout your house to protect your home from power surges. Unfortunately, most provide little to no protection against power surges.

What Causes Power Surges?

Lightning, problems with the utility company’s equipment, large appliances cycling power on and off, faulty wiring, and downed power lines are just a few things that cause power surges.

What Is At Risk?

All items that have a microprocessor are at risk during a power surge. This includes items like: televisions, computers, refrigerators, washers, dryers, ovens, alarm systems, microwaves and telephones. It is amazing how many items in your house actually need to be protected from an electrical surge. If an electrical surge were to occur today, how much money would you stand to lose?

Wouldn’t it make sense to have ONE whole house surge protector that would protect your entire house?

It’s a wise decision to be prepared before the next electrical surge hits your home. Get a whole home surge protector that will protect not only your power lines, but your cable and telephone lines.

If you protect yourself from a power surge at the source you will experience benefits, like:

• Saving Time And Money – After an electrical surge all your neighbors will be spending time calling electricians to come out and replace the microprocessors in all their electronic devices. Your neighbors will have to shell out countless dollars to replace electronic devices that no longer function. But, if you have a whole home surge protector you will be able to sit back, relax and be secure in the fact that once the power returns, all your expensive electronics will return to normal.
• Insurance For Your Electronics Whole – home surge protectors provide inexpensive insurance compared to the cost of replacing all your electronics.
• Sales Point Advantage – Differentiate your house from all the other houses on the market with a whole house surge protector. It’s an inexpensive way to make your house stand out from the competition. This is a great feature for home builders as well. This could be the attention to detail the buyer is looking for.
• Peace Of Mind – You can relax the next time a lightning storm occurs or the next power surge takes place in your area. You can rest assured that your electrical devices are protected.

It only takes seconds to destroy countless expensive electronic devices, so don’t wait until it is too late! Call Lon Lockwood Electric today to get your whole house surge protector.

Note: To protect yourself from surges that originate within the house, it is a good idea to take extra precaution and continue to use power strip/surge protectors for extra sensitive or expensive devices.

How Do I Safely Use a Surge Protector?

Every year fires occur because surge protectors are not being properly used. Here are some suggestions to keep your surge protectors from being improperly used.

• Remember that retail surge protectors are for light loads only. (computers, printers, and low amperage equipment and NOT fans, heaters, coffeemakers or other similar devices)
• ALL units should be electrical approved or Underwriters Laboratory (UL) approved.
• Each surge protector should be plugged into an outlet NOT another surge protector or another portable power strip. This can cause overloading.
• In the event of a large surge or spike (lightning strike), the surge protector will have to be replaced.
• Use only surge protectors that have an internal circuit breaker. This will prevent a fire if the surge protector is overloaded or shorted.
• Check the electrical load of the surge protector. You can tell if it is overloaded if it is hot to the touch.
• Do NOT use surge protectors in wet or moist areas. If it needs to be in a moist area, be sure that it is protected by a GFCI unit.
• Place the surge protector in a location where it can get enough air circulation. Avoid placing it under the carpet, furniture, or any other place that air circulation is inhibited.
• Consider purchasing surge protection with cable and phone jacks to provide protection for your phone, fax, television, and computer modem.
• Check your surge protectors regularly to ensure they are in good condition and functioning properly.
• Do not use an ungrounded adaptor (two pronged adaptor) to plug in a surge protector. Use a three pronged adaptor.
• Not all surge protectors are created equal. Make sure the one you purchase can handle your needs.
• Consider having a surge arrestor installed at the fuse box or electrical panel for complete house protection. This is especially good to have for homes in areas with lots of lightning.