Power Quality

What is it?
A surge protective device protects your electrical
equipment and appliances from voltage surges and
spikes that interfere with their normal operation.

What does it do?
Power surges can be generated from external
sources outside your home such as lightening, or
from internal sources inside your home such as
other electronics and appliances. You may be
unaware that surges also can enter through
telephone lines and cable TV or satellite dish
connections. These surges can cause immediate
physical damage to your appliances and electronics,
wear them down over time or create interferences
that cause them to malfunction.
Leviton, a leading manufacturer of surge control
devices, has developed an entire system to protect
your home. Surge protection works by protecting your
home’s electrical service panel from outside surges
with “point-of entry” devices and protecting your
electronics and appliances inside your home with
“point-of-use” devices.

Home Generator Safety

When a generator is permanently connected to a customer's electric system, it energizes the building's wiring. This type of installation requires a device that prevents the generator from being connected to the electrical utility's power lines.
Follow these safety tips:

• Only a qualified professional, such as a licensed electric contractor, should install a permanent standby generator.
• A double-pole, double-throw transfer switch is the recommended device to keep your generator from backfeeding into the electric utility provider's system. The switch also keeps the electrical utility company's power from re-energizing your house wiring while your generator is running, protecting your generator, wiring and appliances from damage when your service is restored.
• Have all additions to your house wiring inspected by your city or county building department.
• When installation is complete, call your electric utility provider to let them know about your back-up system. We will make a note in our records to remind our workers of your generator if they are working on an outage in your area. In some cases, electric utility line workers may ask to check your electric generator transfer switch for safety.
• If you already have a permanently installed standby generator but you don't know if it's installed properly, call your local building inspector or a licensed contractor for help.