I've updated my whole house surge protection page.
https://speakermakersjourney.blogspot.com/2022/04/whole-house-surge-suppression-for-geeks.html
Whole House Surge Arrester
I was looking into getting a whole house surge arrester. The only issue that I ran into was the limited warranty of 5 years. Basically - what that means is that I will have to change out/replace the arrester every 5 years (by a certified electrician) if I want the warranty. It's probably $150-$200 labor cost to install (plus the cost of the arrester ~$200), but still seems like an unnecessary expense. I looked around, but it seems that the 5 year warranty seems pretty standard. Anybody install one with a 10 yr/> $50k warranty?
Thanks in advance.
Showing 5 responses by erik_squires
To clarify what @ejr1953 is saying, WHSPs wear out. That's the joules rating. They can wear out from one big surge or a bunch of little one's over time that add up. Unlike biological entities, WHSPs don't heal. Once the MOV takes a surge, even a small one, it has begun to degrade. The Leviton units with replaceable MOV modules are pretty cool in that they are meant to be replaced by your average homeowner, but are they even available in the US? |
I want to point out something that is often overlooked. Whole-house surge protectors do protect everything from surges outside and inside, BUT, they have typically have high let-through voltages of 600V. They may list 150V MOV’s but the listed let through is what’s important. You get great protection for major appliances, fire alarms, home automation, etc. but not really very good protection for delicate equipment with semiconductors that can die with an extra 20 V across their terminals. Read the recommendations and instructions carefully and read the equipment warranties with this in mind. |
PS - A number of makers make in panel surge protectors which are, generally, easy to install. They take the space of 2 breakers, but it is recommended that they be installed as close to the power source (usually at the top, but could be the bottom) as possible. You may need to move other breakers out of the way. One other thing, several regional power providers offer whole house protection as a rental. ~$10 a month or less, and may include cable surge protection as well. I've seen it called Surge Guard by some power providers. My own has no such program. |
AFAIK, all of the Siemens residential surge protectors are 10 years. While the BoltShield units require a Seimens panels, the FirstSurge units can be fitted to any panel. It's quite possible the surge protector lasts longer than 10 years, but you are right about the equipment replacement warranty not lasting any longer than that. Personally, and I'm not talking about Siemens, I've found the stories about the fine print, and difficulty in getting equipment replaced under warranty too much for me. I install it myself and let the chips fall where they may. Of course, the correct thing to do is to always get a licensed electrician to do all your work. Do as I say, not as I do here. 😂 |