For many of you, a power surge is what may happen if you or a neighboring property gets struck by lightning. In truth, very few properties are ever struck by lightning and those which are most likely to have lightning conductors. However, electrical items in our home are subject to power surges and changes throughout the day, although most of these are minor.

Surprisingly, whenever we switch on an electrical appliance, like a cooker or room heater, that creates a power surge as it creates a greater demand for power within your electrical system. Now many of you may have bought a power bar that has a built-in surge protector, but if there is a major power surge they are more likely to burst into flames than protect the electrical items connected.

If you want to spot tell-tale signs that there are power surges that you need to protect yourself against, check your outlets to see if there is any sign of scorching or overheating. This can most often be found if you have multiple appliances connected to one outlet, usually through overloading a power bar or adaptor. If you have a workshop that has power supplied through the same circuit as your home, then the use of heavy-duty power tools can also lead to frequent power surges.

While one power surge, unless a major one, is unlikely to cause permanent damage to appliances in your home, the constant bombardment of minor power surges will cause damage and lead to electrical faults that can be costly to repair.

The alternative is to fit a built-in power surge protector into your home’s electrical system. This may seem like a strange recommendation from a company that installs HVAC systems bit as they require electricity to power pumps, if not the whole unit, here at A&E Air Conditioning and Heating our engineers are qualified to work on electrical circuits. This is also because some of our more powerful HVAC units require a property to have an inbuilt surge protector.

If you would like to know more about power surges and the options available to protect yourself against them, please give us a call and we’ll be happy to provide you with all the information you will need.