Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Texas > Austin
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 07-28-2013, 04:24 PM
 
45 posts, read 132,312 times
Reputation: 27

Advertisements

May not be the appropriate forum but given that there may be lot of home owners in this forum, I wanted to know if anyone has experience doing surge protection for their entire home.

We just moved into a new home and have several new appliances and of course, everything electrical is new. I am wondering if it is better to protect the entire home instead of trying to deal with each of appliances/TVs individually. Friday's heavy rain and lightning was one motivation to take some action on this asap.

- Does surge protection for entire home also help protect A/C unit etc?
- If we do surge protection for entire home, would that mean, we don't need to secure each of the appliances and other electrical units individually?
- And also if you have a recommendation for someone who does this in Austin?
- Any idea of approximate cost if you have done it? I read figures of $1K to $3K....

Any input appreciated if you have experience with it.

Thanks,
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 07-28-2013, 04:26 PM
 
1,063 posts, read 1,776,575 times
Reputation: 632
Why would u need that?...
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-28-2013, 04:35 PM
 
45 posts, read 132,312 times
Reputation: 27
are you asking why i want to surge protection for entire home or why i even surge protector for anything? i would think lot of people have surge protectors to safeguard their stuff at home. i have heard a few cases where people lost their appliances or electronics. so i am looking at it as some preventive action.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-28-2013, 04:50 PM
 
Location: The People's Republic of Austin
5,184 posts, read 7,275,400 times
Reputation: 2575
$250 at Home Depot for 80,000 amp protection. Another $125 for an electrician to install. Whomever quoted you $1K+ was ripping you off.

Actually a good idea for the mainly non-electronic plugged - referigerator, washer - and wired - HVAC. Will certainly protect against a nearby lightening strike.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-28-2013, 04:54 PM
 
4,510 posts, read 5,048,411 times
Reputation: 13403
It's easy and cheap to provide surge protection for the entire home. And that $1K-3K number is ridiculous ! There is a surge protector that is installed in the Main breaker box that is installed either right below or opposite the main breaker. It will blow if a surge enters the panel. I installed many of them when I was working (30 years as electrician) and have them in my own house. I've been retired for 8 years now and I can't remember exactly what the cost but I'm thinking in the $30/$40 range. Have a licensed electrician install it, that will probably run you another $100. They are not entirely foolproof but nothing is if lightening strikes your electrical system. I have seen these protectors blown completely apart from a surge but it saved the panel and equipment. Any electrical contractor should be able to provide one.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-28-2013, 05:57 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX
16,787 posts, read 49,046,364 times
Reputation: 9478
I have lived in Austin since 1977 and never experienced a problem. I do have my computers plugged into a surge protection plug strip in the office area but that is all.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-28-2013, 07:20 PM
 
45 posts, read 132,312 times
Reputation: 27
thank you...$1K-$3K figure was just based on what i read online and my understanding (or misunderstanding!).

good to know it will be a lot cheaper.

If we surge protect the home, it looks it is still advisable to secure some of the individual appliances like refrigerator, washer/dryer, and HDTVs?
Buying Guide: Surge Protectors*at The Home Depot
"..................Whole House Surge Protectors: Also called point-of-entry surge protectors, whole-house models are installed at your main electrical panel. These protectors guard an entire household or building from external surges. They also offer some protection against surges generated by appliances within a house or building, but only when those surges reach the main electrical panel. Because they can’t intercept all surges, it’s best to use a whole-house protector in conjunction with point-of-use protectors.........."

Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-28-2013, 08:32 PM
 
2,633 posts, read 6,397,767 times
Reputation: 2887
Quote:
Originally Posted by general101 View Post
thank you...$1K-$3K figure was just based on what i read online and my understanding (or misunderstanding!).

good to know it will be a lot cheaper.

If we surge protect the home, it looks it is still advisable to secure some of the individual appliances like refrigerator, washer/dryer, and HDTVs?
Buying Guide: Surge Protectors*at The Home Depot
"..................Whole House Surge Protectors: Also called point-of-entry surge protectors, whole-house models are installed at your main electrical panel. These protectors guard an entire household or building from external surges. They also offer some protection against surges generated by appliances within a house or building, but only when those surges reach the main electrical panel. Because they can’t intercept all surges, it’s best to use a whole-house protector in conjunction with point-of-use protectors.........."
You are reading an advertisement. Adjust accordingly. Or, maybe you're one of PT's favorites.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-29-2013, 07:35 AM
 
Location: Central Texas
13,714 posts, read 31,159,468 times
Reputation: 9270
Quote:
Originally Posted by CptnRn View Post
I have lived in Austin since 1977 and never experienced a problem. I do have my computers plugged into a surge protection plug strip in the office area but that is all.
I had a lightning strike close to my home about 12 years ago. It sent a surge through the AC line that fried our largest TV, a stereo receiver, an amplifier, a coffee maker, several pieces of computer networking equipment, etc. It also fused the phone line to the house - SW Bell (at the time) had to run a new underground line to the house. The phone line damage ruined three telephones.

The threat of damage to electronics is strong in Austin. You have been lucky.

Although I do not have a whole house unit, I have almost everything electronic on their own surge protectors. Every computer (all five of them), every TV, all routers/ethernet switches, every piece of audio equipment, and our coffee maker.

I was tempted to install a whole house unit, but some articles said they are not fast enough for some electronics. Lots of surge capacity, but not always fast acting.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-29-2013, 07:45 AM
 
Location: Austin, TX
15,268 posts, read 35,619,033 times
Reputation: 8614
Quote:
I was tempted to install a whole house unit, but some articles said they are not fast enough for some electronics. Lots of surge capacity, but not always fast acting.
My understanding (which may be quite wrong ) is that surge protectors are kind of a dice toss - whole-house or point of use surge protectors can often be too slow or inadequate for lightning strikes, depending on a lot of variables.

I, too, have gone, umm....many decades in Austin w/o loss due to lightning, but I admit that that may well just be good luck. OTOH, my homeowners insurance covers loss due to lightning, so I am not that worried about catastrophic loss (although the deductible would still apply).
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Texas > Austin

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 04:07 PM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top