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[John026]

Has anyone done this (install whole house surge protection). I cant think of any negatives to this kind of protection, only positives. I would love to here some feedback positive or negative to this type of install.

John

[steven r]

I think it's a great idea!

I took the easy way out myself by "renting" one from my power company. They mount it between the meter and the house. It costs me $5.99 a month but includes replacement of any appliances if they're damaged by surge. From an insurance perspective, that a good deal as home insurances always have deductibles.

I suspect it may suppress online X10 power line signals from leaving or entering the house, a good thing in my opinion, but I haven't tested that theory.

[JeffVolp]

Has anyone done this (install whole house surge protection). I cant think of any negatives to this kind of protection, only positives. I would love to here some feedback positive or negative to this type of install.

I installed the Leviton 51110-PTC whole house surge protector here ($90 + shipping from FruitRidge).  Leviton says it is DHC compatible (their name for X10), and I have had no problems with it over the last 4 years.  We have had several nearby lightning strikes, but nothing very close.

The 51110 does contain several banks of large surge protectors.  Depending on the devices they selected, their capacitance may attenuate X10 signal levels somewhat.  However, I don't see any difference in signal level on the ESM1 whether that breaker is on or off.

Jeff

[Oldtimer]

Has anyone done this (install whole house surge protection).

I did this a number of years ago.  Here's a link to my earlier post on the topic:

http://www.x10community.com/forums/index.php?topic=9567.msg56720#msg56720

If you search the forum for "whole house surge"  you'll turn up a lot of additional discussion about the topic.

[John026]

Thank-you for the info.

John

[HA Dave]

Thank you all.

Gives me something to think about! When I add up the value of the devices I have "plugged-in" lighting could pose a threat..... second only to fire.

[steven r]

What many people forget is that lighting is only one many possible sources of power surge. Even having a whole house surge protector should not be thought of a substitute for the direct protection of sensitive electronic equipment such as computers and entertainment systems. I addition and perhaps an even a greater source of wear to electronic equipment is "brown out" or low voltage. I strongly recommend UPS backups for all  sensitive electronic equipment. I have at least 6 in my house. Each TV, computer, and even the fish tank are plugged into a UPS.

[HA Dave]

...........perhaps an even a greater source of wear to electronic equipment is "brown out" or low voltage.

I don't know if brown-outs are regional or not... I've never experienced one. I am using a UPS back-up now... but could really use a larger one. What I would like to find is one that can output at a lower than rated amps .... for a very long time. The one I have now seems to have about the same "power-outage life-span" no matter how low the amp draw on it is.

[steven r]

...I don't know if brown-outs are regional or not... I've never experienced one. I am using a UPS back-up now...

To clarify... Whether it's officially called a brown-out or not, it's not uncommon to experience a voltage drop when the your or maybe when all the neighborhood is say running their AC. Some voltage drop can also occur when the refrigerator cycles. Followed by a surge when they cycle off. This voltage fluctuation can cause equipment wear over time.
Be safe and use a UPS.

[zach1234]

I think it's a great idea!

I took the easy way out myself by "renting" one from my power company. They mount it between the meter and the house. It costs me $5.99 a month but includes replacement of any appliances if they're damaged by surge. From an insurance perspective, that a good deal as home insurances always have deductibles.

I suspect it may suppress online X10 power line signals from leaving or entering the house, a good thing in my opinion, but I haven't tested that theory.

 

I want to try that.