Surge Protection
Comprehensive Surge Protection by Patriot Electric Heating and Cooling in Tyler, TX & Surrounding Areas
In today's electrically dependent world, our homes and businesses are filled with sensitive and expensive electronics
From flat-screen TVs and computers to smart appliances and HVAC systems. While convenient, this reliance on technology also makes us vulnerable to the silent threat of power surges. At Patriot Electric Heating and Cooling, we offer professional whole-home and commercial surge protection solutions throughout Tyler, TX, and the surrounding areas, safeguarding your valuable investments and providing peace of mind.
With over 20 years of experience, our licensed and certified electricians are experts in installing robust surge protection systems. We understand the unique electrical needs of East Texas properties and are committed to delivering reliable, cutting-edge solutions that shield your electronics from the unpredictable nature of electrical surges.
What is a Power Surge and Why Do You Need Protection?
A power surge is a sudden, momentary spike in electrical voltage that significantly exceeds the normal flow of electricity. While often associated with lightning, only a small percentage of surges are caused by external factors. The vast majority originate within your home or business due to:
Internal Causes (80% of surges):
- Turning on/off High-Powered Appliances: Refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines, and even hair dryers can create minor surges as their motors start and stop. These "mini-surges" can cause cumulative damage to sensitive electronics over time, degrading their lifespan.
- Faulty Wiring: Loose connections or improper wiring can also generate surges.
External Causes (20% of surges):
- Lightning Strikes: A direct or nearby lightning strike is the most powerful and destructive type of surge.
- Utility Grid Issues: Power outages, downed power lines, or fluctuations from the electric company can send surges through the grid.
Why You Need Comprehensive Surge Protection:
Protect Your Valuable Electronics & Appliances:
Today's electronics are built with microprocessors that are extremely sensitive to voltage fluctuations. Even small, frequent internal surges can degrade these components, leading to premature failure, data loss, and costly replacements for items like computers, smart TVs, gaming consoles, and smart home devices. Major surges from lightning or utility issues can instantly fry appliances like your refrigerator, oven, washing machine, and especially your HVAC system's delicate circuit boards.
Safeguard Your HVAC System:
Your modern HVAC system relies heavily on complex electronic control boards. A power surge can severely damage these boards, leading to expensive repairs or even requiring a full system replacement. Whole-home surge protection is a critical defense for your AC and furnace.
Beyond Basic Power Strips:
- While multi-outlet power strips with surge protection offer some localized protection, they are limited. They only protect devices plugged directly into them and often can't handle large, external surges.
- Whole-home surge protection is installed directly at your electrical panel, intercepting surges before they can enter your home's wiring and reach your sensitive electronics. This provides a much higher level of protection for all your connected devices and appliances.
- Reduce Fire Risk: Extreme power surges can overheat wiring and create sparks, significantly increasing the risk of electrical fires. Surge protection helps mitigate this danger.
- Cost Savings in the Long Run: The cost of repairing or replacing damaged electronics and appliances far outweighs the investment in a whole-home surge protector. Think of it as an insurance policy for everything plugged into your walls.
- Peace of Mind:
Knowing that your entire home or business is shielded from damaging power surges, both internal and external, provides invaluable peace of mind, especially during thunderstorm season in East Texas.
Our Surge Protection Solutions
Patriot Electric Heating and Cooling offers professional installation of high-quality, whole-home surge protectors. Our process includes:
- Assessment of Your Electrical System: Our licensed electricians will evaluate your current electrical panel and overall system to determine the best surge protection strategy for your property.
- Professional Installation: We install a robust surge protection device directly at your main electrical panel. This device acts as the first line of defense, diverting excess voltage safely away from your home's circuits and into the ground.
- Grounding Check: We ensure your electrical system has proper grounding, which is essential for the effective operation of any surge protector.
- Testing and Verification: After installation, we test the system to confirm it is functioning correctly and providing optimal protection.
- Guidance: We'll explain how your new surge protector works and what indicators to look for.
Don't leave your valuable electronics and appliances vulnerable to the silent threat of power surges. Invest in reliable surge protection from Patriot Electric Heating and Cooling. Our expert electricians are ready to safeguard your Tyler, TX, home or business. Call us today at (903) 978-1007 or reach out online to schedule your surge protection installation!
Pricing Disclaimer
Whole-Home Surge Protection Cost: Professional installation of whole-home surge protection typically ranges from $469 to $899. The final price depends on the specific protection level (kA rating), panel configuration, and the condition of your home's grounding system. Note: Effective surge protection requires a verified ground connection. Patriot Electric Heating and Cooling provides transparent quotes to ensure your system is properly installed and code-compliant.
Rated 5.0 stars by our Electrical Surge Protection Clients
★★★★★
Excellent communication and quality work. Very prompt, skillful, informative, and personable. Installed EV charger and whole house surge protector for me. Patriot had done previous work for me that was also great.
