Spikes? Yikes!
Hidden danger lurks in and around your home – danger for your electronics and appliances, that is. Any electrical equipment plugged into an outlet or connected to a phone line or coaxial cable is vulnerable to irreparable damage from transient voltage, also called "spikes" or "surges." But West Florida Electric Cooperative offers a full line of top-quality, multi-stage, whole-house protection against destructive voltage spikes or surges.
Transient voltage is an increase in voltage significantly above the designated level in a flow of electricity, similar to overly-high pressure on a hose. Depending on its level and duration, the extra pressure might either suddenly burst the hose or gradually wear it out with the extra strain. In the same way, transient voltage can either "fry" electrical components in an instant or ruin them over time.
As electronics and appliances become increasingly sophisticated, complex and compact, they also become more sensitive to power fluctuations. Microprocessors, an integral part of computers and many appliances, are particularly susceptible to surges or spikes because they rely on stable current at the correct voltage to function properly.
For accuracy’s sake – a surge is transient voltage lasting three nanoseconds, or billionths of a second, while a spike lasts one or two nanoseconds – a distinction few people are able to make. Regardless, both can render expensive equipment useless and can originate from a variety of sources.
The most familiar cause of transient voltage – lightning – occurs more frequently in Florida than anywhere else in the U. S., but it’s actually one of the least common culprits overall in the creation of surges. A much more likely cause is the operation of high-power electrical devices, such as air conditioners and refrigerators. Appliance motors or compressors requiring a lot of energy to switch on and off create sudden, brief demands for power, upsetting the steady flow of electricity in your home’s electrical system. Although these surges aren’t near the intensity of those created by lightning, they can be severe enough to cause damage, immediately or gradually, and they occur regularly.
Other possible sources of transient voltage include faulty wiring or damage to WFEC’s electrical distribution system. The system of transformers and lines that deliver electricity from a power generator to the outlets in your home is extremely complex, covering many miles, with possible points of failure and potential causes for uneven power flow all along the way. Vehicles and farm equipment collide with poles, animals climb onto lines – power surges are unavoidable. However, the damage these surges can cause is avoidable.
WFEC’s surge protection products include a meter base unit that can prevent surges from invading your home’s electric system through the service entrance. Inside your home, WFEC’s plug-in devices for electrical outlets, phone jacks and coaxial cable connections provide a second line of defense against outside-generated surges, as well as those originating within the home. For outside, WFEC offers weather-resistant, maximum line protection for your well pump, pool pump or sump pump.
None of these devices – nor any others on the market – can provide absolute protection against a direct lightning hit. However, they do help guard against surges created by nearby lightning. The safest practice is to plug vulnerable hardware into a surge protective plug-strip, then unplug the strip’s main power cord when the equipment isn’t in use during thunderstorm season.
Besides the protection they provide, the warranties WFEC’s surge suppression products offer makes them well worth the investment. The service entrance surge protector includes a ten-year product replacement warranty and connected equipment coverage up to $1,000 per standard appliance, such as a washer, dryer, freezer or stove, to a maximum total of $10,000 per household.
The plug-in devices feature a lifetime product replacement warranty, plus connected equipment coverage up to $10,000 with the eight-outlet plugstrip, to $2,500 with the two-outlet strip and to $250 with the single-outlet strip. The well pump protectors come with a ten-year product warranty and $10,000 connected equipment coverage.
Page created and maintained by West Florida Electric Cooperative, Inc. © 2001.
designed by embryo design