During summer, the electrical grid is especially susceptible to swings in demand. While it’s easy to blame bad weather for the most evident of power woes, prolonged periods of calm, sunny, dry hot weather can be equally problematic for electronic equipment-after all, all those air conditioners, ceiling fans, pool filters and hot tubs turning on-and-off can generate dips and surges equal to those caused by severe storms.
As the weather begins to warm up and get hot, homeowners will begin to use more electricity, which may cause a surge.
These surges can literally destroy expensive electronics! You need a whole house surge protection system in order to combat these surges. The inexpensive power strip-type protectors provide little or no protection. You can get 30% more life out of your appliances and electronics if you use a New Orleans Whole House Surge Protection.
Throughout our many years of experience we have learned that by taking certain preventative measures such as correcting a minor electrical problem, costly repairs and replacement of parts can often be avoided. New Orleans Surge Protection is vital to the health of your electronic equipment. Trinity Electric offers a full line of surge protectors to fit your individual needs and budget.
If you are looking for a New Orleans electrician please call us today at (504) 305-1222 or complete our online service request form.
Surge Protection & Lightning Protection Systems
Surge protection has always been closely linked to lightning protection systems due to the logical link between the management of, and protection against, substantial fault currents. It is pertinent to consider that a structure is usually at greater threat from lightning surge current damage than from the threat of a direct lightning strike.
The previous iteration of lightning protection standard, BS 6651, held information on integrating surge protection devices within an appendix; however BS EN (IEC) 62305 now holds surge protection as a distinct aspect of the standard (part 4), which must be addressed in any structure that claims to be compliant with this standard. BS EN (IEC) 62305-4 recommends a number of methods to protect against transient overvoltages cause by lightning, such as effective earthing and bonding, electromagnetic shielding and line routing, and importantly coordinated surge protection devices; these measures directly impact on the performance of the internal measures of a lightning protection system. The function of the internal lightning protection system is to prevent dangerous sparking between areas of differing electrical potentials, and to prevent the fault currents causing damage in the form of fires, explosions or equipment damage.
A philosophy which underpins the whole of BS EN 62305 is that of lightning protection zones. The concept is that any complex, facility, building or room can be split into zones which have different requirements for lightning protection, and then appropriate protection measures can be broken down into that particular zone. A building may have an external lightning protection system that will stop the building from being damaged, or catching fire. Inside the building there may be equipment such as a computer server within a dedicated room. The server will need further protection to ensure that it is protected from surges, therefore being a lightning protection zone, within a lightning protection zone. It is always worth remembering to attempt to surge protect locally to equipment to ensure that it is managed effectively, and to avoid allowing fault currents inducting downstream of the surge protection device.
Surges can carry through data, power and telephone lines and it is prudent to install surge protection measures on the local power supply to vital equipment, any electronic equipment outside the main structure; particular attention should be given to cables which penetrate the external envelope of the structure. Examples of such items can include CCTV systems, air handling units, power, data and telecom lines, meteorological sensors, aerials, antennas or satellite dish receivers.
About Surge Protection
Transient overvoltages are significant increases in voltage that occur in fractions of a second and can cause devastating damage. But where do surges come from? Like with all threats, to manage them effectively it is vital to establish their origins. There are two main sources of transient overvoltages being the consequential impacts of lightning strikes (which can occur in excess of a kilometre away from the location of the surge); or through switching of sizeable loads be they transformers, large motors, light-rail systems, or through capacitive loads through the power supply.
Fault currents can cause fires, explosions, the destruction or degradation of electronic equipment or components and can lead to operational downtime, the destruction of machinery or a facility, or even loss of human life. Surge damage is a major factor cited by insurance company as reasons for claims, and what is disappointing about this fact is that they can nearly always be avoided. Surge damage is now a more pressing threat than ever before due to the increased linking and networking of electronic systems, the increased integration density of microelectronic components and the greater presence and incorporation of electronic systems.
Surge damage is not always visible, or immediately acknowledged. Sometimes a series of surges over a period of time can degrade a system without any noticed loss of function, yet the system may continue to deteriorate to a point where even a slight fluctuation can result in complete system failure. As so many of our building systems are networked or integrated within one another this presents further potential problems, as a surge on a network may damage every element as opposed to just the first element it encounters.
It is essential to remember that external lightning protection systems, be they comprised of copper tape, or similar, are designed to channel the fault lightning current safely to earth. However, they cannot prevent fault currents being inducted through the electromagnetic field of the current into various power or data cables, or through other conductive elements.
WE OFFER A PREMUIM SURGE PROTECTION SYSTEM THAT WILL GAURENTEE YOU YOU HOME UP TO $ 100,000 IN CONTENTS IF THERE PRODUCT FAILS UNDER A SURGE!
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