Short but dangerous bursts of electrical energy are more common than many people realise. The standard Australian home voltage is 240 volts, but when that voltage suddenly spikes above this level, it can seriously damage any device plugged into your power outlets. In fact, they are one of the top causes of house fires!
Protecting your home and valuable electronics from these unpredictable voltage spikes is essential, not just to save money on repairs or replacements, but also to keep your family safe.
The good news is that you can protect your appliances and home from these unexpected spikes with electrical surge protection. In this post, we cover why surge diverters are an essential part of your home’s electrical safety, how they work, and how you can choose the right protection.
Understanding Electrical Surges
Your home’s electrical system is designed to deliver a steady, reliable flow of electricity, but sometimes, that flow gets disrupted by sudden spikes in voltage known as power surges. These surges occur when the voltage rises unexpectedly above normal levels, putting your appliances and devices at risk of damage.
What Causes Electrical Surges?
Power surges can come from a variety of sources. One of the most powerful and destructive causes is lightning strikes, which send a massive burst of electricity through power lines and into your home’s wiring. Another common culprit is faulty or old wiring, which can create weak points with reduced electrical resistance, making your system more vulnerable to surges.
Other external factors include trees falling on power lines, animals interfering with electrical equipment, or accidents that disrupt electricity flow. Additionally, when power is restored after an outage, the sudden rush of electricity re-entering the system often causes surges too.
Types of Power Surges: External vs Internal
Power surges generally fall into two categories depending on their origin:
- External Surges: These originate outside your home and usually involve very high voltages. Causes include lightning strikes, changes in the utility grid, and damaged power lines or transformers. While rare, external surges can be extremely damaging, sending thousands of excess volts surging through your electrical system.
- Internal Surges: These surges start within your home’s own electrical network and actually account for a majority of all power surges. Internal surges tend to be smaller but occur much more frequently. Over time, these repeated small surges wear down the sensitive components in your electronics, shortening their lifespan.
Common Scenarios Where Surges Occur
Other common causes of electrical surges include:
- Appliance Cycling: When large appliances like refrigerators, air conditioners, or clothes dryers turn on or off, they can cause fluctuations in electricity flow that trigger surges.
- Electrical Overload: Plugging too many devices into one circuit can overwhelm your electrical system, increasing the risk of voltage spikes.
- Circuit Breaker Issues: Faulty or failing circuit breakers can expose your home’s wiring and appliances to dangerous voltage changes.
- Electronic Device Operation: Smaller, older household devices like hair dryers, toasters, and microwaves create minor surges every time they operate.
What Is A Surge Diverter And Why Does It Matter?
Unlike a basic power strip, a surge diverter actively protects all your appliances and electrical equipment by safely diverting excess electricity away from your wiring and devices, preventing costly damage.
When the voltage in your home’s electrical system rises above safe levels (typically over 275 volts in a standard 240-volt system), the surge diverter automatically activates. This quick response is essential for safeguarding electronics, especially those with delicate microchips that can be easily damaged by power surges.
Most surge diverters use specialised components like Metal Oxide Varistors (MOVs) or Gas Discharge Arrestors (GDRs):
- Metal Oxide Varistors (MOVs) absorb excess voltage and channel it safely to the ground, acting as a “shunt” resistor.
- Gas Discharge Arrestors (GDRs) contain gas that becomes conductive during voltage spikes, allowing the surge current to pass through to the earth until normal voltage levels resume.
Surge Diverters vs. Regular Surge Protectors
Surge diverters and surge protectors are similar in that they both work to defend your electrical devices from damaging voltage spikes. However, the key difference lies in their scope and installation.
Portable Surge Protectors often look like power strips with extra sockets. They are designed to protect individual appliances or groups of devices plugged directly into them – think your computer, TV, or gaming console. While these are convenient and affordable, their protection is limited to whatever is connected to the strip. They don’t safeguard your home’s overall electrical system or appliances that are hardwired into your walls, such as refrigerators, ovens, or air conditioning units.
On the other hand, Surge Diverters provide a much broader level of protection. Professionally installed at your home’s main electrical switchboard by a licensed electrician, surge diverters protect every device and circuit connected to your home’s electrical network, including the wiring, fuse boxes, and hardwired appliances. Because they intercept surges at the main entry point of electricity into your home, surge diverters prevent dangerous voltage spikes from spreading throughout your electrical system.
