A $20 power strip will not protect your air conditioner, your oven, or your EV charger. Whole-home surge protection guards everything attached to your electrical system, not just what is plugged into a wall.
Most people think a surge protector is the strip under their desk. That is point-of-use protection, and it only covers a fraction of what is at risk.
The most expensive equipment in your home is hardwired directly into the electrical system. No power strip can help these devices.
$3,000 - $8,000 to replace
$1,000 - $3,500
$1,500 - $3,000
$400 - $1,200
$800 - $2,500
A whole-home surge protection device costs a fraction of replacing any one of these items. It is the cheapest insurance policy you can install.
A Surge Protective Device (SPD) is installed at your main electrical panel or at the meter base. When a voltage spike enters your system, the SPD detects it within nanoseconds and diverts the excess energy safely to ground before it reaches your home's circuits.
A voltage spike from lightning, grid switching, or an internal appliance reaches your panel.
The SPD senses the voltage anomaly in nanoseconds, far faster than any mechanical device can respond.
Excess voltage is shunted to the ground wire. Your circuits and devices see only safe, normal voltage.
Not all surges come from lightning. The most common ones come from inside your own home.
A direct or nearby lightning strike can inject tens of thousands of volts into your system. No SPD can survive a direct strike, but a whole-home device can often prevent total destruction of everything downstream. Houston sees significant lightning activity each year.
The power company switches circuits, cycles capacitors, and reroutes power throughout the day. Each of these events can send a surge through the grid into your home. These happen far more often than most people realize.
When your AC compressor, refrigerator, pool pump, or well pump cycles on or off, it creates a small surge that ripples through your home's wiring. These happen dozens of times per day and slowly degrade electronics over time.
Not all surge protectors are equal. These are the specifications that matter.
Type 1 installs before the main breaker, at the meter or service entrance. It catches surges before they reach the panel. Type 2 installs after the main breaker, on the panel bus. Both are effective. Type 1 offers the earliest interception point.
Measures total energy absorption capacity over the device's lifetime. Higher is better. Quality whole-home SPDs are rated for 40,000 to 100,000+ joules. This is orders of magnitude beyond what a power strip can handle.
Measured in nanoseconds. Quality SPDs respond in under 5 nanoseconds. The faster the response, the less of the surge that gets through. This is a non-negotiable spec.
The maximum voltage your equipment will see during a surge. Lower is better. Look for a VPR of 600V or below for Type 2, and 330V or below for point-of-use layered protection.
A quality SPD has an LED indicator showing whether the protection is still active. Surge components degrade over time. When the light goes out, the device needs replacement.
Top SPD brands include connected equipment warranties of $25,000 to $75,000 or more. Read the fine print. Proper installation by a licensed electrician is usually required for the warranty to be valid.
We install industrial-grade SPDs from manufacturers with proven track records. We match the device to your panel brand and your home's specific needs.
FirstSurge whole-home SPDs. Type 1 and Type 2 options. Compatible with Siemens panels and many others.
By Schneider Electric. HEPD line of residential surge protectors. Seamless integration with Square D panels.
Comprehensive Type 1 and Type 2 SPD lineup. Strong warranty programs and reliable performance.
Complete home surge protection line. Type 1 and Type 2 options with robust connected equipment warranties.
If you have invested in a generator, solar array, or battery backup system, a whole-home SPD is essential. These systems contain sensitive electronics, inverters, and transfer switches that are just as vulnerable to surges as your TV or computer.
A single surge can destroy a $2,000 inverter or a transfer switch controller. The SPD costs a fraction of that and protects the entire system.
Solar and battery inverters are surge-sensitive. A Type 2 SPD on the panel protects them.
Automatic and manual transfer switches contain control boards that a surge can fry.
Standby generator controllers and battery management systems are expensive to replace.
A whole-home surge protection device is the cheapest way to protect your AC, appliances, electronics, and backup power systems. Installed by a Master Electrician in under an hour.
Get Protected TodayLicensed Master Electrician | Electrical Contractor TECL #31608