Haywood EMC has been offering surge protection products to its members for several years.
Unfortunately, many folks who sign up for the program make their decision after they have experienced surge damage to their home.
How does the program work? Haywood EMC installs a high-energy surge arrester directly behind the electric meter. It creates the first “wall” of protection from damaging surges created by storms and other electrical events.
The surge protection system also includes plug-in suppressors that protect the power, telephone and cable/video/data lines that are connected to sensitive electronics in the home. The layer created by the meter base arrester and plug in suppressors virtually eliminates the risk of surge damage to the home and sensitive electronics through the electrical wiring or through cable/telephone lines.
We work with an engineering company that tests surge arresters and plug-in suppressors in their “lightning” lab. They have found a wide range of protection levels between different suppressors and help utilities find the best suppressor for their program. Our 10 outlet power strip and 6-Outlet wall mount suppressor, have several internal protection modules and by design, can handle over six times the level of surge energy as typical locally available products and still protect the electronic device plugged into the suppressor!
What about a “direct” lightning strike? A direct strike usually creates visible structural damage to the home or tree right next to the house. It also creates an “electro-magnetic pulse” (EMP) that travels through the air and can induce damaging surge voltage directly onto the TV, speaker wiring, alarm wiring or the computer. Fortunately, 95% of surge damage issues are created by indirect strikes occurring somewhere near but not “at” the home. Haywood EMC’s surge protection program is designed to protect homes and electronics from 95% of surge incidents. We have not located a simple solution to protect against direct strikes.
What is included with the surge protection package? The package includes the meter base arrester, which is installed by one of our experienced technicians. The technician also checks the house ground and looks for any other problems with the electrical feed during the installation. Also included are a 8-outlet plug strip suppressor with telephone and cable/video/data ports and a double outlet plug suppressor with a telephone port. Additional suppressors can be purchased if desired.
Is the system expensive to install? Haywood EMC has designed the program to make it affordable to all of our residential customers. Folks who sign up for the program pay nothing for Haywood EMC to install the system. A low monthly lease fee of $6.99 is added to their electric bill.
If you have problems or if the suppressor fails, simply call us and we will arrange for repair or replacement of the suppressor.
