I am building a new home and would like any input on whole house surge protection. I saw a product by Total Protection Solutions. It is quite expensive but seems to be well designed. I have very expensive HI-FI equipment I want to protect. What would you do?
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Whole house surge protection
- Thread starter njcardave
- Start date
I don't know anything about that particular manufacturer, but a whole house surge protector is a good idea and relatively inexpensive. The key is to have multiple suppressors. One at the panel and one at the point of use. Most home insurance companies can provide guidelines as to the minimum clamping ratings that you should look for. Most manufacturers also offer some sort of payback if there device fails to protect your equipment. I'd bet it would be difficult to collect on that warranty though. They are all sacrificial, in that they do their job once and then need to be replaced.
Last edited:
Mustang51js
Well-known member
Home Depot has a good one for $50 By Leviton. You can also get a surge suppresser outlet if you wanted to.
ddawg16
Well-known member
This is a well discussed topic on many forums....
Don't waste your money on that 'total protection' POS.
There are two basic types of surge faults in your house....Line fault and lightning strike.
Line fault.....a surge protector at the load center will help you the most...but is not a total solution. If the line fault/surge is greater than the rating of the surge protector, then the surge travels through your house.
Lightning strike....the damage can come from within....depending on where it hits. If it's close enough...well....electronics will be toast.
The best approach....surge protector at the load center and then outlet surge protectors for the hi dola electronics......
If you want to take it a step further..spend a few hundred bucks on a UPS. Not the cheap switch over type...but the type that rectify the incoming ac to dc...then regenerate the AC....full time. If you take a lightning hit that takes it out....it gives up it's life for your tv.....
Don't waste your money on that 'total protection' POS.
There are two basic types of surge faults in your house....Line fault and lightning strike.
Line fault.....a surge protector at the load center will help you the most...but is not a total solution. If the line fault/surge is greater than the rating of the surge protector, then the surge travels through your house.
Lightning strike....the damage can come from within....depending on where it hits. If it's close enough...well....electronics will be toast.
The best approach....surge protector at the load center and then outlet surge protectors for the hi dola electronics......
If you want to take it a step further..spend a few hundred bucks on a UPS. Not the cheap switch over type...but the type that rectify the incoming ac to dc...then regenerate the AC....full time. If you take a lightning hit that takes it out....it gives up it's life for your tv.....
volleyball
Well-known member
You also need to look at your location. Is the next house 10' or 10 miles away? The more density, the less protection you need. You need to not be the weak link.
As other have said. One at the panel, and 1 at each location in the house. You could have the best whole house unit at the panel and be subjected to a surge within your property.
Some of my plug in surge protectors cost over $100 each. You get what you pay for.
I also have a couple of old UPS's that do not power stuff when the power goes out but the surge protection is great. You can usually get these for free.
As other have said. One at the panel, and 1 at each location in the house. You could have the best whole house unit at the panel and be subjected to a surge within your property.
Some of my plug in surge protectors cost over $100 each. You get what you pay for.
I also have a couple of old UPS's that do not power stuff when the power goes out but the surge protection is great. You can usually get these for free.
bareass172
Well-known member
I just had major issues with my panel over Christmas and had to replace it. I've had several power problems (supply issues) from the power company just in the past year so I decided when I was replacing the panel to install whole house protection as an added layer. I bought a Square D model HOM2175SB, this was what was recommended by my local electrical supply house for my panel and application:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008DIYAPM/?tag=atomicindus08-20
I don't know a whole lot about these, but my friend who is an electrician told me that this was a solid unit. He said because it mounts IN the panel (like a breaker) rather than having to wire it into the panel it can give better/faster protection. If this is wrong and anyone reading this is a professional, please correct me. I assumed it was right because when I compared it to other units that needed to be wired in, it had a higher max surge rating.
The only downside is that it takes up breaker space in the panel, but when I replaced I made sure I had extra slots for future expansion so it wasn't a problem for me.
There's a lot of options out there, and I'm not an electrician, but I feel better having mine as one more layer of protection.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008DIYAPM/?tag=atomicindus08-20
I don't know a whole lot about these, but my friend who is an electrician told me that this was a solid unit. He said because it mounts IN the panel (like a breaker) rather than having to wire it into the panel it can give better/faster protection. If this is wrong and anyone reading this is a professional, please correct me. I assumed it was right because when I compared it to other units that needed to be wired in, it had a higher max surge rating.
