Lightning Protection Specialists

Why Lightning Protection Systems Are Critical…

admin — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:07:59 +0000

Take a look at this video for some great information on why lightning protection systems are critical for your buildings and homes…

VFC Lightning from booizzy on Vimeo.

Electrical- Grounding, any cold water pipe OK or needs to be at entrance to house?

admin — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:03:37 +0000

Hi,
I have installed a new electrical panel. I have it grounded to the grounding rod, but it also needs a second ground. Can I ground it to any cold water pipe, or does it need to be where the water enters the house? Thanks for your time.

pb4sc

I’m not an electrician, but please, only listen to advice that tells you to ground to a water pipe as well.. I’ve checked by reference book "The complete guide to home wiring" and it states you should always ground to a metal water pipe – in addition to the grounding rod. It doesn’t specify a location, nor does it explain the electrical theory, but it serves to provide an additional pathway for electrical current that is flowing haywire as a result of a short, etc. It, as well as a grounding rod (minimum 8 feet into the earth) will accomodate this power surge to prevent fire, damage, etc…

Also, it makes sense to ground the water pipe nearest the spot where the pipe decends into the ground. If you do so, I’d wrap another copper wire on the pipe before the meter box and position it into the earth. Just another means of drawing the current away from the meter box and potential damage to the meter.

What is surge protection?

admin — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:58:47 +0000

Is it a good idea for me to use an extension lead (with four to six sockets) with built in surge protection?

I mean, what exactly does surge protection do? I’m concerned that it has nothing to do with me drawing too much power from the appliances that I’ve plugged into the sockets. I think it might work the other way and just protect a surge from the wall socket to my appliances…

The other option I have is just to use a (cheaper) standard extension lead with no surge protection.

A power surge, or transient voltage, is an increase in voltage significantly above the designated level in a flow of electricity. In normal household and office wiring in the United States, the standard voltage is 120 volts. If the voltage rises above 120 volts, there is a problem, and a surge protector helps to prevent that problem from destroying your computer.

To understand the problem, it is helpful to understand something about voltage. Voltage is a measure of a difference in electric potential energy. Electric current travels from point to point because there is a greater electric potential energy on one end of the wire than there is on the other end. This is the same sort of principle that makes water under pressure flow out of a hose — higher pressure on one end of the hose pushes water toward an area of lower pressure. You can think of voltage as a measure of electrical pressure.

Fail Safe Surge Protection?

admin — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:58:45 +0000

Most common way is to use a Metal Oxide Varistor (MOV) for surge protection but the problem is these wear out with time when exposed to small surges and leave devices unprotected.

Is there a way to check if a MOV has worn out? Or is there a circuit that will not allow it to fail? If you know a circuit which might aid me please link.

Thanks

One way is to use a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply). Your computer or whatever will then get its power from the lead battery rather than directly from house current.

Which is the best surge protection from these?

admin — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:58:44 +0000

http://www.dabs.com/ProductList.aspx?&NavigationKey=11191&NavigationKey=4294960278&CategorySelectedId=11191&PageOffset=0&RecordOffset=0#Paging

Only surge protectos which are 6-8 steps, and not the Belkin PureAV Isolator 8-Surge because im not sure when its coming into stock. It will be used for a computer.

Your best bet for a computer is a UPS. Given that computers do not like to be shut off quickly. Plus this gives you more surge suppression mostly because of the type of design, time to shut down and power management software. Much better that a Surge suppressor.

Note also that TVs that use a standby function need a UPS as well.

‘Isolated Ground’ outlets need surge protection?

admin — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:58:42 +0000

The electrician installed new orange ‘isolated ground’ electrical outlets. Does that mean that I don’t need surge strips anymore? Someone said that isolated ground outlets are better protected. Is this true?

Isolated Grounding Receptacle outlets do absolutely nothing for surge protection. A yoke is the metal strip devices are on, it has screw holes for the device and goes from top to bottom. On most devices that yoke is attached to the grounding terminal. On an isolated ground device they are separate. That is the only difference. Your electrical(installer) is full of crap, so get a new one. He is either lying to you, or he does not have a clue! If surge protection is your concern go to www.surgeassure.com They have whole home surge protectors which should be used in conjunction with surge strips.

UPS surge protection for a Desktop PC with a 1000W power supply?

admin — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:58:40 +0000

I have a PC with a 1000W rated power supply (gaming machine). I want to get a UPS protection for the desktop. Which one should I get

it would depend on what exactly you would use it for (other than the obvious) If you just want something that can safely bring the system down after an outage, then somehting like this will do:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16842101006

this one is more expensive, but you can run the system at full load for a few hours off of it:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16842106119

I bought a surge protector and the light on it doesn’t work, does this mean the surge protection is damaged?

admin — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:58:38 +0000

I wanted to plug in an external hard drive but I’m afraid it won’t be protected from a surge.

The light is just an L.E.D that glows when power is applied. It wouldnt affect the surge protector, but if I was going to spend my money for it I would take it back for an exchange. You wouldn’t want to risk your hard drive on it if you were only pretty sure it worked ,would you?

home threater surge protection?

admin — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:58:35 +0000

so im planning on buying a expensive hdtv and maybe some other stuff and im wondering what kind of protection i need, i was looking a some monster surge protectors and boy are they expensive, the also come wit something called clean power, is this option any good does it really make a difference. basically my question is is it worth spending like 200-300 bucks for a good surge protector. my last question is is a surge protector all you need to protect you tv from everything electrical or are there any other things i should know about, thanks

No, there is absolutely no need to spend more than $40 for a surge protector. Above that, you’re just wasting money. Make sure it has a joule rating of at least 600.

Now if you have frequent power outages, you might want to invest in a UPS, which will run $75-250, depending on your equipment. This will keep your equipment running during a brief outage.

Your homeowner insurance will usually pay for equipment damage due to a power surge (less your deductible, of couse). Most surge protectors provide additional insurance, but it only kicks in after your homeowner or other insurance.

Car struck by lightning

admin — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:53:25 +0000

An experiment to test the lightning protection systems in cars…with a man in it.

Duration : 0:4:52

Technorati Tags: experiment, lightning, physics, science