Do you leave your PCs or gaming consoles plugged into power outlets? Well, we all do. It isn’t much of a big deal leaving electronics plugged in right? But that’s where we’re wrong. Electronic devices in our home as susceptible to some serious damage thanks to electrical surges. An electric surge is what is referred to when there is a spike or an unexpected increase of the voltage, and it could be due to a number of reasons.
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Why Should You Protect Your Home Electronics
Electrical surges as we said are unexpected increases in the voltage, and they usually last for a few seconds. But it is in those few seconds that they can damage any electronic devices that are plugged in or connected to the home wiring. And these damages can land you in repair bills worth hundreds of dollars or even replacing the devices entirely if they are beyond repair. It’s not cheap getting a new air conditioner, or a refrigerator on short notice.
This is precisely why protecting your home electronics from any kind of damage, even ones caused by electrical surges is absolutely necessary. Electrical surges can occur at any point in time – sometimes once in a while and sometimes they can even occur multiple times in a day. There is no telling when it can happen, it’s always abrupt.
What Causes Electrical Surges
But what causes electrical surges in the first place though? There are some common causes of what can trigger an electrical surge.
Lightning is one major factor that almost always triggers an electrical surge. That is why you’ll notice your dad franticly trying to unplug the televisions in the house, his beloved Marshall speaker in his study, and other electronics around the house. When there is lightning, a very large amount of electricity passes through electrical grids and electrical wires, making their way into our homes. Once the overwhelming amount of electricity passes into our homes and onto our devices, it is only luck that saves the devices that do not get damaged – otherwise, you can say goodbye to a lot of your devices that are plugged in, even something as small as a phone charger.
Other causes include power blackouts, overloaded power outlets, and even faulty wiring. How do you spot faulty wiring if it’s within the construction of your home though? Well, the burning smell or burn marks around a power outlet is one telltale sign; another is a buzzing sound that is not loud but audible, and one of the most obvious signs is the circuit breaker constantly tripping if you were to let’s say switch on a particular switch or an electronic device.
How to Protect Your Home Electronics from Surges
Three of the easiest ways to protect your homes from electrical surges are as below.
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Unplug the electronic devices
Unplugging certain electronic devices in your home shouldn’t only be when there is a lightning storm or a thunderstorm approaching or forecasted for in your area. It should be a daily habit that when you are done using the laptop charger for instance, or done watching TV at the end of the day, unplug the charger and the TV to avoid any damage if an electric surge occurs in the middle of the night.
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Surge Protectors
Surge protectors resemble power strips but they are much more than a regular power strip – and a little more expensive, but rightly so. Surge protectors come with built-in tech that is meant to ground the excess voltage, instead of letting it pass through onto your devices. That is the main purpose of these devices, to only let enough electricity pass through that is required by the devices plugged into the power strip.
Here is one thing though, surge protectors do not last forever – or for a very long time for that matter. It ideally depends on how frequently power surged occur for your device to run its course. If your area is less prone to power surges your surge protector can last you several years.
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Surge coverage plans
Subscribing to surge coverage plans are like applying for insurance of your home electronics. Which is great might we add. For costs as low as $8.99 per month as offered by FirstEnergy you can get protection for your home electronics.
Here is how a surge coverage plan works: in the event of a power surge where any appliance or electronic covered under the contract is damaged, the company covers the cost of damages and repairs, and replacements too if necessary. So anything from gaming consoles to computers and laptops, TVs to Smart devices, kitchen appliances like stoves, microwaves and refrigerators, and others like washing machines and air conditioners.
A surge coverage plan basically saves you from those hefty bills that you would’ve otherwise had to endure on your own should anything go wrong.
Given that there are simple and inexpensive ways of protecting your home electronics from the damage served by power surges, why wouldn’t you want to opt for them? Consider it an investment into your home if you will. For more information on surge coverage plans, head on over to www.firstenergyhome.com for some great deals that can provide annual coverage of up to $6000 with no hidden fee and no deductibles.
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