From computers to home entertainment systems to smart home technology, electronics have become an important part of our lives in today’s fast-paced world. Whether at home or at work, surge protectors function tirelessly behind the scenes to help us safeguard our electronics from power surges, a common threat that can cause damage, data loss, and even fires. Not only do surge protectors work, but they work extremely well. Here’s a quick rundown to explain the many ways they do that.
How Do Surge Protectors Function?
The primary purpose of surge protectors is to defend electronics from dangerous power spikes. A power surge can occur for various reasons, including lightning strikes and power grid malfunctions, and the causes are normally beyond your control. When these spikes happen, surge protection can help in all of the following ways:
Voltage Diversion
When a power surge occurs, electrical voltages can spike beyond normal levels. This burst of electricity can overwhelm electronics, leading to irreversible damage. Surge protectors are equipped with components specifically designed to counter this by diverting excessive electrical energy away from outlets and electrical devices toward somewhere it can’t cause any damage.
Quick Response Times
Surges happen quickly and normally within seconds, so to prevent damage from them, surge protectors need to have very fast reaction times. When considering the time that it takes for these helpful devices to jump into action, we’re talking nanoseconds, or an almost instantaneous reaction. This swift response time is crucial, and it’s normally so quick that most homeowners won’t even notice when they’ve activated and performed their job.
Reducing the Risk of Fires
Power surges can not only damage electronics but also cause fires in homes, making them incredibly dangerous events in some cases. Electronics can experience overheating and overloaded circuits, and this can result in the melting of insulation and small fires within the electronic devices, which can then spread throughout a home. Surge protectors offer an added layer of protection to reduce the risk of fires by preventing the electrical damage that sometimes results from these types of scenarios.
What Are the Benefits of Surge Protection?
Now that you know how surge protectors work, here are some of the many benefits they offer:
Preventing Damage and Loss
One of the more obvious benefits of surge protection is that it can protect our valuable electronic devices from damage or destruction. Instead of becoming overwhelmed with too much electricity during an unexpected power surge, our electronics can remain protected by the buffer that surge protectors provide, which can prevent their catastrophic loss.
Not only can this type of protection prevent damage to a device, but it can also protect data on the device as well. Regardless of whether you’re charging your smartphone or keeping a computer or laptop plugged in, data you’ve saved on these devices (files, videos, and pictures) can all become lost if the device isn’t properly buffered by a surge protector.
Extending Device Life Span
As previously stated, surge protectors can protect electronics, and for this reason, they can also extend the life span of these electronics. While the damage from some surges can be immediately obvious, such as when a laptop is affected and no longer powers on, surges can also cause damage that isn’t noticeable at first but that causes wear and tear on electronics over time.
Some devices may stop working years later after many power surge incidents, and you may mistakenly assume that they have failed due to age. Surge protectors can prevent this type of gradual wear and tear, which can help you extend the longevity of many electronics.
Offering Cost-Effective Protection
Surge protection can also help you save money, which is a major reason many people choose to invest in it. Compared to the cost of replacing damaged electronic devices, surge protection can be an incredibly cost-effective solution. Also, while some manufacturers of electronics offer additional protection plans for their equipment, such as accidental damage insurance or antivirus software, these types of offerings normally only provide benefits for a single device, and their protection doesn’t typically cover damage from surges.
While surge protection is not an alternative to these forms of protection, it can offer reliable protection against surges for multiple devices, not just one. This makes it a wise investment for homeowners and business proprietors looking to safeguard their electronics without breaking the bank.
Providing Versatility and Convenience
Not everybody’s wants or electrical systems are the same, and while one person may need basic protection, others may require additional features. There’s a surge protection device to suit just about every need, and after a quick discussion and assessment, we can go over all your options with you to tailor our services to your setup and preferences.
Surge protection is considered convenient and hassle-free for the simple fact that you don’t have to do anything once it’s installed. You can easily go about your days and nights using your electronics while a surge protector stands guard in the background, and you’ll likely forget that it’s even there doing its job unseen and out of the way.
Whole-House Protection
While basic surge protectors offer multiple outlets and are limited to specific areas of a room or building, we offer protection for the whole house or office. Our well-trained and qualified electricians can set up surge protection by hardwiring it to your electrical system.
This offers the benefit of never having to worry about whether there are enough safe outlets available or whether you’ll have to move a surge protector to a different room. Every single outlet in your home or office can automatically receive 24/7 protection. This provides you with peace of mind as a homeowner or business owner.
Protection During Renovations
A common issue we often see is when a home needs to be renovated but there’s no surge protection in place to protect the electronics. Home renovations often require extensive electrical work, which can create a higher risk of power surges as changes are made to the electrical system.
There may be times when you want to install a new lighting fixture or bring home a new smart home device. With surge protection in place, you can renovate, introduce new electronics into your home, or move things around and plug devices into different outlets as needed without worrying about surges.
Reach Out to Local Professionals
Besides dealing with home electrical systems, our team at Mackey Services also performs electrical repairs, puts in generators, and installs EV charging stations. Some of our other specialties include HVAC repair, installation, and maintenance, and even landscaping. Surge protection is crucial to protecting both your electronics and your home or office from the permanent damage and potential fire hazards that power surges can cause, and we’re experts in the field who are ready to assist. To see how our surge protection services can help you anywhere in Dickinson or the Greater Houston area, go ahead and contact us today at Mackey Services to arrange a consultation.
