How can you prevent power surge and current drop this wet season? How does a surge arrestor work and how can it prevent brown out? What is the difference between a surge diverter and an over voltage arrestor?
When it comes to the Northern Territory and your electric service, a surge diverter can be a great investment. During the wet season, the weather and the electricity grid can cause huge issues for our lifestyle and livelihoods. The costs of this interrupted power supply include everything from comfort to finances.
Tree limbs fall on power lines from peoples yards (mostly in Howard Springs). Cyclones blow in like random tradesmen from interstate leaving a trail of damage and then leave again.
Surge diverters are something we will all benefit from.
Installed in every switchboard and in every home, they should be standard in new home builds. A surge arrestor works in a way that doesn’t allow the power surge from getting past the point of entry. Remember it will not prevent power surges from appliances you are using inside your property. Remember – this is not something that protects your home from direct lightning strikes.
What is a surge ?
A power surge can be both an instant boost of power and it can also be an excessive voltage drop. A power surge can be caused by bringing online a large industrial machine with high current draw. Or plugging in an appliance that has a very high current draw for example; a welder. This causes a current drop and potential brown out in other areas of your electrical system.
Earth Hour – Random thought – we all become a huge load when the hour finishes. The world goes back to wasting power, air conditioners go on, TV, internet, computers creating a surge in power.
At the other end of the scale a surge can be caused by lightning or storms. Sometimes even a high power device, or a solar farm switched online in the grid causing the voltage to go up, this in turn can affect your appliances and electronics. Some appliances that are quite susceptible to power surges are air conditioners and refrigerators as well as electrical equipment with pc boards and digital readouts.
All these scenarios will cause you problems e.g: Lets say you live in an area where you have a higher amount of voltage at your power outlets. You will find your light fittings or lamps don’t last as long. Appliances fail more often due to burning out. Quite possibly your insurance premiums will be more each year.
So what can you do ?
Every switchboard you have installed in your home would benefit from a surge diverter. As will your comfort, as a blown air-conditioner requiring a refrigeration tech is less than enjoyable during the build up.
Your wallet will appreciate the added layer of surge protection, which in turn will save you from having to repair or replace devices in your home. Your workplace can run more efficiently due to having all office assets working and no computers or electronic devices offline.
How to prevent damage due to a power surge in your Palmerston Home.
The best way to negate possible damage from a power surge from affecting your devices is to unplug them completely rather than just switch them off at the wall. This is the only sure fire way to prevent damage due to irregular voltage. Until the possibility of wireless electricity arrives this is the only 100 percent proven protection.
Second to the above is a surge diverter or surge arrester in each switchboard where an earth stake is located. Basically a whole house surge diverter. One needs to be in every switchboard when the earth has not been carried or there is a separate earth stake at each location. This will give you the most cover which will better protect your appliances.
Thirdly and lastly is a plug in power surge protector otherwise known as a power strip surge protector. You can also get smart power strips with usb ports. These power strips give USB power surge protection also. These give some positives but are not able to hold their own like a whole house surge diverter that protects everything in a high voltage situation.
Something to think about – When it comes to power outages or surges make sure your insurance is up to date and covers you adequately. The health of your electrical circuit is equal to your comfort in most cases which in turn effects the cost benefit analysis on what is required to be repaired of replaced.
Speak to a Darwin Electrician and be prepared this wet season to enjoy a more comfortable existence.