Charles Walker
★★★★★
Today I’m honored to say I had Patriot Electric at my home in Flint Texas. Troy and JT did an awesome job installing a Whole Home Surge Protector. I had a bad experience one time after a major storm. When the power came back on the main board for our refrigerator was fried due to high power surge. If you have really nice appliances in your home or any type a smart TVs. You definitely want have a whole home surge protector instead of buying new appliances. Thank you Patriot Electric for the five star service that y’all perform today. You have me as a customer for life.
Chris Rout
★★★★★
Burrell is the best. Converted old halogen bulbs to LED on patio and home office. Also was having shorting issues with patio lighting. He quickly diagnosed the problem and fixed the short. Also had him install a whole house surge protector. Will always use Patriot Electric for any electrical needs.
Russell Taylor
FAQ
What is a whole-home surge protector and how does it actually work?
Think of a whole-home surge protector as a "pressure relief valve" for your home's electricity. Installed directly at your main breaker panel, it monitors the flow of electricity coming in from the utility grid.
If it detects a voltage spike—whether from an East Texas lightning storm or a sudden grid shift—it instantly diverts that excess energy into the ground wire, neutralizing it before it can enter your home’s wiring.
At Patriot Electric Heating and Cooling, we install these devices to cover the "gaps" that plug-in power strips miss. Your system protects you from two types of damage:
- The "Big Hit" (External Surges): These are massive spikes caused by lightning strikes, blown transformers, or power lines touching during a storm. Without protection, these can instantly fry your AC compressor, stove, and washer/dryer.
- The "Silent Killers" (Internal Surges): Believe it or not, every time your AC unit or refrigerator motor kicks on, it sends a mini-surge back through your wires. Over time, these small spikes degrade the microchips in your smart TVs, computers, and LED light drivers, causing them to fail years early
Are plug-in power strips enough to protect my home from electrical surges?
No, relying solely on power strips leaves about 60% of your home's value unprotected.
Think of surge protection in layers. A power strip is a "Point-of-Use" defender—it protects the TV plugged into it, but it does nothing for the rest of the house. At Patriot Electric Heating and Cooling, we recommend a "Two-Stage" defense strategy:
- Stage 1: Whole-Home Protection (The Gatekeeper): This device sits at your main panel and stops big surges (from lightning or grid switching) before they enter your walls. This is the only way to protect your "Hardwired Assets"—the expensive appliances you can't plug into a strip, like your Central AC unit, electric range, dishwasher, and EV charger.
- Stage 2: High-Quality Power Strips (The Backup): These are still important! They handle any small "residual" voltage that might slip past the main protector.
- The Danger of "Cheap Strips": It is also important to know that many cheap power strips are just "glorified extension cords." If they don't list a Joule Rating (energy absorption capacity) on the box, they offer zero protection against surges. Furthermore, power strips wear out. If you have had the same strip behind your TV for 5+ years, its internal protection has likely burned out, leaving your electronics exposed.
What actually causes electrical surges in a home?
While most people blame lightning, the reality is that 80% of power surges are generated internally by your own appliances.
At Patriot Electric Heating and Cooling, we categorize surge threats into two specific types:
1. Internal Surges (The Daily Threat): Every time a device with a large motor turns on or off—like your central air conditioner, refrigerator, or washing machine—it disrupts the voltage flow in your home.
- How it works: These "inductive loads" temporarily draw huge power, then release energy back into the wire when they cycle off.
- The Result: This sends a mini-spike through your walls, eating away at the delicate microchips in your smart TVs, LED drivers, and computers. We call this "Electronic Rust"—damage you can't see until the device suddenly dies.
2. External Surges (The Big Hit): These originate outside your home and, while less frequent, are catastrophic.
- East Texas Weather: Lightning strikes near power lines can send thousands of volts into your home instantly.
- Grid Switching: When the local utility company switches grids to manage load, or when power is restored after a blackout, a massive rush of current often floods the system.
- Physical Damage: A car hitting a utility pole or a tree limb falling on a line (common in Tyler) can cause dangerous voltage fluctuations.
Proudly Serving East Texas
We provide comprehensive electrical and HVAC services to Tyler, Longview, Athens, Palestine, Sulphur Springs, and Jacksonville.
Our local service area also includes:
- Lindale
- Whitehouse
- Bullard
- Kilgore
- Henderson
- Gilmer
- Mineola
- Winnsboro
- Emory
- Diana
- Reklaw
- Canton
- Van
- Chandler
- Hawkins
- Gladewater
- Troup
- Rusk
- Quitma
- Point
- Overton
- Mt. Enterprise
- Yantis
- Como
- Wills Point
- Mabank
- Malakoff
- Montalba
- Frankston
- Ben Wheeler
- Holly Lake Ranch
- Arp
- Cushing
and surrounding communities.