Why Surge Diverters Matter for Your Electronics
Surge diverters help prolong the lifespan of your electronics by preventing damage to sensitive circuit boards caused by power surges. Repeated small surges can silently degrade your appliances over time, leading to premature failure, even if they appear to survive initially.
Key Benefits Of Using Surge Diverters At Home
Modern homes are filled with sophisticated electronics that are more vulnerable to power surges than older appliances. While many of us assume our electricity flows steadily, the reality is that voltage constantly fluctuates and can produce harmful spikes. Installing a surge diverter offers essential protection against these electrical risks. Here’s why surge diverters are a smart investment for your home:
Protects Sensitive Electronics
Today’s devices are packed with integrated circuits containing thousands, sometimes millions, of tiny components. These parts are highly sensitive to voltage changes and can malfunction or fail even after a small surge.
You might notice your keyboard becoming unresponsive, your screen flickering, or in the worst cases, your expensive electronics stopping altogether. A quality surge diverter detects these dangerous voltage spikes and redirects the excess electricity safely away from your valuable equipment.
Reduces Fire Hazards
Power surges are one of the leading causes of house fires. When circuits are overloaded by extra voltage, they can overheat and ignite nearby materials. Surge diverters play a critical role in reducing this risk by stopping surges from damaging appliances and overloading your home’s wiring. Designed to absorb or safely redirect energy surges, often handling at least 40,000 amps, surge diverters help protect your home and family from potential fire hazards.
Extends Appliance Lifespan
It’s not just the big, obvious surges that cause damage. Minor voltage fluctuations occur regularly. For example, when your air conditioner turns on and the lights dim briefly. These small but frequent “mini-surges” can gradually wear down the sensitive parts inside your appliances until they eventually fail. Surge diverters shield your devices not only from major spikes but also from these constant minor surges, helping extend the life of your electronics and saving you money on premature replacements.
Choosing The Right Surge Diverter For Your Needs
Having the right surge diverter is key to ensuring your home’s electrical system and appliances receive the best possible protection. Surge diverters come in various types, each suited for specific applications, and knowing the differences can help you make an informed decision.
Types of Surge Diverters
Surge diverters use different technologies depending on the level and nature of protection needed:
- Metal-Oxide Varistors (MOVs): These are the most common type and popular for good reason. MOVs can handle high-energy surges across a range of voltages, making them versatile for residential and commercial use.
- Silicon Carbide (SiC) Arresters: Designed for harsh or severe environments, SiC arresters provide excellent performance where surges are frequent or particularly intense.
- Gapped Arresters: These use intentional breakdown gaps that divert surge currents in high-energy applications, offering robust protection where extreme surges are expected.
- Variable Speed Drive (VSD) Surge Diverters: Specifically engineered to protect transformers, generators, and motors, VSD diverters handle complex surge patterns typical in industrial settings.
- Silicon Voltage Limiter (SVL) Surge Diverters: Ideal for applications that experience fast rise times but have relatively low energy surges, SVL devices offer precise protection in such scenarios.
Understanding Joule Rating and Clamping Voltage
When choosing a surge diverter, two technical specifications are particularly important:
- Joule Rating: This indicates how much energy the device can absorb before it fails. The higher the joule rating, the better the protection. For basic home electronics, a surge diverter with at least 600 joules is recommended. For expensive or sensitive equipment like computers, TVs, or home theatre systems, look for devices rated between 1000 and 2000 joules or more.
- Clamping Voltage: This is the voltage level at which the surge diverter activates to divert excess electricity. A lower clamping voltage means the device will respond more quickly to voltage spikes, providing better protection for your devices. Quality surge protectors often come with UL voltage let-through ratings of 330, 400, 500, or 600 volts.
Surge Protection Devices for Different Setups
Surge diverters are also categorised based on their installation location and the protection they provide:
- Type 1 and Type 2 Surge Protective Devices (SPDs): Installed at your home’s main electrical panel, these protect all circuits within your property. Type 2 SPDs with a discharge capacity of In > 5kA are suitable for standard residential distribution boards.
- Circuit Breakers and Short-Circuit Capacity: For office or commercial environments, circuit breakers often require a higher short-circuit capacity—typically 15-20kA—to handle larger surges. In residential settings, a 6kA rating is usually sufficient.
- High-Risk Areas: If you live in a region prone to frequent lightning strikes or unstable power supply, it’s advisable to choose surge diverters with higher discharge capacities and more robust protection features.
