[X4U] surge protection/ knob and tube

[John Azevedo]

On Jan 22, 2005, at 4:48 PM, John Park wrote:

>
> I want to protect myself against surge damage, and just read that one 
> could for about 500 bucks, have an electrician put in a device right 
> at the panel where the electricity comes into the house.
Here's a quote from a Whole house surge protector manufacturer:

Whole House Surge Protectors are a good idea! Every home should have 
one. But they also have limitations. Proper protection for the devices 
in your home takes a little planning and thought, it's not as simple as 
using only a "whole house" protector.

  In general, a whole house protector will protect very well AC only 
devices, such as appliances, air conditioners, etc. They are not as 
good for protecting electronics that are connected to more than power. 
You do need to separately protect your sensitive electronic equipment 
no matter what "whole house" surge protector you use. Whole house surge 
protection is a badly used term, no manufacturer can make devices to 
protect everything in your home from all sources, it doesn't work that 
way. As an example, even if you could successfully stop surges from 
getting into the house on a cable line, if a device connected to the 
cable line fails, it could send a damaging surge through the cable line 
within the house and fry other equipment. Or, your refrigerator could 
fail and send a surge though the power lines within the house, which 
will then also travel down any signal lines a device receiving the 
surge is connected to. Also, be aware that a whole house protector 
allows more voltage through than a point of use protector, this is not 
good for computers and home theater systems. But they are very useful 
for protecting all of the other devices in your house like appliances, 
air conditioners, etc., and for stopping outside surges as a first line 
of defense.