Now more than ever, it’s important to keep your home and devices safe from lightning induced surges. Simply installing a surge protective breaker in your home’s main electrical panel is not enough to guarantee protection should your home, or the surrounding area, be struck.

With the popularity of home automation devices, smart appliances, and other electronic equipment in today's homes, the requirement for "whole house" surge protection has become a necessity. Surges or spikes can actually destroy any sensitive electronics within the device we use in our homes - such as high-definition TVs, computers, refrigerators, microwave ovens and more. Damage can range from complete failure to a reduction in useful life.

Let’s start with the basics. What’s a power surge? Well, it’s brief voltage spike that can occur on power lines, cable lines and telephone lines. Often it happens during lightning storms, but it can really take place due to any number of reasons. And what are surge protective devices? They are made to limit surge voltages on electrical equipment by diverting the voltage surge.

The best and most reliable way to be protected is by installing a surge protection network throughout various levels of your home. Having a true Whole House Surge Protection Network requires three specific types of surge protective devices to really get the job done. Let’s talk about each unique device and remember, the quicker your home is set up the better protected your home will be.

Type 1 Surge Protective Devices should be mounted on the line side of your main service entrance. That’s located specifically between the utility pole and where your electricity enters your service panel. Type 1 Surge Protected Devices help protect from lightning strikes and externally generated surges.

Type 2 Surge Protective Devices are typically mounted to the load side of your main breaker panel. This one protects against internally and externally generated surges. They’re the second line of defense after Type 1.

Type 3 Surge Protective Devices are typically used with sensitive electronic equipment like TVs, computers, etc. They’re the last line of defense against voltage surges protecting some of your most valuable electronics.

Is your home equipped with the full 3 levels of protection? Tell us about your experience with damaging power surges below!