Surge-Suppression Devices

Electricity is like human relationships: It has its peaks, its low points, and a lot of time in between when it just muddles through without causing much excitement. Left to its own devices, it probably would muddle through day in and day out, but we (and a lightning storm or two) interfere and cause surges and spikes. What are they? Simply put, they are increases, usually sudden, in electrical voltage. Surges differ from spikes in part by how they occur.
Surges can result from …

• The energy demand when a large appliance is first turned on.
• Routine maintenance and switching by your utility company.
• The rush of current to your house after power that was cut off is turned on again. Spikes, on the other hand, most often are caused by lightning or by cars running into power poles. Spikes can send as much as 6,000 volts down your line.

A surge is apparent when you turn on a garbage disposer or a laundry-room appliance. The appliance requires a surge of power to get rolling. This is the same principle behind moving a stationary body: The initial force or power required is greater than the amount needed to sustain movement. The first few pushes you give your kids on a swing require more energy than later ones after momentum has been established.