Whole House Surge Protectors

According to Dr. Richard Cohen, a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), “The importance of tiered protection cannot be underestimated. Lightning and surge protection experts from IEEE, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Electric Power Research Institute have known for years that the combined use of quality protectors at the building entrance, and appropriate plug-in protectors at the point of use can virtually eliminate all damage from lightning and surges. This knowledge is critical, but has not yet been broadly distributed. For this reason, the IEEE has designated a special group, which I am leading, to prepare an Application Guide on residential protection."

Providing protection at the point of entry requires an electrician-installed point-of-entry surge arrestor where power enters the residence from the utility. Surge arrestors limit surge voltage by conducting large surge currents safely to ground. However, because the voltages that pass through surge arrestors are sometimes too large to protect electronic equipment, they should be supplemented by plug-in Transient Voltage Surge Suppressors (TVSS's) where the equipment is located.