Surge Protection

Protect Your Home From Damaging Power Surges

Frequently Asked Questions

What is meant by an electrical ground? 

Electricity needs a reference to ground, meaning the ground connected to Earth. When voltage comes in contact with ground it will trip the circuit breaker or have a point of ground to prevent energizing things that are not meant to be energized.  Grounding is for your safety.

How do you tell if your house is properly grounded? 

You will need to have ground rods, cold water bond with a properly installed main bonding jumper, and grounding run to all energized locations. To the untrained eye it is hard to tell if proper grounding is present, your best option is to have a qualified electrician verify that proper grounding is in place.

Do whole house surge protectors really work? 

Yes. A whole house surge protector works by tripping your main breaker if there is a surge of voltage that is outside the normal parameters of what your equipment is designated to handle. Voltage surges can damage equipment which includes anything electrical installed in your home or running on electricity in your home. 

When should a whole house surge protector be replaced? 

Surge protectors do have indicator lights on them. It varies by brand and style of unit how many lights there are and what each of them indicates. Some surge protectors will say directly on the unit what each of the lights indicates and what it means if the lights are on or off. So, it is important to check your surge protectors on a regular basis. A large surge can damage the surge protector while it trips the breaker, so in addition to regularly checking the surge protector it is important to check it any time you reset a tripped breaker.