Installation and Maintenance Best Practices
The best place to install a surge diverter is at your home’s main switchboard, ideally right after the main switch but before any Residual Current Devices (RCDs). This allows the diverter to protect your entire electrical system from dangerous voltage spikes before they reach your wiring and appliances.
In a typical setup, the surge diverter connects between the phase and neutral at the main switchboard.
In addition to the main diverter, smaller two-port Surge Protective Devices (SPDs) can be installed at sub-distribution boards or equipment racks to provide targeted protection for sensitive electronics or specific circuits. However, no matter where you install surge protection, a proper grounding system is essential.
When to Replace Your Surge Diverter
Surge diverters have a limited lifespan and typically need replacement every 2 to 5 years, regardless of their outward appearance. Over time, the internal components degrade as they absorb surges, so regular replacement ensures your home remains protected.
Certain events can also dramatically reduce your surge diverter’s effectiveness. For example, a major electrical event like a lightning strike can drain its protective capacity, making immediate replacement necessary.
Signs Your Surge Diverter Needs Attention
Pay attention to these warning signs that your surge diverter may need servicing or replacement:
- Visible damage: Burn marks, melted parts, discolouration, or corrosion indicate the device has absorbed a surge and may no longer be effective.
- Indicator lights: Many surge diverters have indicator lights. A red light or no light at all often means the device has failed and requires replacement immediately.
- Unusual noises: Buzzing or humming sounds near your switchboard can signal electrical issues related to your surge protection system.
- Rusty or corroded outlets and plugs: These weaken your system’s grounding and can compromise surge protection, increasing fire risk.
Additional Tips for Protecting Your Appliances
While surge diverters provide essential protection against voltage spikes, more than one layer of defence is essential. This ensures that if one system were to fail, you have a backup!
- Unplug During Storms: The safest way to protect sensitive electronics during thunderstorms is to unplug them entirely. Even the strongest surge diverter can’t fully protect against a direct lightning strike. Disconnecting your valuable equipment during storms is the best safeguard.
- Manage Appliance Start-Up Times: To prevent internal surges caused by simultaneous power demands, start large, power-hungry appliances one at a time. After a power outage, wait 5 to 10 minutes before turning on your refrigerator, air conditioner, or other major devices instead of powering them all up at once.
- Avoid Overloading Circuits: How you organise and plug in your electronics matters. Never daisy-chain multiple power strips or extension cords, this can overload circuits and increase surge risk. Instead, spread your devices across different circuits to balance the load.
- Regular Electrical System Checks: Have a qualified electrician inspect your electrical system regularly. Homes over 20 years old often have outdated wiring that can’t handle modern electronics and may be prone to surges or faults.
- Maintain an Appliance and Surge Protection Schedule: Keep track of your devices’ age and condition, and maintain a schedule for replacing surge diverters before they lose effectiveness. Regular updates help ensure ongoing protection.
- Dedicated Circuits for Home Office or Entertainment: If possible, install dedicated circuits for your home office or entertainment systems. Separating these devices reduces the risk of surges spreading between different appliance groups, adding an extra layer of protection.
Using Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) Alongside Surge Diverters
Surge diverters guard against voltage spikes, while UPS systems provide backup power during outages by switching to battery power. Many homeowners wonder if using both together offers better protection.
- UPS surge protection is secondary: The primary function of a UPS is to supply temporary power, not surge protection. Relying on a UPS alone for surge defence isn’t recommended.
- Layered protection is best: Install an upstream surge diverter on the utility side of your UPS to handle most surge energy and extend your UPS’s lifespan. The UPS then manages any leftover surges, ensuring optimal safety.
- Avoid plugging surge protectors into UPS units, as this can reduce the effectiveness of both and may overload the UPS.
- This combination is especially important in data-sensitive environments or areas prone to severe weather, preventing data loss and equipment damage simultaneously.
Key Takeaways
Power surges are one of the biggest threats to your home’s electronic system, capable of causing costly damage and disruptions. Surge diverters serve as your first and most crucial line of defense against these unpredictable voltage spikes, protecting your valuable appliances and devices.
Without proper protection, your electronics are vulnerable to early failure and expensive repairs.
Investing in quality surge protection not only safeguards your equipment but also saves you money in the long run by extending appliance lifespan and reducing downtime.
Don’t wait for the next storm or unexpected surge to put your home at risk—get peace of mind today! Contact K&J Burns to install reliable surge protection on your property and keep your electronics safe for years to come.