Whole House Surge Protection

[Tractor Seabee]

When I was working with military construction projects we always specified surge protection on primary distribution system. Suppressors on secondary (panels) were only used where the engineers determined they would be most effective and needed for internally developed surges.

We do not get many lightning storms in my area so they are not a common thing. If I was concerned I would be sure to get a well known product manufacturer not something off brand on Ebay. Here would be my choice:

Siemens Surge Protective Devices (SPD) - Power Distribution - Siemens

Siemans has been my choice for quality electrical products back during those old days prior to retirement from construction. This is not the type of thing you quibble on price. Why spend a lot of money and have it fail. These items normally have about a 10 year service life. The good ones have built in diagnostics to tell you when they need repalcing

Ron

 

[boggen]

have more issues with "brown outs" (not enough / low power) vs to much power from lighting strikes. in my case normally been a tree coming down or branch hitting a wire and shorting the power out on the lines outside some place down the road.

with above said. got a new panel to replace old main panel in house. still yet to install. been debating if not to install whole house surge protector. doubtful i will though.

then as soon as it does happen, then install one (doh)

the ratings of the surge protectors has me. no idea how to even rate lightening strike. and how much would be needed. to even determind size of surge protector that would be needed.

 

[Pilot]

For about $100 or so the utility came out and installed a whole house sure protector. The guy who did it said it would protect appliances, the well and similar stuff but not computers and sensitive electronics. Have not had a problem in the 15 or so years we have had it. We get a lot of power storm related outages (8 times on Vet's day a couple years ago) but not much lightning.

 

[Oldpath05]

This is how we get surge protection up here when on a tight budget>> Maine man accused of stealing power from CMP (again) | WGME

Been living here for 35 years, sofar it's one of those hazards that hasn't happened to me yet, cross my fingers hoping that it dont. I kinda live with high hills around, I think they are a lightning magnet and a tornado diverter, had a few tree knocking heavy down drafts

 

[Wsmitty]

We have a fair bit of power issues due to a lot of trees and high winds here on our little mountain. On the new house we had built, I installed one of these in the main panel.

Shop GE 1-Outlet Joules Home Office Surge Protector (Auto-Off Safety) at Lowes.com

I also use surge suppressor strips on computers and TV/audio equipment as well. The local power company offers a meter SPD for $4/ month but they only cover $1,000 in damage and you still have to use separate protection on computers, TVs, etc. as well. One blown appliance could easily go over $1,000 so I declined this service and went with this panel mounted device. So far it's been installed for over a year and I've had no issues during power outages.

Fingers crossed.

 

[JRobyn]

One of the main reasons I went with Square-D QO panels for the new house was the in-store availability (with highly competitive pricing) at both HD and Lowes of the QO breakers and in-panel surge suppressors. About 5 years in service now and no problems so far.

Square D QO Surgebreaker Surge Protective Device Takes 2 Load Center Spaces-QO2175SB - The Home Depot

 

[JPRambo]

Normal is plus or minus 15 % voltage fluxuations and with storms we get many power spikes.

I think I phased it wrong &.5% low and 7.5% high voltage range.

• Utility voltage is normally
supplied within plus or minus
7.5 percent of nominal voltage.

 

[vanskills]

I'm a master electrician by trade who works on some pretty big stuff

I can tell you most the time those little house surge protectors are nothing but a ripoff, you're not protecting anything.

You're better off making sure you have a great grounding system and battery back up for electronics

 

[RNeumann]

The whole house models replace 2 breakers (typically) at the main panel. The actual device will depend on the panel manufacture. They make different grades and sizes. The idea is to send the surge "back" via the ground. The devices can handle a small surge. However a direct lightening hit will still be an issue. Better grounding will help, but by nature, it's going to be difficult to completely eliminate the threat.
I think they are worth the $100 or so. If you can change a breaker this is a project you can do.