Is A Dedicated Breaker Necessary for A Whole Home Surge Protector?
From its beautiful beaches, theme parks, and warm climate, Florida is known for many things. Unfortunately, some things are not quite so flattering. In addition to its picturesque beaches, exciting theme parks, and nearly year-round warm climate, the Sunshine State has a reputation for being the “lightning capital” of the U.S.
According to a study published by Accuweather, the world’s most recognized and used source of weather forecasts and warnings, Florida averages around 3,500 cloud-to-ground lightning flashes per day and 1.2 million flashes per year. Often accompanied by thunderstorms, these lightning flashes pose serious risks to individuals, animals, and property, especially homes.
What Happens When Lightning Strikes a Home?
According to the Insurance Information Institute (III), there were an estimated 4,780 lightning-related homeowner insurance claims filed in Florida in 2024, the highest number filed in the U.S. Most homeowners file insurance claims when their home, its possessions, or both are severely damaged or outright destroyed by a lightning strike.
To get a sense of just how devastating lightning strikes can be when they hit a home, we need only look at an article published by Progressive Insurance. It revealed that external power surges caused by lightning strikes can result in fires, burns, and explosions.
They can also damage items plugged into the home’s outlets. That’s because external power surges can cause the following:
- Damaged plumbing – Among the many other things that make lightning strikes dangerous is their ability to send powerful electrical currents through a home’s plumbing system. That current can damage plumbing fixtures, such as metal and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipes, and major appliances attached to a home’s plumbing system, like water heaters, well pumps, washing machines, and dryers.
- Damaged wiring, electronics, and appliances – Lightning carries enough electrical current to overload a home’s electrical system. When this happens, it creates a power surge that can damage wiring, electronics, and kitchen appliances.
- Heating the air – Lightning can heat air by as much as 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit, roughly five times hotter than the surface of the sun. When air becomes that hot, it can ignite wood, roofing, insulation, and other building materials and cause a fire.
- Shockwave Damage – Sometimes, the explosive force of a lightning strike will generate shock waves that can cause structural damage to a home. That damage can be in the form of shattered or cracked bricks, concrete, stone, or even windows. The combination of lightning and shock waves can also weaken or destroy the chimney, walls, or foundation of a home.
Why Internal Power Surges Can Be Just as Dangerous as their External counterparts
While external power surges triggered by lightning strikes are concerning, they are not the only things Florida homeowners should worry about. Internal power surges can wreak just as much havoc on a home. These surges are often a byproduct of a temporary overvoltage within a home’s electrical system, usually caused by refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines, and other household appliances turning on or off.
This cycling on and off can sometimes alter the amount of electrical current appliances draw, damaging not only the appliance but also other items plugged into outlets in the home, all of which increases the risk of fires and explosions. Faulty wiring and having too many devices plugged into a single outlet can also cause an internal power surge.
How a Surge Protector Can Protect Your Home and Its Contents Against Dangerous Power Surges
The single best thing homeowners can do to protect their home and belongings is to invest in a surge protector device (SPD). There are three main types of surge protector devices: type 1, type 2, and type 3. Installed outside of a home, type 1 surge protectors are surge protectors that do a good job of handling larger, more significant surges in power. However, they are not as effective in preventing small eruptions.
Also known as voltage fluctuations, sags, swells, or transients, small eruptions are spikes in electricity caused by motorized appliances switching on and off, loose connections, faulty wiring, or electrical problems outside of the home, such as load changes on a grid that affect an entire neighborhood.
Type 3 surge protectors are essentially power strips equipped with multiple sockets that can power televisions, gaming consoles, laptops, and other electronic devices from a single source. While they do a good job of protecting against internal power surges, they don’t provide much protection against external ones. The best protection against external and internal power surges is a type 2 whole-home surge protector.
How Does a Whole-Home Surge Protector Work?
Whole-home surge protectors periodically monitor the main electrical panel in a home. If they detect a voltage spike, they prevent power surges that can damage electronics, appliances, and other devices plugged into outlets by diverting excess current through a grounding wire to a copper rod before safely dispersing it into the soil outside the home.
Does a Whole-Home Surge Protector Need a Dedicated Breaker?
A whole-home surge protector needs a dedicated breaker. A dedicated breaker ensures the surge protector operates effectively and allows it to be isolated for maintenance or in the event of a short circuit fault or an overcurrent fault without affecting other circuits.
Both short circuit and overcurrent faults can damage electrical wiring throughout the home, which can lead to fires, explosions, or both. They can also damage electronics and appliances plugged into any of the home’s outlets.
Speak With a Niceville Electrician Today
In summary, Florida experiences frequent lightning strikes that create power surges strong enough to severely damage homes through external power surges, causing fires, explosions, and structural issues. A whole-home surge protector with a dedicated breaker can protect homes against not only external but also internal power surges. To learn more, consider speaking with a Niceville Mister Sparky associate today.
