types of whole house surge protectors
#1
04-24-03, 11:08 AM
types of whole house surge protectors
Hi All:
I'm rewiring my old house, with a new service panel, and thought that this would be a good time to add a whole house surge protector.
My head is spinning at the choices, however!
Can anybody offer any advice about which type is best for residential applications:
1) plug-in circuit breaker
2) break panel mounted
3) electric meter based
#1 seems the cheapest and #3 can only be done by the electric company (who also charges a steep monthly fee). I've seen types of #2 going for $400+, which is too much for me.
I'd like to spend under $200 or so....Any brand suggestions: Intermatic, Leviton, Panamax, etc?
Thanks for any help, Tim
I'm rewiring my old house, with a new service panel, and thought that this would be a good time to add a whole house surge protector.
My head is spinning at the choices, however!
Can anybody offer any advice about which type is best for residential applications:
1) plug-in circuit breaker
2) break panel mounted
3) electric meter based
#1 seems the cheapest and #3 can only be done by the electric company (who also charges a steep monthly fee). I've seen types of #2 going for $400+, which is too much for me.
I'd like to spend under $200 or so....Any brand suggestions: Intermatic, Leviton, Panamax, etc?
Thanks for any help, Tim
#2
04-24-03, 12:46 PM
Personally I use the panel mounted in my own home and very happy with is as we tend to get a great deal of surges up here. I have not really heard anything along the lines of one brand being superior to the other. In most cases it has been who has the most economical device at the time.
#3
04-24-03, 05:55 PM
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Each of the three will work similarly if installed properly. The meter based one is awkward, because you must rely on the Utility company to maintain it.
The benifit of the circuit breaker model, is that the surge protection is as close to the panel as possible (since it is installed in the panel on the bus).
Which ever you choose, the connections from the TVSS to the Panel must be as short as possible. Since you have a budget, use $200 and get the model with the highest surge current line-line and line to neutral, and must be listed to the UL 1449 standard, second edition.
The benifit of the circuit breaker model, is that the surge protection is as close to the panel as possible (since it is installed in the panel on the bus).
Which ever you choose, the connections from the TVSS to the Panel must be as short as possible. Since you have a budget, use $200 and get the model with the highest surge current line-line and line to neutral, and must be listed to the UL 1449 standard, second edition.
