As we write this blog entry today, July 15, the 7-day weather forecast for Philadelphia looks grim. Today there is an 80% chance of precipitation and high chances of severe thunderstorms. Last night Philadelphia was hit hard with a heavy downpour and huge lightning bursts, complete with thunder that sounded like God himself was hurling sheets of aluminum down from the skies. And today sounds like it’ll be no different! Burlington County has even been issued with a tornado warning.

Summer can be wonderful for great weather and laying out in the sun. But it’s the severe thunder storms that our region is always hit with around mid-July that no one ever seems to think about.

Now we aren’t putting this post out there to rile folks up or get people worried about the weather. We just want to make sure your home is protected during these thunderstorms. Which brings us to electrical surges, a danger to your home that we caution many of our customers about. After the storms we had this past winter, we serviced many homes that had been hit with an electrical surge.

The Danger of an Electrical Surge

These can happen in a blink of the eye, and most of the time you may not even notice it happen. it could just be a light flickering that happens so fast, you ask your spouse, “Did you see that, too, or am I just going crazy?” In actuality, that spike in the electricity current can have dire consequences for your home. Power surges are in the same damage category as lightning strikes when it comes to filing insurance claims. According to the Insurance Information Institute, those two claims together resulted in over $1 billion dollars of damage in 2008 with trends maintaining at a steady pace up to the present.

Whole House Surge Protectors

We here at Kelly Electric recommend an easy fix that will protect you in the case a power surge results in something bigger than some flickering lights. They’re called whole-house surge protectors and they will do wonders for protecting your electrical devices: TVs, computers, laptops, microwaves, dishwashers, video game console systems, even washer and dryer systems!

Lightning is one of the biggest causes of power surges, but power surges can also start inside the home, typically from power-hogging appliances that cycle on and off. Over time, these constant fluctuations will lake a toll on your electronics and your circuits will malfunction or burn out prematurely.

Whole-house surge protectors can protect against power surges and keep you and your family’s electronic devices safe during a storm, or during regular heavy use. When we here at Kelly Electric install your whole-house surge protector, there is an included warranty that will protect your equipment up to $10,000.

We highly recommend having one of these whole-house surge protectors installed immediately! Call us at (484) 454-5494 to get started!