Installing a whole home surge protector in your home isn't 100% fool proof (nothing ever is), but it essentially eliminates the expensive threat that internal and external electrical surges can pose to the average homeowner!
Installing the right brand of surge protector will also insure you for up to $75,000 in damages in the event that the surge protector ever fails!
More on this point later.
Hi, my name is Dan Kozarchuk, and I'm a local Steinbach Journeyman Electrician that works at Bethesda Regional Health Centre by day and saves Steinbach homeowners from the nasty scourge of electrical surges by night!
Steinbach Surge Protection is a local business that I started that specializes in installing whole home surge suppressors in the city of Steinbach, Manitoba and surrounding communities (La Broquerie, Mitchell, Blumenort and Ste. Anne)
I decided to start this business when two things happened to me right around the same time:
The first was when a buddy of mine told me about how he had lost his fridge, stove and stereo equipment to a series of electrical surges that ended up being caused by a faulty Manitoba Hydro transformer that was feeding his house South of Steinbach.
The second thing that happened shortly after this was that we had a bunch of new electrical service equipment installed at the hospital and all of the new panels came with a surge protector installed by the manufacturer. The interesting thing about these surge protectors was that they would count the number of times that they prevented an electrical surge from potentially damaging the equipment that was attached to them. Several of these panels started counting into the hundreds of surge events in very short order, which blew my mind! I had no idea that electrical surges were such a common occurrence.
This got me thinking about how often the average homeowner must lose their expensive electronic equipment to electrical surges, and they don't even realize it. Most people would just chalk it up to cheap manufacturing, or the planned obsolescence that my daughter told me that she was learning about when she was studying to be an engineer at the University of Manitoba.
It was these two concurrent experiences that inspired me to start this business to help Steinbach homeowners such as yourself to protect their homes from this hidden plague on their pocketbooks!
A surge is an electrical disturbance that travels through your AC power, telephone and cable lines, potentially damaging your home electronics and appliances.
External electrical surges can originate from downed or damaged utility lines, lightning strikes, utility grid transfers, and even planned power outages.
Internal electrical surges generally occur when motors turn on and off. These can originate from refrigerators, dryers, garage door openers, air conditioning units, compressors, heating and ventilation fans, and shop tools such as air compressors and saws.
INSERT DIAGRAM or LIST of potential surge sources
One notable incident occurred in a suburban neighborhood where a lightning strike resulted in a significant power surge. Residents reported damages exceeding thousands of dollars across multiple homes. Appliances such as refrigerators, televisions, and computers were rendered inoperable, requiring costly repairs or replacements.
Another case involved a family that experienced repeated power surges due to an aging electrical system in their home. Over a period of several months, they noticed intermittent issues with their appliances, including flickering lights, malfunctioning air conditioning units, and damaged gaming consoles. After consulting an electrician, they learned that their home’s wiring was unable to handle fluctuations from the grid. The cumulative costs of repairs and replacement parts quickly added up, showcasing how neglecting the issue of power surges can lead to significant financial burdens over time.
In a third example, a small business faced devastating losses due to a power surge caused by a nearby construction project. The surge wiped out critical equipment, including servers and specialized machinery. The business owner had not considered investing in a whole home surge protector, believing that point-of-use surge protectors such as power bars would suffice. However, the reality of the damage demonstrated that localized protection was inadequate. This case serves as a cautionary tale for homeowners who may underestimate the risks associated with power surges and the potential for widespread damage.
A whole home surge protector is a device installed at the electrical panel of a house, designed to shield the entire electrical system from voltage spikes caused by various factors such as lightning strikes, power outages, or sudden surges in electricity.
Unlike traditional point-of-use surge protectors, such as power bars, that only safeguard individual devices, a whole home surge protector provides comprehensive protection for all of the electronics and appliances connected to the home’s electrical system. This means that everything from your refrigerator to your home entertainment system benefits from enhanced safety against power surges, ensuring that your investments are better protected.
Whole home surge suppressors monitor electrical flow and divert excess voltage away from sensitive electronics, either by absorbing the surge or redirecting it safely to ground. Most whole home surge protectors employ metal oxide varistors (MOVs) or similar technology to detect spikes in voltage and act quickly to mitigate them. This mechanism operates continuously, meaning that your home is protected at all times, regardless of whether or not you are present, making it a reliable solution for safeguarding your expensive electronic devices.
Have you every considered the potential cost to replace some of the electrical and electronic devices in your home?
INSERT DIAGRAM or LIST of all of the different devices in your home and what they cost
The best form of insurance is a solid prevention plan (an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure).
Your home insurance is not necessarily going to save you in the event of a loss due to power surges. It's generally not feasible to make a home insurance claim for damages to small appliances because the cost of your deductible will generally be more than the replacement cost of the device. Also, making small claims on your home insurance policy will increase the cost of your insurance premiums moving forward, since you will lose your zero claims status on your policy.
The installation of a whole home surge protector enhances the resale value of your property. Having this device installed is a nice selling feature for potential buyers, and could contribute to higher resale values when you sell.
Whole Home Surge Suppression has recently made it into the latest Canadian Electrical Code Book. Although surge suppressors are not currently required by electrical code, I suspect that with the ever increasing amount of expensive electronics that people have in their homes, it's only a matter of time before the code requires the installation of these devices in new home builds.
This one-time inexpensive preventative measure will only cost you about 15% of your average annual home insurance premium. At the time of writing this ebook, Steinbach Surge Protection charges $347 for the complete install ($247 for the surge suppressor and breaker, and $100 to cover installation time, incidental materials and travel to your home).
Please note that these prices are subject to change, but you will know the exact cost up front when you decide to book an installation appointment on our website.
As stated earlier, you can have a whole home surge protector installed for as little as $347. This small one time cost is negligible compared to the replacement costs of most of the expensive electronics in your home. Please refer back to the table in chapter 3 that outlines the average replacement costs of some of the expensive appliances in your home.
Installation is actually fairly simple. The tricky part is that it requires an experienced licensed electrician to do the work because it involves opening up your electrical panel, installing a new breaker, and wiring the surge suppressor into the breaker.
Please note that you're going to need enough space in your panel to add a 2 pole breaker, plus a bit of room to mount the surge suppressor on the outside of the panel.
Click the link below to book your free in-home estimate (Steinbach and surrounding communities only):
https://SteinbachSurgeProtection.com/free-estimate
Email us at [email protected] if you have anymore questions that you need answered before you decide whether or not this is the right solution for you!
The Steinbach Surge Protection online store is coming soon! If you don't live in the Steinbach area, you'll soon be able to purchase everything that you need in order to install a surge suppressor in your home, including the correctly sized breaker for your specific make of electrical panel, as well as the right make and model of surge suppressor that comes with $75,000 worth of insurance coverage from the manufacturer when the device is installed correctly by a licensed electrician. Be sure to keep checking back on our website for the upcoming launch of our online store.