Living in Acacia Ridge means enjoying Brisbane’s subtropical lifestyle, but it also means preparing for frequent summer storms. With heavy rain, lightning, and blackouts, your home’s electrical system can take a hit. Power surges from these events may be brief, but the damage can be long-lasting. If you’re not already thinking about surge protection, now’s the time.
What Actually Causes a Power Surge?
A power surge is a short, sharp spike in voltage that travels through your home’s wiring. There are several ways surges can be caused, including lightning strikes, faulty wiring, power returning after a blackout, or simply overloading a circuit with too many plugged-in devices.
Interestingly, while storms are a well-known and most destructive culprit, most surges actually come from within your own home. Everyday activities like turning on a high-powered appliance or using worn-out electrical sockets can trigger a surge that quietly chips away at your electronics.
Even if your devices are switched off, they’re not always safe. Surges can reach internal circuits and damage components without you knowing, until the device fails.
What’s at Risk?
Power surges can affect many electronics, frying your computer, corrupting your TV, damaging your fridge, or killing your modem in one go. Anything with a circuit board is vulnerable. And when you think about how many electronics you rely on every day, the potential cost of unprotected systems adds up fast.
How Surge Protection Works
Surge protection acts like a safety valve. It detects when the voltage rises above a safe level, then diverts the excess electricity away, usually to the ground, before it reaches your devices.
There are two main types of surge protection devices:
Whole-House Surge Protectors
Installed directly at your home’s main switchboard, these offer broad coverage. They protect your entire home from large external surges like lightning or grid spikes. This is particularly useful in Acacia Ridge, where storms can hit hard and fast.
Plug-In and Powerboard Surge Protectors
These are great individual items or setups plugged into the same board like your computer, gaming setup, or home theatre system. They’re easy to use and ideal for protecting grouped electronics that tend to be more sensitive.
Choosing the Right Protection
Not all surge protectors are created equal. When you’re picking one, look out for:
- Joule Rating: The higher, the better. It tells you how much energy the unit can absorb before it needs replacing.
- Response Time: The faster it acts, the better protection it provides.
- Clamping Voltage: This is the point where it starts to work. Lower clamping voltage means it activates sooner.
- Indicator Lights: Handy for knowing if your unit is still doing its job.
- Outlets: Make sure there are enough outlets for what you need.
Don’t Wait for the Next Storm
Power surges aren’t always loud or obvious, but they can slowly destroy your devices behind the scenes or hit hard when you least expect it. If you’re living in Acacia Ridge, where unpredictable weather and lightning are part of life, surge protection should be a standard part of your home setup.
Just-In Time Electrical offers expert advice and professional installation of both whole-house and individual surge protection systems. Our team understands the electrical demands of local homes and can help you put the right solutions in place to keep everything running safely, no matter what the weather throws at you.
Just-In Time Electrical is your local leading electrical contractor based in Brisbane’s western suburbs. Just-In Time Electrical has been operating for over 12 years and draws on a combined knowledge base of over 30 years.
