A surge protected circuit breaker is a thing: https://www.siemens.com/us/en/products/energy/low-voltage/residential-circuit-breakers/surge-protection-breakers.html
this post was submitted on 29 Jan 2025
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That's perfect. It'll achieve exactly what I want. Thanks!
Is this different from the standard circuit breakers?
Breakers prevent over-current from damaging things.
Surge protectors prevent surges in voltage.
Whole home surge suppressors exist.
Isn’t that basically the point of the circuit breaker box?
No, a circuit breaker protects over current. A surge protector will protect from over voltage.
The Eaton TR5260 has a line/load side and their technical documentation says it provides downstream protection for the other outlets.
Amazing! That is exactly the product I was envisioning. Thank you!
Only downside is it's not a very robust surge protector. It's 820 joules if I remember correctly. We have one installed for our all in one washer dryer and fridge. No issues so far.
I saw that on the specs. It's still better than nothing. Now I'll have to see if it's available in Canada. A quick search didn't reveal anything but I'll have more time to tonight.
I got one from my utility company. They installed it at the meter. It was about $400. Once it’s tripped, it will have to be replaced, but if something happens significant enough to trip that, I probably (hopefully) saved a lot of other large appliances and HVAC.
Nothing stopping you from installing a "whole house" surge protector on that particular circuit. They aren't that large or expensive.
Easy to install too, if you’re comfortable working in a fusebox
My family and friends are all shocked by my skills as an electrician.
They were not dying to find out, I hope?
Just something to think about or look into but I was under the impression that home battery solutions include power conditioning which is sorta a better form of surge protetion. Even without solar panels or such if you have hourly pricing you could charge at lost cost times and run on battery power at peak cost times to save money and then also you get the benefit of being able to ignore power outages that are not to long.
Hmmm power surges... that's something I haven't considered for a very long time.
Anyone ever have something affected by a power surge?
I’ve had a cable modem munched by a power surge. The coax was the only vulnerable point and the modem got hit.
I had the amplifier for my bass shaker die from one, unfortunately. The company was super nice and sent me a refurbished one out of warranty though.
Why not use a GFCI outlet?
GFCI doesn't protect against voltage surges
TIL, thanks.
So GFCI just protects against shorts?
GFCI protects against a difference in current between the hot and neutral lines. This is intended to sense that the energy is going to the outlet, but returning through a different path, like through a meat bag full of mostly water.
This is usually for wet locations like bathrooms and kitchens, to stop water from completing a circuit.
A short circuit would be too much current going through the circuit, and would be stopped by a standard circuit breaker.
These would be for every circuit, to protect against overloading the wires and outlets.
An AFCI would detect if arcs are being generated in a line, like if there was a loose wire causing sparking somewhere. This would typically cause a very hot spot in the line which could cause a fire, but not necessarily cause a short circuit or an electrocution risk.
These are usually only required in bedroom spaces to reduce the chance of a fire happening in the room you are sleeping in.
Those are all different from a surge protector, which is intended to stop high voltage spikes, which typically occur from issues outside the house.
These are typically used, in various types, to protect sensitive electronics and expensive appliances.
Four different types of protection, for four different types of problems.
Isn’t that what a fuse is?