Worth it? Ease of install?

My neighborhood got zapped last week while I was away from home and I lost an assortment of devices even though nearly all were surge protected to begin with. Trying to setup a secondary line of defense in case this crap happens again.

i had one installed in my previous home. i think it's worth it for peace of mind.

I had one put on for $150 total. Took the guy 20 minutes. I think it's totally worth it even if it doesn't do anything ever.

What if your existing breaker box is already maxed with switches? Have to add another one? I don't know much about this sort of thing.

it doesn't go in the panel, it goes outside of it where the power comes in.

Requires two slots...double pole breaker.

ah, my mistake.

i did mine a few years ago when we had a new panel installed.

The secret of surge suppression is you can't do it with one. You have to layer it to be truly effective. The basics are Category A, B and C or Type 1, 2 and 3.

Whole house...does a really good job of knocking lighting and big spikes down to about 800-1400 volts (look at the clipping voltage on the individual device.) Do you want 1200 volts going through to your electronics....... That is the problem with just a whole house device.


End Use Equipment Device: ratings vary. Will clip down to 150 volts BUT will be destroyed between 400 to 800 volts depending on the individual devices ratings. It won't survive more than one lighting strike so in a multipulse strike it protects from the 1st one but is smoked in the process and doesn't protect from the 2nd one.

If you can, find a whole house that doesn't let any more than 800 through it and a end use device that can handle 800 without being smoked. Then you are coordinated. If you can't find coordinated devices then a Category B (Type 2) device is in the middle.

Yes......you need a whole house surge suppressor to protect your end use surge suppressors downstream at the equipment if you really want to protect the equipment.

Is this DIY or have someone come out and install? Any insight into recommendations servicing East Houston area?

Had mine installed inside the breaker box and paid $300, how bad did I get ripped off?

Those that have had one installed, what product/model was installed?

Aggie09Derek said:

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Had mine installed inside the breaker box and paid $300, how bad did I get ripped off?

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$100 for part, 30 minutes of time.

can you post any links to the products you are talking about?

Cromagnum said:

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Worth it? Ease of install?

My neighborhood got zapped last week while I was away from home and I lost an assortment of devices even though nearly all were surge protected to begin with. Trying to setup a secondary line of defense in case this crap happens again.

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First off, sorry to hear about your troubles.

Second...just wanted to mention that most basic surge protectors become a simple power strip after they protect against their first surge (they can maybe last a couple if they aren't that strong). They usually have a fuse in them to provide the protection but it breaks without restricting the flow of power after a good surge.

If you want true surge protection at your endpoint, it needs to be of the more expensive variety and will probably have a battery in between the wall and the device which will "absorb" the surge. It can get pretty costly for one that can handle a fridge/microwave/etc. I just use them for TV, sound, computer/network devices, etc.

I'm sure someone will have some more technical details, but those are the basics.

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If you want true surge protection at your endpoint, it needs to be of the more expensive variety and will probably have a battery in between the wall and the device which will "absorb" the surge.

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I would like to see what product this is. Surge protection, even for high voltage transformers, is accomplished using metal-oxide varistors (MOVs) that conduct to ground. No need for batteries and I wouldn't even know how that's accomplished.

The "clipping voltage" Lone Stranger referenced is the 8/20us maximum discharge voltage or "lightning protection level" (LPL). This can be found on data sheets requested from the vendor, if they even conducted the test and willing to give it to you.

I'd just find one with a good warranty in case of failure to protect equipment.

Some of my past experience in data centers dealt with the huge UPS for battery backup. Those UPS are built for the batteries to take the hit while the power modules serve out steady power.

In my experience, smaller home-use UPS do the same thing. The battery takes the brunt of the surge while serving out power. I've had a microwave fry from a big surge while my TV, computer, etc. protected by a UPS had no issues.

I believe the UPS simply has surge protection in it. At least mine does. The batteries do not contribute to the surge protection, though.

Dr. Venkman said:

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I believe the UPS simply has surge protection in it. At least mine does. The batteries do not contribute to the surge protection, though.

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If the UPS is line-interactive which most of the cheaper UPS are, they act by regulating the voltage (up or down). Over time, this is hard on the battery because it is taking the brunt of the action.

Back to my original point...I don't trust your garden variety surge protector because all they have in them is a 1/2-cent surge arrestor which sends the surge to ground and weaken/fail over time...and you never can really tell if they have failed until you lose a device.

lunchbox said:

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Dr. Venkman said:

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I believe the UPS simply has surge protection in it. At least mine does. The batteries do not contribute to the surge protection, though.

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If the UPS is line-interactive which most of the cheaper UPS are, they act by regulating the voltage (up or down). Over time, this is hard on the battery because it is taking the brunt of the action.

Back to my original point...I don't trust your garden variety surge protector because all they have in them is a 1/2-cent surge arrestor which sends the surge to ground and weaken/fail over time...and you never can really tell if they have failed until you lose a device.

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A UPS can regulate steady state voltage irregularities from the utility (+/- 5%). They cannot suppress a 50 kA lightning strike or even a switching overvoltage, though, which is what surge arresters are used for. The batteries in a UPS do not contribute to surge protection, the MOVs do.

I agree that I wouldn't trust a residential surge protector. Just get one with a good warranty that will pay for damage.

I have a square D panel and installed a square D surge protector. I bought the optional flush trim mount. All in parts about $140. Took me 30 mins.

You can see my original lines to cut the hole but the pigtail on the surge protector was not long enough for me to mount it there.

[img]https://imgur.com/a/Udn4s[/img]