During summer, one common occurrence is the vast thunderstorms that seemingly appear out of nowhere to wreak havoc on your neighborhood. Occasionally these storms can ruin your electronics and leave you scrambling to replace burnt-out devices and appliances.
Fortunately, there are a few ways for you to protect your electrical equipment during thunderstorms. Following these tips will help your favorite devices survive the worst the summer can throw at you.
Unplug Your Devices
The best thing you can do to defend electrical equipment during thunderstorms is to unplug your devices whenever possible. This is the safest method and the one most likely to ensure you protect your electrical equipment during thunderstorms. Unplugging devices removes them from the circuit, and if lightning strikes nearby and hits your home’s wiring, there is no connection to your home’s electrical system.
Plug-In Surge Protectors
Surge protectors are a great first line of defense to protect your electronics from lightning. Sometimes, you might not be home to unplug your electronics before a major storm. Plug-in surge protectors work to divert electrical surges into the ground in the event of an overload.
Surge protectors look like power strips, and they make protecting electronics from lightning simple and easy. You want to note a few things before purchasing your surge protector.
- Lightning Is Powerful — The voltage from one lightning strike is about 300-500 million volts.
- Clamping Voltage and Joule Rating — Lower clamping voltage usually means a quicker reaction to a power surge. A higher joule rating translates to how much energy your surge protector can absorb.
- Know What You’re Plugging In — Know the strength of the electronics you’re placing on your surge protection device, and make sure it has enough space to protect your electrical equipment during thunderstorms.
- Voltage Spikes — After a while, surge protectors taking multiple voltage spikes will eventually need replacement, and voltage surges lower the number of joules that a protector can take on.
Install a Whole-Home Surge Protection System
Take a step above a plug-in surge protector by installing a whole-home surge protector to improve your lightning safety and protect your electronics from lightning. Lightning travels far—at times, it can travel through your phone/cables lines and fry things like your routers, modems, and even light switches. Instead of purchasing 50 surge protectors for each connection, consider installing a whole-home surge protection system.
Often, lightning striking a shared circuit can damage multiple devices. A surge protection system works by stopping nearby lightning strikes in their tracks before they even enter your home. These devices are installed directly onto your circuit breakers and are a worthy investment to protect electronics from power surges.
Defend Your Home From Lightning Damage
Not having any protection for your home is a considerable risk, and your electronic devices would appreciate a bit of protection from the dangers of lightning and thunderstorms. Unplugging your devices is always an excellent choice to ensure safety, and surge protectors are great investments, but they both aren’t perfect.
A whole-house surge protector works best to protect electrical equipment during thunderstorms, and you can reach out to Early Bird Electric to install yours. Don’t be late for the party. Contact Early Bird today for same-day electrical service and give your home the electrical protection it needs.
