Why you need surge protection

Guest content by Shane Reid - WA Metro & Regional Manager, Thor Technologies.

When everyone thinks of a surge protector, they think of needing to protect against a lightning strike or storm. This is true but is only some of the problem we face with surge. Yes, we absolutely need to have surge protection in place for storm damage or any external factors such as faulty wiring or trees touching powerlines as these are usually catastrophic events that destroy multiple pieces of equipment around the home but the bigger problem is the surges that your equipment endures on a daily basis.

Storm and external damage accounts for around 20% of the surge damage that occurs in your typical home, 80% of the surges that your equipment endures are internal and generated from inside the house each time that equipment cycles on and off (such as Fridges, Washers, Dryers, Air Conditioning, Hair Dryers, Compressors, Motors etc.). It is not uncommon for there to be over 100 small surge events in your house on any particular day. These surges cause your hardware stress and latent damage which can cause unexplained issues with your product, programming issues, lockups and ultimately result in the untimely demise of your equipment.

The urgency of installing multiple high-quality surge protection devices is being driven by several ongoing trends;

1. There is an increased number of electrical products in the home/workplace. An average household has upwards of 25 electrical devices, this number will only continue to increase into the future.
2. Virtually all of the electronics that we use today contain IC chips for increased functionality and lower cost. These chips are very sensitive to voltage fluctuations and can damage very easily. It is estimated that over 50% of product failures are actually the result of surge damage to the chipsets themselves which is not always visible and are often mistaken for defects.
3. Increased storm activity with more volatile weather causing damage.
4. A large increase in the number of rooftop solar power installations is flooding excess power back into the grid, particularly during the day when power consumption is low, and is causing fluctuations on the grid. These fluctuations have the potential to push unwanted surge back into the grid and damage your equipment.

With all this in mind it requires a holistic approach to surge protection in the home with options to not only protect your equipment at the power point with a surge board but also with products mounted in the distribution box providing whole circuit protection around the home as well. Surge protection works like a mesh, the more products you have around the home protecting your equipment, the more effectively they can work together to ensure the longevity of your expensive equipment.

Click to shop Thor surge protecting powerboards now.