Surge Supressor

[laketime]

I have a customer that was told by a washing machine repair guy that her machine died because the area has a ton of power surges. She asked about a surge suppressor for her whole house. I have installed TVSS in commercial instances, but never residential. Has anybody ever done that and if so how much did the equipment cost?

 

[goldstar]

You can spend various amounts of money but the least expensive devices I've found are made by a company named Delta
http://www.deltala.com/products.ht

The lightning arrestors and surge suppressors are about $50.00@ and basically afford your customer some peace of mind. Think of them as shock absorbers on your car. If you didn't have any you'd feel every bump but with them you'll get a smoother ride. There's no guarantee, however. If you get a direct hit - you're toast. Companies like Cutler-Hammer will usually recommend a cascaded approach to surge suppression where they suggest installing suppression at the head end equipment and then more further downstream (i.e computer power strips)

 

[ultramegabob]

I have installed surge supressors that looked like breakers, ones that are mounted on the wall next to the panel and attach with greenfield, ones that attach with a nipple that you can install on a disconnect for the A/C unit, ones that are nothing more than a power strip, and our utility company installs them between the meter and meter socket. You can spend anywhere from 30 dollars to hundreds or more for surge supressors, it just depends on the application.

 

[lucky1974]

I use mostly Square D panels. They have a whole house breaker breaker for both lines( QO & Homeline). They fit in spaces 1 & 3. Have a light on them to tell if it is working, if not it has been hit or malfunctioning and needs to be replaced. I try to sell one on every panel upgrade. Hope this helps you

QO: QO2175sb
Homeline: hom2175sb

 

[laketime]

I had a square d one priced out and seems cheap. Are they a real value to the customer or just something to sell?

 

[goldstar]

I don't know that I'd consider them a value to the customer. It's more like added protection for the electrical service. As far as it being a selling point chances are you're not going to make that much money selling these items. However, I'd rather have them installed in the panel than not. Just make sure you not selling these as if they were insurance policies. They offer some protection but they're not a guarantee.

 

[busman]

I only use the Intermatic IG3240RC. I sell about 10 of these a year. Had first-hand experience. Lightning hit the distribution on a cul-de-sac. Visited 6 homes by the end of the day (they all saw my truck on a Sunday). Four homes lost basically anything with a micro-chip in it. One home had no damage, but the cheap $40 surge suppressor had a hold blown out the side. Sacrificed itself in doing its job. Only one house had no damage and they had an Intermatic unit. Been a believer ever since.

Mark

 

[Rewire]

I have a customer that was told by a washing machine repair guy that her machine died because the area has a ton of power surges. She asked about a surge suppressor for her whole house. I have installed TVSS in commercial instances, but never residential. Has anybody ever done that and if so how much did the equipment cost?

This is probably not what caused the washer to break down but sounded good when told to a customer.