Power Surge
Protecting your Home
from Power Surges
That hateful power surge is the cause of many losses at home, losses that might go from damaged appliances to fires!
Yes, one day you are just relaxing at the sofa, watching your favorite T.V program when a poltergeist scene is recreated: light from lams blinks, T.V signal is twisted…and it does not anything to do with aliens or spirits…it is just a power surge.
The worst part is not being perturbed in your relaxation moment; the worst part is all the money you need to invest in solving damages from that event. But fortunately, you can count with the professional services of Molina Rangel Public Adjuster.
Molina Rangel Public Adjuster is a firm that is specialized in the assistance of people who want to start claims at insurance companies.
Power outage can damage your equipments and might initiate fire that might destroy everything in your property.
You won’t spend that money if you have the right firm to represent you.
We have a vast experience in claims; those causes that seem to be lost are transformed into greater successful settlement.
You will overcome that bitter moment being accompanied by our specialists.
Call us for free assistance. We are for you 24/7.
What is a power surge?
To know something is wrong with the electricity at home does not require deep electrical knowledge but being aware of little details.
For instance, of you notice bulbs fade away and shine so bright, you might say “something is going on”.
And you are right! That is a power surge. Power surge is essentially the spike, an abnormal high voltage event in the current of your home’s electrical system.
It is really transient the wave of voltage, current or power (however it may be called); it usually lasts a thousand of a second…but that so brief moment provoke considerable damages at home and in the electrical appliances.
The spike of the voltage comes from an oversupply from the source of the electricity in your home, maybe from the principal supply or generator.
The raise of voltage cause what is called “an arc of electrical current” inside the appliance; that arc produces heat that damages the circuits and components of the appliance. That event comes and goes, so no wonder why did your TV stop working!
It is really unbelievable so short is the time that it lasts and so damaging it is…technically, surges last for 50 microseconds.
In that short time, the surge might go over 6000 Volts and 3000Amps; and that is the surge that reaches your appliances, when in the United States, most homes use electrical power in the form of 120 volt, 60 hertz! Now you see it is not just “a blink” of the electricity?
Unfortunately, the voltage is never constant…current usually rises and falls like in a rhythmic wave.
Oscillation ranges from 0 to a peak voltage of 169 volts. For this oscillation, most of electrical appliances in the United States are already ready: they are designed especially resistant to that oscillation. But surges raise voltage of 169 volts.
How it happens?
Now, let’s try to understand the source of the power surges. Specialists attribute their origin to different sources.
Those sources are equipment faults, lighting discharges, capacitor bank building and load switching. In case of failure of equipments, if you have seen that an appliance does not work properly, you must fix it soon; lightning is out of your control, of course; the last two deal with proper maintenance and check-up. Try to hire electricians for regular maintenance.
The capacity of your utensils to resist the transient profoundly impact on the reliability.
Experts talk about different types of power surge, like internal and external. As internal, they define those happening at domestic, industrial and commercial environments; surges occurs when an appliance or motor is started up or shut off because this makes high currents flow and divert some of the electricity to and from other appliances or motors in the same circuit or place.
Basically, not many electrical types of equipment should be working at the same time! Big appliances like air conditioners and refrigerators are usually the most demanding but smaller appliances like hair driers can be damaging too.
The external power surges are “outside” the facility; for example, when a light strikes, it can travel to your house through the cable TV or satellite dish cable, the telephone lines or electrical service line; the contact of items over the electric power line such a tree, for example; or a short circuited small animal that got inside the transformer are usual external power surges.
Other common cause is the resume of power after an outage, or that coming from Cable TV of phone lines. Electricity is powerful and not controlling it, it is more.
Insurance companies always advice people to install security devices to avoid accidents. They also try to get rid of some liabilities dealing with “lacking of regular maintenance”. But the main objective of Molina Rangel is to avoid this. We are experts. We know how to conduct the claim. Since the first contact, we will instruct you about the procedures and the best way to handle them. We take charge of everything: supervision, assistance, claim, settlement… you will replace damaged items and bring back the ideal state of your home with no worries or stress!
How power surge damage my home?
Electrical instability produces power surges that damage any kind of electrical appliances or fuses blowing.
Damages usually take time. Usually power surges are brief overvoltage disturbances or spikes that go beyond 10.000 volts; the disturbances damage little by little the electronic equipments, at home, in the office or in industrial facilities.
Power outage makes computer fails; cash register stop working or coffee makers broke!
Changes in surges level don’t damage the appliances instantly. Probably you won’t see fuses blowing or melting in front of your eyes, but the gradual degradation power surges bring, provoke that from time to time, your equipments get broken.
However, when power surge are large, surely you will see fuses blowing and melting, equipments sparking and inclusive electrical fires might start which comprise the highest level of risk of power surges!
Protecting your Home from Power Surges
Although power surges are absolutely unpredictable as well as tremendously damaging, there are some strategies that might be followed to protect your appliances from power surges:
Get protective devices SPDs. They limit the transitory voltage from getting the equipment, in consequence preventing damages to it. The surge is diverted to an alternative route towards the ground for instance, moving the excess of voltage away the equipment. There is SPDs type metal oxide Varistor, Silicon Avalanche diode, or gas discharge tubes. These components vary in their reliability, effectiveness, availability, energy capability, and cost.
SPD can work in awaiting mode or diverting mode. In awaiting mode, which is the normal condition, SPD performs minimal functions. In diverting mode, SPD diverts the damaging current away while reducing the voltage to a lower harmless level.
Other advice is a point-of-use surge protection device plus an effective grounding of the electrical equipment.
This can protect appliances from many electrical surges, because it diverts the surge to the ground. Some specialists prefer to integrate surge protective devices into the power supply design, using it as the power socket.
Other option is to use a surge protector at the service line entrance. This procedure protects the house from external surges.
Combining point-of-use devices with another device, such a service entrance surge protector or an electrical panel surge protector allow you to have protection from the most powerful surges. Installing service entrance surge protection devices mounted in or on your main electrical panel will provide a comprehensive protection to the whole electrical system.
This is suitable for everything! Particularly for those equipments that cannot be connected to a point-of-use device. This system can reduce the power surge to a lower level and it also protects from lightning strike.