Surge protectors save your home appliances and gadgets from energy surges in your power line. They stop the excessive power by diverting it to their varistors. So, surge protectors are considered the ultimate savior for all the power grid problems your house is going to face. This is not true and these devices are very much prone to failure.
In this article, we will discuss some reasons that make your surge protectors ineffective and then have a brief look at the precautions you can take to ensure safety for your surge protector and electronic appliances.
When Do the Surge Protectors Fail?
To avoid damage to your devices, it is important to know about surge protectors. These are the conditions that can lead to the failure of surge protectors in saving your devices.
1. When They Have Low Joules Rating or the Joules Rating Wears Out
As you must be aware that all the surge protectors have specific joules rating which refers to their capacity to handle the excess voltage. Normally they are available above 400 joules ratings and can go up to 4000 joules or more. If total surges cross that particular mark, your surge protector will wear out.
Surge protectors divert the extra voltage they receive to the metal oxide varistor (MOV) and this surge degrades the MOV. Suppose your surge protector has a joules rating of 800. If a surge measuring 180 volts occurs in your electricity line, 180 joules out of 800 joules will wear out in the MOV. Your surge protector will be able to handle 620 volts more. It is going to be useless after that.
There is no way to find out the number of joules you have consumed. However, most of the surge protectors come with indicators so that you know when your device has worn out. But a lot of experts suggest to not believe in those indicator lights totally. Very old surge protectors too can have a 'protection' light turned on and your device will still be at high risk.
When you get the sense that your surge protector is old and has faced a lot of surges, get it changed. You should always go for a higher joules rating while buying a surge protector. It will surely depend on your budget and the frequency of power surges in your area as well.
2. High Power Surges
Very high power surges will result in the failure of your surge protectors. Sometimes the companies that supply you electricity switch their grids and in the course of doing so, sudden surges can occur in certain power lines.
If your home is not equipped with proper earthing and whole-home surge protectors, the point-of-use surge protector is bound to fail as it is not designed to handle huge power surges.
In most cases, the surge protector might protect your gadgets plugged into it but will become useless after that. So, after any major power surges, you are advised to get your surge protectors replaced.
3. When Lightning Strikes Directly on Your Power Line
Lightning brings millions of voltage of power to your power grid. If it strikes directly on your power line, it won't spare your surge protectors and the electronic equipment plugged in it. Even if there are whole-home surge protectors, the lightning might ruin your devices.
The chances of you facing the disaster are extremely low but there is no way you can protect your surge protectors if this happens. Some measures you can take here are to unplug your appliances and the surge protector when the weather is extremely rainy or cloudy. Make sure your home has a good grounding system. Also, if lightning strikes, replace your surge protectors immediately after the disaster.
4. When You Choose A Wrong Surge Protector
Most of the surge protectors, especially the point-of-use ones are pretty useless. They are sold because they just provide a sense of security. Many of them have low joules rating and their components like MOVs come with a low resistance to high voltages. If a power surge happens, they put all the appliances at risk.
To combat this, you need to choose a good surge protector. There is a range of things to look at when buying a surge protector, but from the perspective of safety, you should check the joules rating and the clamping voltage.
Conclusion
We found a detailed guide for you on SpecsTalk.com. Also, we would advise you to go with the branded surge protectors or the one with good reviews on Amazon. A surge protector should also have a warranty period and when it gets over, you must get a new one. To know what else you can do to protect your surge protectors and appliances, you can read the measures given below.
Precautions to Ensure Maximum Safety From Your Surge Protector
With the right safety measures, you can minimize the potential harm power surges can cause to your appliances. These are some precautions and suggestions to make sure you are using surge protectors the right way.
- Get a surge protector with a decent warranty period.
- Before buying a surge protector, check if it is approved by UL or ETL. ( Underwriter laboratories or Electrical Testing Laboratories)
- As discussed above, checking the joules rating and clamping voltage is important as well.
- Switch off your devices in case of heavy rainfall or storm-like conditions.
- Place surge protectors in such a position that the indicator lights are visible to you.
- Do not let the water or other liquids reach near the surge protectors. It can damage them permanently and cause a short circuit as well.
- Avoid using surge protectors on power strips and use a single power outlet for each surge protector.
