How many electrical devices do you see when you look around your house? There are probably a bunch, especially considering the day and age we live in. In a typical home, you are likely to see computers, phones, laptops, and TVs; you name it. Because so much of our life depends on electricity, we must protect our electrical devices. One of the first steps to doing that is answering questions like, "What is a power surge" and "What is a power outage."
Our electric grids are highly reliable but not perfect. Plugging in our devices to charge is as normal as opening and closing a door, but you want to ensure you have the proper equipment to keep your devices safe if something happens, such as a power surge or power outage.
Here, we'll discuss the differences between power surges and power outages and why you should consider a whole home surge protector to ensure your home and devices are powered.
Power Surges
A power surge is when an unexpected voltage spike runs through your electrical system. A great example of when a power surge might happen is during a lightning storm. Other reasons a surge might occur would be faulty wiring or the turning on or off of high-powered devices. If you've ever turned on an appliance in your home and the power went out, it is likely because of a power surge.
Power surges cause the voltage in your home to rise above limits deemed safe. Because of this, they can damage the appliances in your home if you do not have the proper safeguards.
For the most part, power surges are unlikely to damage your devices or appliances, but extreme surges can cause damage.
Power Outages
Power outages are the opposite of power surges. Instead of a spike in electricity, a power outage is a sudden power interruption to your home. An outage can happen for several reasons, from routine maintenance on electrical systems to lightning striking a power cable and knocking it down.
Aside from the obvious problem of having no access to electricity, power outages can also affect your electrical devices. For example, you might notice data loss on devices plugged in during a power outage.
When you experience a power outage, you'll want to consult an energy power outage map to see how long the service will be restored. Blackout electric problems can last anywhere from minutes to weeks.
Surge protector vs power strip
To keep your home and all your devices safe, you should consider a whole home surge protector. If you haven't heard of that before, that's fine; many people don't know the difference between a surge protector and a power strip. Some might think all power strips are surge protectors, but that isn't true.
Here's an excellent way to think: all surge protector power strips are also power strips, but not all power strips are surge protectors. Surge protector power strips have varying lifespans and can cost you a good chunk of change over time.
Whole home surge protectors
There are several reasons to consider a whole home surge protector. As mentioned above, surge protector power strips only last so long, and you'll need to buy a new one each time they go out. Many surge protector power strips might only be suitable for one power surge. Not only that, but they still might not be effective against severe power surges. For example, a surge protector power strip might not be able to stand up to surges caused by heavy electrical storms.
Whole home surge protectors will not only protect your home from severe power surges but will continue to do so. They offer a level of protection far and far above what you could get with even the best surge protector power strip.
Yes, a whole home surge protector is more expensive as an initial investment than just buying a few surge protector power strips, but it could save you a good amount of money in the long run. Not only will you never have to swap a surge protector power strip, but you won't have to worry about your expensive electronic devices shorting out because they weren't protected enough from a severe power surge.
If you want to know more about whole home surge protectors, please contact us at Mr. Electric of Atlanta today!
