SURGE PROTECTOR WHOLE HOUSE

by Intermatic

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• ASIN: B0007NLVIA
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #73,020 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: February 14, 2005

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Protects your entire home from power surges..., July 20, 2008

By 

Victor H. Agresti "remodeling-guy" (Gaithersburg, MD United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: SURGE PROTECTOR WHOLE HOUSE (Electronics)

Intermatic Whole House Surge Protector

On September 30, 2006, the Washington Post reported the following:

"Catherine Jamieson had costly surge protectors safeguarding her most precious electronics. So, she said, she was one of the "lucky ones" when a power surge heaved through her East Falls Church neighborhood this week, frying computers and damaging appliances in hundreds of homes. Still, Jamieson said her home suffered a stunning amount of trouble, starting with a $1,500 alarm system that was still smoking when the security company arrived, a fried phone line and a busted furnace. Her neighbor discovered her refrigerator aflame, Jamieson said, noting that her own situation could be worse. It makes me want to cry, Jamieson, 57, said. Her home was one of more than 200 affected in the Arlington County neighborhood when Pike Electric, a contractor for Dominion Virginia Power, was doing repairs Tuesday and allowed two power lines to touch, Dominion officials said. The contact sent a rush of power into as many as 600 homes, some of them on Sycamore Street, Washington Street and Lee Highway."

Subsequent reports noted that the few homes with whole house surge protectors suffered no damage. We owned a home in that Arlington neighborhood at the time, and it had the previous model of this Intermatic Whole House Surge protector installed on the main panel (load center). We didn't know anything happened until reading about it in the papers, as there was no damage to anything, including the Intermatic unit.

Needless to say, we have an Intermatic surge protector in our current home. We bought a more expensive Intermatic unit, even though the old one did its job. The Amazon ad doesn't mention it, but I believe this protector comes with a 5-year product and damage warranty; save your receipt. Check out their products on intermatic dot com.

To install a whole house surge protector, you will need two empty circuit breaker slots (one over the other) in your main power panel/load center. Install two 20 amp circuit breakers, to protect each power phase; 15 amp breakers will also work, but will provide somewhat less protection. (DO NOT use a tandem/piggyback breaker, as they draw power from one only one of the two phases, and will therefore protect only half of your circuits.) Alternatively, install a 220 volt 20 amp breaker. It's not advisable to connect the surge protector's hot leads to circuit breakers with other loads, as that may reduce the unit's effectiveness. If you are handy, you can install it yourself. If electricity frightens you, hire an electrician. Installation instructions are included.

Many power companies offer whole house surge protection, although in the long run, it's much cheaper to do it yourself. For example, Dominion Virginia Power sells "complete protection for all of your appliances, heating and cooling equipment and other motor driven equipment, for a one-time installation fee of $89.00 and a monthly service charge of just $4.95".

Whether you buy an Intermatic, Leviton, or another brand of whole house surge protector, get one with indicator lights to let you know it's working. The unit could sustain a major hit and burn out, but without indicator lights, you wouldn't know you've lost protection on one or both power phases.

You can also spend a lot more than this on a whole house surge protector. The more expensive units typically provide more complete protection.

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Every home should have one, April 3, 2006

By 

John S. Sweda - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: SURGE PROTECTOR WHOLE HOUSE (Electronics)

I had installed an Intermatic whole-house surge protector in my home. A storm toppled trees in the area, and one tree landed on the powerlines. The high-voltage lines were pushed down onto the residential voltage lines, causing a power surge. My neighbor's electronic equipment (television, furnace, dishwasher, water softener, etc. worth about $10,000) was not protected and damaged, but my electronics were spared. This event blew out one channel of the two-channel surge protector, so I really need to get a replacement unit. My neighbor spent about $1,200 to get his equipment repaired, and all I will spend is $80.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Installation Review, May 29, 2009

By 

Jack (Thelma KY) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: SURGE PROTECTOR WHOLE HOUSE (Electronics)

The instructions were accurate and straight forward. I had to mount the unit upside down in order to mount the unit to the left of my panel. According to the instructions the goal was to minimize bends in the wire. Therefore I had to mount to the left of my circuit panel. The unit as it comes is set up to be mounted on the right side of a panel.

Unfortunately, I cannot judge how effective the unit is until there is a power surge. I would just as soon not have that happen. I do have peace of mind now that it is installed. The idea came from losing the control panel on my energy saver water heater. When searching for information on the internet a commenter recommended a surge protector for it since power surges were blowing a lot of them. Whole house protection made more sense since everything we buy today has solid state electronics.