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Originally Posted by jrref

I'm one of the engineers in the Villages Lightning Study Group focusing on surge protection. I went out and took a look at some new Villages construction in order to figure out what's going on.

As per the new Electrical Code two things that effect what we are talking about changed. 1) The Main Breaker that's normally in the main circuit breaker panel in your garage now has to be located outside of the dwelling. 2) Type 1/2 Surge protection must be installed. This specific change was made in part to protect hard wired smoke/carbon monoxide detectors and other safety devices from surge damage in your home. Statistics showed surges were damaging these detectors to the point where they were not operational and no way to alert the homeowner leading to deaths. You are correct, in the newer builds if you go outside your home and look at the power meter you will see what looks like a box with a door under the meter. In there is a small circuit breaker panel with your main breaker AND an Eaton BRNSURGE Type BR Type-2 surge protector or equivalent installed. So yes, you have some surge protection installed which is good.

Looking further, the BRNSURGE Type BR has an 18KV rating where as the Eaton Ultra installed inside your garage at the circuit breaker panel has an 108KV rating and the PSP Vortexx has a 120KV rating. The higher the rating the better and this means yes, there is surge protection installed but it's minimal and better than nothing. Another issue I see is since the surge protector is outside the house, in the case where a surge damaged the surge protector, you will not be able to see the light or hear the audible alert, if it has one, when this happens so you will need to periodically open the cabinet below the meter and check the protector.

All this said, the surge protector "ring" provided by the power company has a different design to block and or manage very large surges coming from the power utility so it does provide additional significant protection that the BRNSURGE Type BR will not. Installing the Eaton Ultra or the PSP Vortexx inside your garage at the circuit breaker panel will also provide significant additional surge protection. Remember, surge protection is a layered approach so the more the better. The idea is when a very large induced surge enters your home, this layered appoach will systematically block and or knock down the level of the surge so your Type-3 surge protectors installed at your electronic equipment such as TV, Computer, etc., will not get overwhelmed and be able to protect your devices.

So at the end of the day, although new builds have surge protection installed it's better to add the surge protector "ring" at the meter from your power utility and install a "whole house" Eaton Ultra or PSP Vortexx at the circuit breaker panel for the best surge protection solution. Remember, an induced power surge can damage equipment costing thousands of dollars in your home so the up-front cost to add adequate surge protection is something to consider. You can call Lenhart Electric in Wildwood to have these surge protection devices installed along with a professional evalution of your specific equipment if you have additional spa and or pool equipment.

Hope this helps clear up this discussion so you can make a more informed decision on whether to install additional surge protection in your home.

My house is 8 yrs old in TV's with a circuit breaker panel box in the garage. How do I know what was installed by the builder in the panel and whether or not its adequate for protection or whether or not to replace what is there? I can't look at the panel right now as Im 1200 miles away.