A whole house surge protector is a device that protects your electronics from electrical surges from outside sources. We’ve been seeing a lot of outages and electrical surges in Kansas City due to a variety of causes including:
- lightning strikes
- damage to electric lines
- repairs to electric lines
How Do Whole House Surge Protectors Work?
Electricity follows what is called electrical potential, or a “path” from a positive terminal to negative terminal. Another name for the negative terminal is “ground.” Electricity will always move toward the lowest potential, the negative terminal, the ground. Whole house surge protectors route large and sudden surges of electric current into a dedicated ground line. This keeps surges from going into your electronic devices throughout your house.
Do I Need a Whole House Surge Protector?
Absolutely, the average home in Kansas City experiences around 4-5 power surges a day. While most surges originate from inside the house, those that don’t (like lightning strikes) have the potential to cause major damage to any gadgets and appliances you have plugged in. Just think about how many electronics you have in your household! They are worth protecting.
Can I Use Power Strips Instead?
Power strips are great for protecting a few select devices. However, to better protect everything you have plugged into your electrical system, you should use a whole house surge protector. Power strips play an important role in protecting against small surges in your house, they aren’t built to handle the larger surges. Think of it like wearing a jacket and a long-sleeve shirt on a snowy day, they work better together than individually.