The only downside is that it takes up breaker space in the panel, but when I replaced I made sure I had extra slots for future expansion so it wasn't a problem for me.
There's a lot of options out there, and I'm not an electrician, but I feel better having mine as one more layer of protection.
volleyball
Well-known member
They are both connected to the same electrical point so it won't be faster or better. Just easier to install for amateurs or if you flush mount.
ddawg16
Well-known member
An important point regarding the circuit breaker fed units....the SPD is on the other side of the breaker....if the surge is great enough to trip the breaker...you had one hell of a surge.
Good and bad....the good is that you know you had a significant surge....the bad is that you might still have damage.
Most surges are of a very short duration. In many cases, much shorter than the trip characteristic of the breaker. But if the breaker did trip...it does not mean either that you have damage....the hope is that the SPD suppressed most of the surge energy.
This is why you want the secondary protection at locations with high value electronics.
Also understand that the LC characteristics of the house wiring does a lot to suppress short duration surges.
And also understand that with a lighting strike...all bets are off.
Good and bad....the good is that you know you had a significant surge....the bad is that you might still have damage.
Most surges are of a very short duration. In many cases, much shorter than the trip characteristic of the breaker. But if the breaker did trip...it does not mean either that you have damage....the hope is that the SPD suppressed most of the surge energy.
This is why you want the secondary protection at locations with high value electronics.
Also understand that the LC characteristics of the house wiring does a lot to suppress short duration surges.
And also understand that with a lighting strike...all bets are off.
I've got this one in my shop: http://w3.usa.siemens.com/powerdist...surge-protection/spd4home/Pages/tpd4home.aspx
I use it in conjunction with quality surge suppressors for my electronics.
I use it in conjunction with quality surge suppressors for my electronics.
Ross/Kzoo
Well-known member
Get a whole house surge protect for $40-50. They piggyback on 2 circuits to offer protection on both legs. Those outlet strips are only good for 1 hit and there is NO way to tell if it is still protecting, everything looks OK but you don't know.
Truman Sparks
Active member
Appreciate the input; I don't have too much to add except a lighting strike anecdote...
A couple of years ago, we had a strike close by. It was pretty loud, but nothing seemed amiss, and no breakers tripped. Unfortunately, I didn't go out and make a through tour right away. The next day, the garage door would not open using the opener, because the electronics were fried. As I was poking around with that, I realized my well pump was running (wtf? not supposed to be watering the lawn now...). What's more, I couldn't turn the pump off with the controller, I had to unplug it. Turns out that the sprinkler controls were fried too--the pump switch failed "closed" (running the pump), but all the sprinkler valves stayed shut. So, the pump ran all night against shutoff head; the motor survived OK, but the pump seals overheated and had to be replaced.
Moral of the story, lighting will do some unpredictable stuff. Go look for damage even if it's in the middle of the night.
A couple of years ago, we had a strike close by. It was pretty loud, but nothing seemed amiss, and no breakers tripped. Unfortunately, I didn't go out and make a through tour right away. The next day, the garage door would not open using the opener, because the electronics were fried. As I was poking around with that, I realized my well pump was running (wtf? not supposed to be watering the lawn now...). What's more, I couldn't turn the pump off with the controller, I had to unplug it. Turns out that the sprinkler controls were fried too--the pump switch failed "closed" (running the pump), but all the sprinkler valves stayed shut. So, the pump ran all night against shutoff head; the motor survived OK, but the pump seals overheated and had to be replaced.
Moral of the story, lighting will do some unpredictable stuff. Go look for damage even if it's in the middle of the night.
Dale Leeds
Banned
If you are just worried about your stereo equipment, I would just get an appliance surge protector. And/or around here, the electric company has them for sale. They will install them for you.
Ross/Kzoo
Well-known member
If you are just worried about your stereo equipment, I would just get an appliance surge protector. And/or around here, the electric company has them for sale. They will install them for you.
Are you talking surge strips? If so, are they still effective or have they been operated as the "one time" device that they were engineered for?
This is what you want:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Square-D...Center-Spaces-QO2175SB/100202111?N=5yc1vZbm05