Why Florida Homeowners Should Install Whole-House Surge Protection

Featured Communities: Deltona Lakes, Deltona Hills, Enterprise, DeBary

Why Deltona homeowners should install whole-house power surge protectors in their homes this summer? Homes in Deltona, Deltona Lakes, Deltona Hills, Enterprise, DeBary, and Orange City, Florida would all greatly benefit from having whole-house power surge protectors installed at their home’s main electrical panel. Electrical power surges can and do occur in Deltona homes many times a week during the summer months.

Lightning Alley – A Segment of the Country where a Lot of Lightning Falls. The state of Florida gets the most lightning of any state in the country. And Florida is found in the middle of a roughly 200-mile stretch of the country referred to by meteorologists as “Lightning Alley”. This segment of the country, stretching from Tampa to Daytona Beach, is home to a tremendous amount of lightning per square mile, more in fact than any place else in North and South America. The reason for the high frequency of lightning is due to the fact that warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean collides with cool, dry air from the Arctic and from the interior of the country. This collision of air masses creates a segment of the country perfect for the creation of a tremendous amount of lightning.

A power surge is a sudden and temporary increase in voltage. These can be caused by external or internal power surges. External power surges are caused by lightning strikes to power lines. Internal power surges are caused by large appliances, such as air conditioners and refrigerators, turning on and off. When a power surge occurs, it travels through a home’s wiring and through every electrical device in the home.

The most common misconception regarding surge protection is that a homeowner can safeguard their expensive electrical devices by placing each one in a power strip with surge protectors. The problem is that such a setup protects only those devices that are actually plugged into that particular power strip. This type of setup leaves behind to fend for themselves a host of critical, hardwired home components including but not limited to an HVAC system, water heater, refrigerators, washer and dryer, smart home controlled lighting and a plethora of other connected systems.

Most types of whole-house SPDs are mounted in the main electrical panel for a home. The function of the SPD is to protect all of the electrical circuits of the home from power surges. These power surges can be caused by a number of things including an external lightning strike to a power line as well as switching events from large appliances. Since all of the electrical wiring in the home is protected by the SPD, all of the electrical devices in the home that are plugged into the wiring are also protected by the SPD. Therefore, the whole-house SPD is the primary type of surge protector used in homes. Outlet strip type SPDs are considered to be backup types of surge protectors.

Deltona, and western Volusia County are hit with many storms during the summer months. Most of these storms will have outside power line lightning strikes. These outside power line lightning strikes cause many power surges to travel down the long outside power lines into homes. These power surges can cause thousands of dollars in damage to home appliances and electronics. Installing a whole-house surge protection will give you peace of mind knowing that your refrigerator, TV, computer, washer, dryer, smart thermostat and other home appliances and electronics will be protected from these outside power line lightning strikes and power surges.

In comparison to the thousands of dollars worth of damage that a single power surge can cause to the many appliances found in a home, the cost to have a whole-house SPD installed at your home’s main electrical panel is a small fraction of the cost to repair or replace damaged appliances. And as already noted, not all insurance policies cover power surge damage. Even if your policy does cover such damage, filing a claim can be a real hassle. You will have to wait for payment, and in many cases, your insurance premiums will increase as a result of your claim.

These units are attached to your main electrical panel and do not require any maintenance. It is always a good idea to inspect them periodically to make sure they are functioning properly. Typically, these units are installed by a licensed electrician within a few hours.

There are many cost effective home improvements available on the market today. The most cost effective home improvement for a homeowner would be installing a whole-house surge protector. These devices protect the major appliances in a home from power surges, the worst enemy of electronics in homes today. These protection devices are musts in states that receive as much lightning as Florida does. They are relatively inexpensive compared to the price of the appliances that they will protect from a lone power surge.