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What
causes power surges and power spikes?
Power
surges and power spikes can occur at any time, not just when the
power is
restored after an outage. Surges and spikes can also result from
lightning strikes,
downed power lines, and even your household appliances.
Why do I
need special protection for my home?
With the
proliferation of sophisticated and expensive computers and
electronic
equipment found in so many of today’s homes, the protection of one
or more surge
protectors is a definite necessity.
Electronics are becoming increasingly sophisticated and utilize
technology that was
not even conceived of just five years ago. Items including
televisions, stereos,
modems, microwaves, home computers, VCRs, and telephone systems are
damaged by even small voltage changes. Part of the danger is that
the damage
from small surges can add up over time and may eventually shorten
the life of your
equipment or even destroy it.
Don't
fuses and circuit breakers protect against these surges?
No.
Fuses and circuit breakers (both thermal and magnetic) respond to
heat and
currents caused by faults within the home. They do not protect your
household
appliances and electronic equipment from surges and spikes that come
from outside
the home or through the phone or cable lines.
Is it
just my computer that needs protection?
No. Any
microprocessor device is vulnerable to damage or disruption and
should be
protected. You will also want to be sure to protect all phones, as a
person can be
seriously injured while talking on a phone during a storm.
What is a
microprocessor?
It is a
small computer processor contained on a single integrated circuit
chip.
Microprocessors are the heart of any computer or most other
electronic devices that
require more than simple ON/OFF control. Computer processors are
capable of
processing input data and responding with programmed decisions to
control a
device, such as an electronic coffee maker programmed to turn off
when brewing is
completed. Microprocessors can do three basic things:
perform mathematical functions,
move data,
make decisions and move to a new set of instructions based on
data.
What is a
transient?
A brief
(sometimes one second or less) spike or dip in electrical voltage
(strength)
or electrical current (flow).
A surge protector is necessary to protect electronics against
"dirty" electricity.
Electrical power has a standard voltage for most residential uses of
120 volts, and it
remains relatively steady. But when that power makes a sharp and
brief jump for
any of a variety of reasons, the resulting sudden alteration in
voltage can seriously
damage delicate circuits.
It doesn’t take much to damage electronic circuits. A surge is
defined as a voltage
increase that lasts for as little as three nanoseconds (one
nanosecond is one
billionth of a second), and significant damage can be done in that
miniscule amount
of time if the voltage surge is strong enough. A spike – which lasts
for only one or
two nanoseconds – can also do its share of damage, especially when
several spikes
occur repeatedly over an extended period.
Voltage surges and spikes occur for a number of reasons. Perhaps the
most
common is the sudden jump in voltage that occurs when high-power
appliances
such as refrigerators and air conditioners first start up. The
appliances need quite a
bit of electrical energy to activate compressors, and that sudden
and sharp increase
in flow through the lines will be felt by your electronics.
What does
the Whole House Surge Device protect?
The
whole house device is the first stage, heavy-duty filter for power
line
disturbances. It will help protect household items such as
refrigerators, freezers,
washers, dryers, dishwashers, trash compactors, air conditioners,
garbage
disposals, and electric stoves.
How do I
protect all my devices?
We
recommend a dual stage approach to protection against harmful
surges. We
recommend both stages in order to adequately protect your house form
the danger
of surges. The first stage is the whole house device that is
installed at the service
point entry, your electrical panel. This protects most of your major
appliances.
The second stage is the plug-in surge suppressor strips. We
recommend and
provide smaller surge suppression strips to protect your smaller
appliances and
sensitive electronic equipment. As long as you have both stages you
are getting the
best protection available.
How long
will my protection devices last?
Under
normal operation, the devices will operate indefinitely. The devices
have
been engineered by an industry leading manufacturer. A world class
test facility
assures maximum design efficiencies, and a factory following ISO
9001 process
controls, assures maximum accuracy, quality, and dependability. The
manufacturer,
Sycom, demonstrates its faith in the products with a lifetime
product warranty .
Is there
any other warranty?
Yes. All
devices provided by the manufacturer through our service carry a
limited
warranty from the manufacturer, Sycom Surge Protection. The panel-
mounted
surge protection device is covered by a lifetime warranty and a
$25,000 connected
equipment warranty. The items covered are your major, "white"
appliances such as
washer, stoves, dishwasher, microwave oven, air conditioning unit,
dryer,
refrigerator, and freezer. The point of use, plug-in surge
protection devices are
covered by a lifetime warranty also.
Can't I
just go buy surge strips at the dollar store? Why should I use
yours?
As with
just about everything, there is a high end and a low end to surge
protectors,
and you typically get what you pay for. Low-end surge protection
units offer very
little protection, and the circuits in the protector are prone to
quick failure.
For quality protection, the first thing you want to look for is a
surge protector that is
rated by Underwriters Laboratories (UL), which offers you the
assurance that the
unit has been tested and rated to meet certain standards. Any
UL-listed product will
be labeled as a "transient voltage surge protector," which means
that it meets or
exceeds a set of minimum standards.
Surge protector performance is rated three ways – clamping voltage,
response time
and energy absorption. The first, clamping voltage, tells you what
level of voltage
surge has to occur before the surge protector activates and diverts
the excess
voltage to ground. With this rating, the lower the voltage number is
the better the
surge protector will perform – it takes less of a surge to activate
it. For good
protection, especially for computers, look for a protector with a
clamping voltage of
less than 400 volts.
Response time is the amount of time it takes for the surge protector
to respond to
the surge. Obviously, a fast response time is important, so look for
a unit that will
respond in one nanosecond or less. Surge protectors are not made to
last forever,
so the third rating, energy absorption, indicates how much energy
the unit will
absorb before it fails. For this rating, look for a unit rated at
300 joules or better, up
to around 600 joules for even better performance.
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