You have put in a good holiday season unwrapping the latest TV, a gaming console or perhaps a new smart home hub. But with all that pricey equipment, it is only natural to be concerned a power flicker or an ill-timed storm might put it out of commission in a moment. You may also be left to wonder if your wiring can cope with the ever-increasing number of electronics you are putting to use.
Asking these things is prudent. We at Integrity Home Solutions see it as our job to put Tampa Bay homeowners’ minds at ease; our whole-home surge protection will do just that and our licensed electricians are on hand to field any questions at (813) 686-9908.
Consider this: each device you add to the house puts more load on your system. And they are not like the old appliances you are used to, being far more susceptible to a spike in power. The circuit boards in today’s electronics are too fine to tolerate a sudden change in voltage. In Florida we have plenty of thunderstorms to put that to the test, more so than one might think.
What constitutes a power surge?
In short it is a spike in the voltage running through your home. It is over in a fraction of a second but that is ample time to ruin something sensitive. Some are minor and you will never know they were there, then there are the big ones that can take out several devices in one go. They can be traced back to a host of things, from lightning in the vicinity of your home or the power lines, to utility grid switching when power is restored after an outage. Large air conditioners turning on and off can cause them, as can downed lines, transformer problems or circuits that are carrying more than their share. Not to mention faulty or old wiring within the house itself.
Do not be fooled by the plug-in strips with some surge protection; while they put up a bit of a defense for what is plugged into them, they will be no match for a substantial surge off a lightning strike.
The way whole-home protection works
This is put in at the electrical panel where the power comes into your house. It is a first line of defense against the major spikes, covering every circuit rather than one outlet. Should a surge make its way in, the unit will shunt the extra voltage to ground well away from your electronics. A lot of our customers will have this at the panel and then put a plug-in protector on their finer electronics for good measure.
That gives you a layered approach to protecting everything from your phone and tablet chargers to your streaming and sound systems, gaming consoles and computers. Your HVAC control boards, thermostats and security systems, even the digital controls on kitchen appliances, are all covered.
Florida homes have more need of it
There is no denying the lightning activity we get in Tampa Bay, the most in the nation for that matter. When the storms come in season, surges are a fact of life on the power lines. If you have made an investment in new gear, you should see to its protection.
Then again it is not a holiday thing. From the garage door opener to the refrigerator, your home is full of electronics. One large surge can run you thousands in damage. With whole-home protection installed once, you have something working for you in the background day in and day out.
Leave it to a pro
Because it involves your electrical panel, installing surge protection is not something you want to tackle on the weekend. You need a licensed professional to do it right. The men who come to your home from veteran-founded Integrity Home Solutions are fully trained, certified and insured and have been background-checked. Our electrical work is done under License EC# 13011308 and we are licensed in all four trades.
We keep 93 per cent of the parts you are likely to need on the truck so the job is done in one visit. We will give you an honest flat rate and an appointment window you can count on, with same-day service if needed. For emergencies we are open 24 hours since a surge does not care about business hours.
Make sure your electronics are not left exposed the next time a storm rolls in. Give us a call at (813) 686-9908 and we will put in place the whole-home surge protection to see your holiday purchases and the rest of your home in good order for years ahead.