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Decisions, decisions
Surge protectors come in many shapes and forms for many purposes, not
just the plug-in kind that you find in the electronic stores. There
are several ways to install them on your power supply: plug and play,
do-it-yourself, hire a licensed electrician to do it, or even call on
your power company to do it. Here is a run down on your options, and
who does it:
Purchase one or more plug-in surge protectors
Install a surge protector at the service entrance panel
Have the power company install a surge protector next to the meter
Plug-in surge protectors
This is the easiest solution, and there is a wide variety of brands
available in the stores (as we noted at the start of this booklet, we
are not going to recommend brands). These come in two forms: a box
that plugs directly into a wall receptacle, or a strip with a power
cord and multiple outlets. Depending on the appliance, you will look
for a simple AC power plug-in, or a more complex combined protector
for AC power and telephone or cable -more on that later. However,
before you purchase the right protector for the job, you should think
about some details.
There is another decision to make, concerning how a surge protector
will power your appliance if the protective element should fail under
extreme cases of exposure to a large surge or large swell. Most surge
protectors are provided internally with some kind of fuse that will
disconnect in case of failure. However, this disconnect can operate in
two different ways, depending on the design of the surge protector:
some will completely cut-off the output power, others will disconnect
the failed element but maintain the power output.
Quit and be protected or continue?
For you, it is a matter of choice: would you want to maintain the
output power to your appliance -but with no more surge protection? Or
would you rather maintain protection for sure -by having the circuit
of the protector cut off the power supply to your appliance, if the
protective function were to fail? To make an intelligent decision, you
must know which of the two possibilities are designed into the surge
protector that you will be looking for.
What are the lights telling you?
To help the consumer know what is going on inside the surge protector,
many manufacturers provide some form of indication, generally by one
or more pilot lights on the device. Unfortunately, these indications
are not standardized, and the meaning might be confusing, between one,
two - even three or four lights -where it is not always clear what
their color means. Read the instructions!
More decisions ...
So far, we have looked mostly at the plug-in surge protectors because
they are the easiest to install and they do not require the services
of an electrician. The two other possible locations for surge
protectors are the service panel (breaker panel) and the meter
socket.
Service-panel surge protectors
Instead of using several plug-in protectors -one for each sensitive
appliance is sometimes recommended -you can install a protector at the
service panel of the house (also called "service entrance" or "breaker
box"). The idea is that with one device, all appliances in the house
can be protected, perhaps with a few plug-in protectors next to the
most sensitive appliances. There are two types of devices available:
incorporated in the panel, or outside the panel.
Some breaker panel manufacturers also offer a snap-in surge protector,
taking the space of two breakers (assuming that there are blank spaces
available on the panel), and easily installed by the home owner or by
an electrician. However, there are two limitations or conditions to
that approach:
The snap-in protectors generally fit only in a breaker panel from the
same manufacturer -possibly down to the model or vintage of the
panel.
To install the snap-in protector, you must remove the front panel (do
turn off the main breaker before you do that i). Most cities have
codes allowing the home owner to do it, under some conditions. Check
with your local authorities to find out if they allow you to do that,
or hire a licensed electrician to do the installation for you.
There are other surge protectors packaged for wiring into the service
panel, either within or next to the panel. That kind of installation
is best left to a licensed electrician.
At the meter socket
There might be a possibility that the power - company in your area
offers, as an option, to install a surge protector with a special
adapter, fitting it between the meter and its socket (the dark band in
the bubble of the picture). But that type of device and installation
is out of the question as a do-it-yourself project, and will require
cooperation from the power company, if they do offer the program.
Other types of outdoor surge protectors can be installed near the
meter. That kind of installation must be done by a licensed
electrician.
http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/housing/surge/decisions.htm