What’s a Voltage Surge and How to Protect Your Home Appliances from it?

All households depend on different types of home appliances. Whether it’s the vacuum cleaner or the food processor in the kitchen, your life feels incomplete if you didn’t have these home appliances anymore.

This is why it’s your responsibility as a homeowner to ensure these appliances are well maintained. Voltage fluctuation is a major issue in many households, especially for washing machines and air conditioners that only operate on electric power.

This fluctuation has the ability to cause severe damage to your electrical devices, even if it’s not evident at that moment, voltage surges will eventually reduce the shelf life of your appliances and devices.

When there is a power surge, and your appliances and devices are plugged into the power sockets, there’s a fair chance of them getting damaged. This is specifically why both kitchen and home appliances require protection from surges in electricity.

There’s no one type of power surge that damages homes and the appliances in use, in fact, there are a number of them. Moreover, fluctuations in voltage occur due to many reasons such as weather conditions, power problems, and more.

In this article, we will be discussing what exactly a voltage surge is and how you can protect your home appliances from one.

What Is a Voltage Surge?

Voltage surge refers to the unexpected rise of an excessive voltage of electricity that can easily damage any electrical appliance if it’s being used during that time frame. If there’s an excessive amount of voltage, the current moves rapidly between the two phases and has the ability to destroy a sensitive electrical device.

Here are the two types of voltage surges.

Internal Voltage Surge

An internal surge happens when the voltage increases automatically and is more than the usual voltage. Such surges can be quite dynamic, and not to forget, transient as well.

External Voltage Surge

An external voltage surge happens mainly due to any external conditions, like a lighting strike, and other tough weather conditions. Such surges can easily cause stress to the appliance’s insulation.

How to Protect Your Appliances from Voltage Surge?

It’s impossible to stop voltage surges, but there are ways to protect your home appliances from one. Here are the five ways you can protect your appliances from a voltage surge.

Install a Whole-House Surge Protector

Installing a complete home surge protection device keeps your appliances and devices away from any damage caused by a voltage fluctuation. A surge protector diverts the extra voltage to the ground wire, and therefore protects your appliances, and saves you plenty of money.

Fix Your Electrical Wiring

This is a common problem in most households and is unfortunately usually overlooked. Wires tend to get damaged if they are pretty old, or if there’s any pest infestation around them. Hence, if you notice smoke or burning smell from your power outlets, call an electrician immediately to have it checked.

Unplug Appliances and Devices during Storms

This should be a basic rule in households during storms, as unplugging appliances and devices in such circumstances will ensure their safety from voltage fluctuations.

Make Use of Additional Power Protection

Today’s modern appliances are quite sensitive as compared to their preceding models in the past. Televisions, refrigerators, computers, and other such devices. In order to make sure they are protected from voltage surges, you can utilize an additional power protection system in the house.

You can use power strips and even surge protectors. However, power strips don’t protect your appliances from surges, unlike surge protectors.

Purchase Appliances That Can Take a Voltage Surge

Certain areas have a higher probability of frequent voltage fluctuation. In such homes, it’s important to purchase electrical appliances that are capable of handling voltage surges. Look for appliances that have an in-built stabilizer.

Conclusion

Well, there you go!

Voltage surges are not only damaging to your appliances but dangerous for your house itself, because powerful ones can cause electrical fires in the home. From wiring issues and natural causes to poor eclectic supply, there are several reasons for a voltage surge.

Moreover, a lot of people wonder, what about low voltages? Well, rest assured, low voltage doesn’t usually cause serious damages, and especially if you are using the latest model of appliances, they come with good electric motors.

However, it’s your duty as a homeowner to safeguard your home appliances and loved ones from serious, or any damage from voltage surges.