Spring Storms – Is Your Home Protected?

An article by Stacy Barry

Spring is finally here and as we say goodbye to the snow and ice we say hello to the season of thunderstorms and lightning. While Spring weather provides refreshing rains that bring our lawns and gardens back to life, it also produces lightning that can cause costly damage in your home. I hope this article offers you some helpful options of how to protect your possessions.

Storm Season is Upon Us…

Is your home and equipment protected from lightning & surges? Most people wait until they need something before they get it, however, in the case of surge protection, if you wait until you need then it’s too late. What is a surge? A surge is a high voltage spike that happens in a fraction of a second and can cause serious damage to electronic equipment. Seventy percent of all damage caused by surges occurs on the phone line and video cables. Surges are a major reason for sensitive equipment failure.

Did you know?

Many insurance companies give a discount for homes that have surge protectors at the main breaker box._
You get up to 30% more life out of your appliances and electronic equipment if you use surge protectors.
A lightning strike up to one mile away can do damage to your sensitive equipment.
That you can get peace of mind very inexpensively.

What are the causes?

Both lightning strikes and local power utility company “spikes” can enter your business or home through the electrical, cable television and telephone wiring and attack any components that are connected to them. Most electronic equipment manufacturers do not cover lightning strikes or other surges under warranty, leaving you with an expensive loss.

How can you prevent it?

First, you should know that sometimes nothing you do will prevent equipment damage when lightning makes a direct hit. However, most of the time, you can prevent or at least minimize the damage that occurs by installing quality surge protection products. The proper installation and use of these devices will remove the daily power surges & spikes from the utility companies and provide protection from lightning strikes as well.

Surge Protection is Key…

Installing surge suppression will protect sensitive electronic equipment, pre-wired security systems. It will also reduce equipment downtime, computer malfunction, computer logic loss, and equipment failure. Surge protection has been proven to extend equipment life and improve operating efficiency of air conditioning and refrigeration equipment too.

Hope this information is helpful!