Whole Home Surge Protection & the Benefits to the Systems Integrator
Whole home surge protection is best explained by our Transient Protection Design Selector Guide. The TPD selection guide shows that each incoming and outgoing copper wire (phone, data, coax, speaker, and power) should be surge protected, as well as each electrical breaker panel (service entrance and all subpanels). Creating a shield or ring of protection around the home protects all equipment from the effects of damaging surge energy, no matter the origin of the surge.
When properly installed, a whole home surge protection system prevents problems from electrical surges on protected pathways. This means when trouble shooting lockups, glitches, poor equipment performance, and continued electrical damage, a systems integrator needs a plan of attack. This plan of attack must include surge protection. If power were perfect, electronics would work perfectly and last forever, however, this is almost never the case. Without quality surge suppression and filtering, electronics will wear out over time due to externally and internally generated transients in the electrical system. Even small surges degrade electronics over time causing lockups and glitches. This degradation will happen more quickly if the electronics are not protected from transients and surges. Medium level surges destroy equipment after a few surge events, whereas large surges, such as a lightning strike, can cause immediate destruction and widespread damage. Owners will think that one surge event caused the damage; however, it is more common that unprotected power supplies and circuit boards degrade slowly over time due to transients. Over time, as electronics weaken, they degrade and can fail on any size surge event. For circuit chips, degradation leads to additional lockups, glitches and gives equipment subpar performance.
If electronics fail once, chances are they will fail again if nothing is done to address the cause of the failure. The homeowner may look to the systems integrator to stop a problem from happening a second time. Offering a whole home surge protection system from Transient Protection Design gives the owner an opportunity to make a permanent upgrade to their electrical system. This saves them money every year by reducing electrical repair costs and downtime and extending the life of all equipment in their home. Each property has its own unique power system and utility grid to deal with. Some power systems have more issues than others. It is the owner’s responsibility to protect their investment, and the best way for the owner to do so is to allow systems integrators to implement a protection system proven to be quality. It is the owner’s choice to be protected or not protected. By not offering a whole home surge protection system from Transient Protection Design, future problems and issues will arise.
