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According to a WFAA TV news report, a power surge caused by the malfunction of an Oncor power line transformer in Dallas led to thousands of dollars in damage to electrical appliances of local residents.
While Oncor accepted blame for the incident, they did NOT accept liability, citing the Tariff for Electric Service approved by the Public Utility Commission of Texas. At least one resident's insurance claim was denied, leaving the homeowners to foot the bill for the costly replacement of all the electronic appliances...
How can this be avoided? As it turns out, rather simply. Think: "Surge Suppressor". This is an appliance designed to protect electrical devices from voltage spikes, by attempting to regulate the voltage supplied to the device by either blocking or shorting to ground voltages above a safe threshold. They come in all shapes and sizes (and, of course, prices...), so shop around to get just the right ones for your needs (and pocketbook).
In many cases, a simple, single-outlet surge protector (or a power bar with built-in surge suppressor for connecting multiple small appliances) will suffice, and will also be the most economic option. For larger, more important (and costly) appliances (e.g. computer), the extra expense of an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) might be warranted - this is an electrical apparatus that provides emergency power to a load when the input power source -- typically the utility mains -- fails. An Uninterruptible Power Source differs from an auxiliary or emergency power system in that it will provide instantaneous protection from input power interruptions by means of one or more attached batteries (hence the popularity of such devices for computers -- not only does it protect the computer from power surges, it also prevents you from losing your work if the power goes out).
Yes, you may have to fork out a little extra cash for these surge suppressors, in addition to the hard-earned money you've already spent on all your appliances, but knowing that incidents such as that reported in the story linked above really can and do occur, just think of it as a worthwhile investment in the future of those appliances...
Posted on July 7, 2010 Tweet
Protect Your Electrical Appliances From Power Surges!
According to a WFAA TV news report, a power surge caused by the malfunction of an Oncor power line transformer in Dallas led to thousands of dollars in damage to electrical appliances of local residents.While Oncor accepted blame for the incident, they did NOT accept liability, citing the Tariff for Electric Service approved by the Public Utility Commission of Texas. At least one resident's insurance claim was denied, leaving the homeowners to foot the bill for the costly replacement of all the electronic appliances...
How can this be avoided? As it turns out, rather simply. Think: "Surge Suppressor". This is an appliance designed to protect electrical devices from voltage spikes, by attempting to regulate the voltage supplied to the device by either blocking or shorting to ground voltages above a safe threshold. They come in all shapes and sizes (and, of course, prices...), so shop around to get just the right ones for your needs (and pocketbook).
In many cases, a simple, single-outlet surge protector (or a power bar with built-in surge suppressor for connecting multiple small appliances) will suffice, and will also be the most economic option. For larger, more important (and costly) appliances (e.g. computer), the extra expense of an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) might be warranted - this is an electrical apparatus that provides emergency power to a load when the input power source -- typically the utility mains -- fails. An Uninterruptible Power Source differs from an auxiliary or emergency power system in that it will provide instantaneous protection from input power interruptions by means of one or more attached batteries (hence the popularity of such devices for computers -- not only does it protect the computer from power surges, it also prevents you from losing your work if the power goes out).
Yes, you may have to fork out a little extra cash for these surge suppressors, in addition to the hard-earned money you've already spent on all your appliances, but knowing that incidents such as that reported in the story linked above really can and do occur, just think of it as a worthwhile investment in the future of those appliances...