Surge Protectors And Their Importance For You HVAC System


February 02, 2012

Your furnace, heat pump or air conditioner represents a major investment. Regular maintenance is important to keeping your heater and air conditioner running. Equally important is protection from power surges.

What is a power surge?

A power surge is a brief, momentary spike in voltage passing through an electrical line. Without going into too much detail, every appliance that uses electricity is designed to require a specific voltage and is plugged into a power outlet that delivers that voltage. A power surge produces more voltage than the appliance can handle, often resulting in damage to the electrical appliance.

What causes power surges?

Power surges can be the outcome of a variety of different things from weather conditions to bad wiring. No home is immune to power surges and all valuable appliances should have some sort of surge protection.

Common causes of power surges:

  • Lighting/Electrical Storms
  • Downed Power Lines
  • Faulty Wiring
  • Power Outages
  • Large Appliances Cycling On or Off
  • Power Plant Maintenance
  • Bad Electrical Components

The risk to your HVAC system

Just like your other valuable electronic devices (computers, televisions, etc.), your heating and cooling system can be harmed by power surges. If your heater or air conditioner is subjected to a large spike in voltage, the electric components of your system can be damaged or destroyed.

Even if your heater or air conditioner is not obviously damaged from one electric power surge, repeated spikes and surges will wear down your equipment more quickly. Therefore, it is important that all HVAC systems have surge protection.

How a surge protector works

Surge protectors are designed to protect sensitive electronic devices from power surges by grounding the additional voltage. A surge protector for an HVAC system will shut off your system to save its electrical components.

If your system has been shut down due to a power surge, make sure you restart it properly. The best way to do this is by contacting the HVAC professionals that installed your system. They will be able to walk you through the process.

All homes are subject to power surges and spikes. As a result, it is important for homeowners to make sure their HVAC system is correctly protected from electrical power surges.

We offer heating, cooling, and electrical solutions for Florida residents. If you haven’t already protected your HVAC investment with a surge protector, schedule an estimate with us today.

Posted in: Buyer's Guide

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