Why whole house surge protectors are not enough

The link in my original post has become very popular but the blog has moved.  That same post is now here:

https://speakermakersjourney.blogspot.com/2023/10/time-for-new-surge-suppression.html

And also new writing here:

https://speakermakersjourney.blogspot.com/2024/05/whole-house-surge-protectors-are-not.html

I use both a type II (currently the Siemens FS140) and point of use (units vary). On my main system, I run a large (10kVa) iso transformer that is dedicated to the system and the manufacturer added a surge board inside the NEMA case, so all the lines coming off the transformer are theoretically protected.

I did experiment with various brands of point of use protectors on my main system when I was back in NY (where our power was iffy- old infrastructure along the Hudson north of the city) and could hear the effects of various units, which is one of the reasons I went with the Iso transformer approach when we moved to Texas. (The infrastructure where I am, close to the city is much newer and sounded "clean" when I first set up the system but was waiting for the transformer to be built and delivered, but the grid in Texas has some pretty well-documented issues that I won’t go into here).

If you talk to the folks at ZeroSurge, they will tell you that you need point of use rather than whole house because most surges are emanating from inside the house. And of course, a whole house SP won’t do much for a direct strike, but those aren’t that common (I do have a friend here who, within a year of buying a house had it hit by lightening which caused a large fire, and took 1.5 years to rebuild, so it isn’t out of the realm of possibility). 

When I was having the whole house back up generator installed, another rabbit hole to research given some of the problems Fremer claimed to have- which included degraded sound by the very presence of the auto transfer switch (ATS) in circuit, I worked out a plan that met code to wire the main system power from the incoming service before the ATS/generator. (Rex, who may be on these pages and was featured in the video of rewiring Framer’s house, consulted me at a very reasonable fee, using photos, drawings and phone calls). I worked closely with the electrical inspector here, to make sure everything was kosher. The hi-fi subsystem is NOT connected to the generator-- in fact, just the opposite- I wanted it as far away from the generator ATS in wiring as possible. The solution-- using an ATS with its own service panel-custom made by Square D for Kohler--made it far easier to do this- only those appliances connected to the ATS panel are generator supported. 

One of the reasons I raise the back up generator issue is that I wanted our our main floor air conditioning supported if we lost power during the summer and the generator has the capacity to do that. In researching air conditioning start up current, I found that older type units can draw crazy amounts of current on start up from a "locked rotor" type--which is probably dated. The units we use not only have variable speed fans but variable compressors which provide a soft start and ramp up and down based on sensors-- tons of semiconductors in these but they provide very even air distribution. (Our furnaces are gas, so very little electrical draw).

I’m not an electrician and not an EE, but am very respectful of electricity. I do think our hi-fi systems "ride the rail" and depend on clean power. When we go into brown out conditions during peak summer, I simply don’t use the main system at all. Brownouts can also do damage to sensitive equipment. I do have a UPS sine wave output device connected to the main ethernet router and wi-fi antenna, mainly so we don’t suffer an ethernet loss during the switch over from utility power to generator power. (It's not because I want to cruise social media in the midst of an outage, but the security system, cameras, zone sensors and the like all depend on ethernet and wireless comms). 

Sorry for the long saga but thought I would share my experience. I have not tried the latest generation of audiophile power conditioner/surge protectors simply b/c I have no need for them. The main system is extremely efficient at 104db and you can hear any gremlin, from the grid or an appliance. The system, when all is operating properly, is dead quiet. 

Good luck, stay safe and if I have any wisdom to impart it is that Code is a minimum, and largely for safety, not sonics. So you have to meet and exceed code in my estimation without going nuts. 

@whart ,

You seemed to have covered all the bases, Kudos.

Bob

If you talk to the folks at ZeroSurge, they will tell you that you need point of use rather than whole house

I am so disappointed in their marketing.  They miss the point entirely, and make it an either this OR that argument when it should be this AND that.

Many have unfortunately been sold on whole-house solutions being all they need, which is not true.  It’s also not true that point of use is enough, especially with so many devices we use not easy to protect with a strip.  Where the surge starts from is not that relevant IMHO.

In any event, I cover the physics in my blog.

You bring up brownouts.  This is why I recommend that the top of the line Furman with voltage regulation is the way to go.  We have all sort of power issues, from summer sags to power explosions, car accidents, thunder storms and recently had nearly 70 MPH gusts of wind.  I don’t always know what’s going to hit when so I rely on Furman with AR (voltage regulation), LiFT (noise removal), SMP (series mode surge protection and EVS (Extreme Voltage Shutdown).

About once a year EVS shuts my stereo down when I forgot I had left it on.  Twice a month power goes off momentarily.  Sometimes from storms, usually not.