Whole house surge protector with EMI/RFI filtering

[youdontwannaknow]

I am interested in getting a whole house surge protector that also has emi/rfi noise/interference filter.
The only one I could manage to find for retail residential use was the Leviton 51110-1.
Are there really not any out there ?

 

[simple_gifts]

A friend of mine paid a monthly fee to the power company for the benefit of having a whole house filter; this was after she lost everything due to power surge.

The filter didn't protect everything when another surge hit. Perhaps it saved some things, but the effectiveness was probably oversold.

I'm not sure where you're coming from or what problem you're trying to solve; it is just an anecdote.

 

[brandini]

No such thing. You want a whole house surge protector connected to a proper ground and you want a high joule rated low clamp voltage surge protector on the devices you care about.

 

[JustinH]

Originally Posted By: simple_gifts
A friend of mine paid a monthly fee to the power company for the benefit of having a whole house filter; this was after she lost everything due to power surge.

The filter didn't protect everything when another surge hit. Perhaps it saved some things, but the effectiveness was probably oversold.

I'm not sure where you're coming from or what problem you're trying to solve; it is just an anecdote.


Around here my electric company offers me an "insurance policy" for equipment that fails due to a power surge. Nothing is done to the power supply, just an insurance policy.

Look on angies list, there are tons of companys who can install a whole house surge supressor for 300-500 dollars.

Or you can purchase one on amazon, and let an electrician install it. It takes two spots in the circuit breaker.

 

[westom]

Originally Posted By: youdontwannaknow
I am interested in getting a whole house surge protector ... Are there really not any out there ?


Plenty. Companies with serious reputations for electrical equipment provide them. Including General Electric, Siemens, ABB, Intermatic, Ditek, Polyphaser, Syscom, and Square D to name but a few. A Cutler-Hammer (Eaton) protector is sold in Lowes and Home Depot for something over $50.

Protector is simple science. What makes it effective is the quality of and low impedance(ie 'less than 10 foot') connection to single point earth ground. Rarthing - the art of protection - should have most of your attention.

Protection is where hundreds of thousands of joules dissipate. Protector must be sufficiently sized to not fail even after a direct lightning strike (a typical surge). A typical strike is maybe 20,000 amps. So a minimal 'whole house' protector is about 50,000 amps. That (and not joules) is the significant specification number.

'Whole house' protector is sold in electrical supply houses where other reliable equipkment from those same manufacturers is also provided.

 

[westom]

Originally Posted By: simple_gifts
A friend of mine paid a monthly fee to the power company for the benefit of having a whole house filter; this was after she lost everything due to power surge.
A filter must either block or absorb that energy. Nothing does that. Best filter is already inside electronics. A surge so large as to overwhelm that filter would also blow through any add-on filters.

RFI and other noise problems are averted by a filter. Surges must be earthed by a protector. Those are two completely different anomalies that must be addressed by completely different equipment.

A 'whole house' protector is effective only when it connects low impedance (ie 'less than 10 feet') to single point earth ground. Best protection is a hardwire to earth. When that direct cannot exist (ie on telephone, AC electric), then do a next best thing. Make the same connection via a 'whole house' protector. Protector is not a filter. And a filter is not a protector. Which would explain his damage.

What is the most important feature of any protection system? Single point earth ground. All four word have electrical significance.

 

[Win]

You will find the best selection in the commercial marketplace.

 

[sleddriver]

Originally Posted By: youdontwannaknow
I am interested in getting a whole house surge protector that also has emi/rfi noise/interference filter.
The only one I could manage to find for retail residential use was the Leviton 51110-1.
Are there really not any out there ?

I'm not familiar with one that integrates both protection and EMI/RFI. With that said, I have had a panel mount surge arrestor in place for 15 years. Nothing over 600V makes it inside. These are MUCH better protection and less expensive that having dozens of the cheap strips indoors, spread everywhere.

The place to stop transients & surges is at the point of entry: The breaker panel.

 

[HerrStig]

Google W8JI, his website contains good info on grounding.

 

[sleddriver]

Wow...that was quite a read for a ham. What a set-up!