Home Surge Protection
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Robert_Farbe]Robert Farbe
Do you use surge protectors? Do you know what they are? Surge protectors are like a TV. People want them but don't understand how they work. Most people don't even care how they work. Let me help you understand it is and why you need them in your home.
It can also be called a surge suppressor. It is a device that protects electrical devices from voltage spikes. Basically, it protects your appliances. Wikipedia describes it as attempting "to limit the voltage supplied to an electric device by either blocking or by shorting to ground any unwanted voltages above a safe threshold."
Surge Protectors and Lightning Arresters
There are protection devices available for photovoltaic or PV systems and they are ones available for your home.
You can have a protection device for lighting on your solar powered system located on the disconnect box. The lightning arrester is much more important than a surge protector for solar. Lightning is a big problem with photovoltaic. Lightning arresters protect your appliances. They are a way of protecting lightning strikes and a way of protecting surges. Sometimes surges are caused by lightning strikes.
Lightning can hit in different places. It can hit your modules directly or it can strike close to your inverter. Lightning can also strike the low voltage conductors. These lightning strikes are probably not covered unless you have insurance from your homeowners' policy for you solar system.
How many surge protectors do you need?
That would depend upon the distance between the solar panels and the inverters. If it's less than 30 feet, then you need one protection device. If it's greater than 30 feet, you would need 2 protection devices. On one solar powered system, you can have a surge protector in the panel and have 2 lightning arresters, one on each array which is the best place to put them. If lightning happens to strike the array and get in the voltage, they would be isolated.
Within the electrical field, you have to bond the neutral at the source but when installing solar you don't have to bond it. That bonding is the main cause of electrical failure today caused by lightning strikes. It gives it an easy path to travel.
Whether or not you have solar, you should have a surge protector at your main panel. It is best to have an electrician install it.
Is there anything else a homeowner needs within their home to protect from lighting strikes?
It is a good idea to have surge protection strips. Not only can you have problems with surges but you can also have problems with brown outs which is equipment not getting enough voltage. When a brown out occurs, you can lose electronics like popcorn. The opposite can also occur. You can lose appliances if you have too much voltage. Too much voltage or too little voltage can be a problem either way.
Surge protectors are necessary in a home to prevent high and low spikes. How are you protecting your home and your valuables?
I would like to invite you to visit my site at http://www.energyconsultantblog.com where I teach helpful hints to you as a homeowner on how you can save money while saving energy to help the environment.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Home-Surge-Protection&id=6864348] Home Surge Protection
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Robert_Farbe]Robert Farbe
Do you use surge protectors? Do you know what they are? Surge protectors are like a TV. People want them but don't understand how they work. Most people don't even care how they work. Let me help you understand it is and why you need them in your home.
It can also be called a surge suppressor. It is a device that protects electrical devices from voltage spikes. Basically, it protects your appliances. Wikipedia describes it as attempting "to limit the voltage supplied to an electric device by either blocking or by shorting to ground any unwanted voltages above a safe threshold."
Surge Protectors and Lightning Arresters
There are protection devices available for photovoltaic or PV systems and they are ones available for your home.
You can have a protection device for lighting on your solar powered system located on the disconnect box. The lightning arrester is much more important than a surge protector for solar. Lightning is a big problem with photovoltaic. Lightning arresters protect your appliances. They are a way of protecting lightning strikes and a way of protecting surges. Sometimes surges are caused by lightning strikes.
Lightning can hit in different places. It can hit your modules directly or it can strike close to your inverter. Lightning can also strike the low voltage conductors. These lightning strikes are probably not covered unless you have insurance from your homeowners' policy for you solar system.
How many surge protectors do you need?
That would depend upon the distance between the solar panels and the inverters. If it's less than 30 feet, then you need one protection device. If it's greater than 30 feet, you would need 2 protection devices. On one solar powered system, you can have a surge protector in the panel and have 2 lightning arresters, one on each array which is the best place to put them. If lightning happens to strike the array and get in the voltage, they would be isolated.
Within the electrical field, you have to bond the neutral at the source but when installing solar you don't have to bond it. That bonding is the main cause of electrical failure today caused by lightning strikes. It gives it an easy path to travel.
Whether or not you have solar, you should have a surge protector at your main panel. It is best to have an electrician install it.
Is there anything else a homeowner needs within their home to protect from lighting strikes?
It is a good idea to have surge protection strips. Not only can you have problems with surges but you can also have problems with brown outs which is equipment not getting enough voltage. When a brown out occurs, you can lose electronics like popcorn. The opposite can also occur. You can lose appliances if you have too much voltage. Too much voltage or too little voltage can be a problem either way.
Surge protectors are necessary in a home to prevent high and low spikes. How are you protecting your home and your valuables?
I would like to invite you to visit my site at http://www.energyconsultantblog.com where I teach helpful hints to you as a homeowner on how you can save money while saving energy to help the environment.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Home-Surge-Protection&id=6864348] Home Surge Protection
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