Installed, Whole House Surge Breaker

Joined
Jul 10, 2012
Messages
17,650
Location
North Carolina Coast
First let me say before anyone else does. The Breaker Surge I installed on my main circuit panel is limited as to how much surge it can handle. External out of the breaker box surge suppressors are larger and therefore can handle more current. Not a concern of mine.

Since my panel is mounted in the wall with drywall around it, I did not want to start cutting and making a bigger project out of this then I wanted.
This is a simple plug and play surge device where none existed before so there is the benefit. In addition my house is loaded with typical plug in devices. I mean I have one on everything including the refrigerator, dishwasher, washing machine, garage door and all electronics, etc. Im not as concerned about a huge surge blowing out electronics but it's nice to know they have a better chance to survive. I am just as concerned the everyday wear and tear smaller surges can take a toll on electronics over a long period of time.

With simple plug and play breaker surge I wanted a little extra protection in addition as some things like my dryer and range have nothing.
In a separate thread I posted about the HVAC unit with photos. I installed a nice robust external surge device on the HVAC unit disconnect box.

Anyway, we have a one year old home with a Square D Homeline Breaker Panel.
I installed a HOM2175SB 25ka surge device on the buss bar. I moved two breakers a bit higher on the panel, however I had no interest going any further than mounting the surge device in the middle of the panel.

I have read up a lot on this, conflicting thoughts. Ill go with the thought
#1 even though the breaker surge handles less current being it is mounted on the buss bar it will be quicker to react.
#2 even though many recommend placing as close to the incoming lines (main breaker) "as possible" I took that literally and did just that keeping in mind a buss bar has far less resistance than the wires for an external mounted device. So they are not ideal either.
#3 about 80% of surges come from within the house, where I have the surge device mounted it is right in-between many high amp appliances.
#4 it should also be noted our utilities are underground, not that is the holy grail but its something.

Anyway, all good. I am done, at first I purchased the wrong one, the first 3 letters of the model I messed up on. Its funny all the rest of the letters and numbers are the same.

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Posted in another thread is the HVAC surge in the photo below;
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I had an electrician install one outside the box. Not hard at all, apparently. Cut a hole in the drywall the size of the unit and installed it . Took less than an hour.
 
I have a whole house surge suppressor - they are required here by code. I asked my PhD EE friend how they work. He said they fault the over voltage peaks of the sine wave to ground.

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