As useful as electricity is, it can cause you significant losses if you aren’t careful. Electric surges can be a constant source of anxiety for anyone with modern appliances in their home; worse yet, office environments live in constant fear of their computers being affected by a sudden surge. Unfortunately, most modern devices are still vulnerable to electrical surges despite ever-evolving technologies. A survey showed that 82% of electrical contractors in Tampa, Florida believe that the installation of surge suppressors remains one of the most important electrical engineering services.
This is because it is not possible to accurately predict when a surge might occur. These accidents happen because of faults on the grid or when lightning strikes cause the entire network to surge. As such, it is very important to ensure that your appliances are protected. If not, be ready to call an emergency electric repair service provider.
Companies that offer electrical design services can help you protect your electrical appliances. Here’s how an electrician can help you prevent an electrical surge from ravaging your home or business.
Define the Area You Want to Protect
Once you have identified a competent electrical design services provider, you will need to work with them to determine the area that needs protection. This may range from one room to one floor; in some cases, it can encompass the entire building.
In industrial electrical work, the target area may be a single piece of equipment. This might include a fuse box or a main computer that integrates your network. Some experts recommend that you request your electrical design services provider to perform a Modified Rolling Sphere analysis to clear any doubt. Once the area that needs protection is determined, you can begin implementing designs that ensure your building’s safety.
Protect the Defined Area
The first step in implementing the necessary protective measures is the division of the target area to equipotential lines or surfaces. The purpose of establishing these equipotential zones is to allow for the bonding of both exposed and extraneous conductive parts. Extraneous conductive parts refer to all components in the house that can conduct electricity, even though they are not intended for electrical works. If left ungrounded, these extraneous conductors could be hazardous.
If you are not able to bond the cables directly, you can use transient earthing clamps to keep these cables grounded. These clamps can be used for temporary earthing of areas that would otherwise remain ungrounded under normal operating conditions.
Protect Cables and Power Lines
When lightning strikes coaxial cables, it can result in significant problems. If there is no protection, the wires and the equipment to which they are connected get destroyed.
Power surges also occur when power cables are struck by lightning. This is a common reason for homeowners to invest in whole-house surge protection, regardless of grid efficiency. If you are unable to do that, you could install a surge diverter to better distribute electrical surges. These gadgets are connected between each power phase and either the neutral or earth wire in the switchboard.
Companies offering electrical design services recommend that you install surge diverters at the point of entry or significant power distribution points. This location is ideal because it ensures that surge is suppressed before power reaches your household or industrial appliances, therefore, minimizing the risk of damage.
Other devices include surge filters. These differ a bit from surge diverters since they are connected in series with the power load. However, they are also very effective when it comes to protecting your appliance against both types of surges. In fact, some experts consider them to be very efficient because they have very low let-through voltages.
Do you want to learn more about surge protection? Rely on Kazar’s Electric when you want to take better care of your home or business.