Common Electrical Problems: Frequent Home Power Surges
Power surges are one of the common electrical problems that can occur in your home. They happen when the power going to an outlet exceeds 169 volts, which is the highest voltage an outlet is supposed to support. Several different factors can cause a home power surge, and sometimes you can prevent it.
What Causes Power Surges
There are a few external sources that can cause power surges. They can occur from your electric company switching from one power grid to another. Malfunctions in a transformer or transmission line can also be a cause. Lightning strikes can also cause powerful and unpredictable power surges.
There are sources of power surges in the home as well. Large electrical appliances can cause surges when they are being turned on or off. Appliances like air conditioners and refrigerators require larger motors that need more energy to turn them on and off.
As you can see, some of these situations are out of your control, but you can prevent the surges in your home. The first step to fixing these electrical problems is learning how to notice them. After that, you can start learning how to prevent them.
How To Notice Power Surges
On appliances where there is a screen or a time, the screen will most likely be flashing. It will look like you had a power outage, but there won’t be a reported power outage in your neighborhood. It’s also possible that your appliance or device will be off completely, and it may not turn back on.
If the surge affected a power strip, you might have to reset that power strip to turn it back on. Finally, you may experience a burning smell near the affected outlet or appliance because the high voltage can burn some wiring.
How To Prevent Power Surges
While there are some electrical problems that you can easily prevent, power surges are not one of them. Many external factors are coming in from outside of the home that you can’t avoid. There is no way to protect against a transformer malfunction or a lightning strike.
On the other hand, there is something you can do about potential power surges inside your home. You can purchase and install a surge protector. There are several different kinds of surge protectors, and each one can protect you from power surges.
Types Of Surge Protectors
If you want to be careful and completely protect your home, you can have a whole-house surge protector installed. Your electrician will install it on your fuse box in your home. The goal of this surge protector is to prevent surges from ever entering your home.
If you’re looking for an affordable and familiar option, you’ll want to get a power strip with built-in surge protection. When you’re buying these power strips, make sure that the power strip you purchase has the added surge protector. Not every power strip is a surge-protecting power strip.
Transient Voltage Surge Suppressors are another type of surge protector. Instead of being installed into the fuse box, like a whole-home surge protector, it’s installed directly onto the electrical outlets in your home. They can come with a light that is triggered when a surge has ensued. The downfall with these protectors is that their effectiveness can decrease once a surge occurs, so you may have to replace them more often.
When you need help with your surge protector installation, call a professional electrician. Don’t accidentally cause more electrical problems while you’re trying to prevent them!
Electricians In South Florida
If you are unsure whether or not your home is affected by electrical problems, including power surges, you need to call an electrician. Trust the experts at Art Plumbing, Air Conditioning & Electric to identify your home’s electric issues and fix them. We can also install any surge protectors you need. Call us today at 1-800-475-1504 to schedule an appointment.
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