We are right in the middle of hurricane season here in North Carolina, and anybody who has lived here long knows how quickly the weather can change.

A storm can pop up in the afternoon seemingly out of nowhere. Lightning starts. Wind picks up. Trees come down. Power flickers or goes completely out.

Then the storm moves on and the power comes back.

Have you ever stopped to think about what's happening to the electrical system during all of that?

Your heating and air conditioning system is sitting there connected to the home's electrical system through every bit of it.

That's one reason I think surge protection deserves a lot more attention than most homeowners give it.

And there's something important to understand from the beginning:

Power surges aren't just about your house getting struck by lightning.

What Happens to the Power During a Storm?

When most people hear "power surge," they immediately picture a lightning bolt hitting their house.

Lightning is certainly one possible source of a damaging electrical event, but it's far from the only thing we're concerned about.

Think about what can happen during one of our North Carolina thunderstorms or tropical systems.

Power can flicker several times. Electrical service can go completely out. Trees can damage power lines. Utility equipment may be switching. Entire neighborhoods can lose electricity and then have it restored.

At the same time, electrical loads are constantly changing.

Air conditioners shut down when the power goes out. Refrigerators stop. Water heaters, appliances, electronics and thousands of other electrical devices throughout the area are affected.

Then power is restored and equipment throughout those homes and businesses begins coming back online.

All of those changes can create disturbances within the electrical system.

That doesn't mean every power outage or storm creates a damaging surge. But it does mean there can be a lot more happening electrically during a storm than most homeowners realize.

And your HVAC system is connected to it.

Your Air Conditioner Isn't What It Was 20 Years Ago

I've been working in the HVAC industry for more than 20 years, and heating and cooling equipment has changed tremendously.

A lot of those changes have been good.

Today's systems can give us better efficiency, better humidity control, quieter operation, variable-speed capability, smarter thermostats and much more precise comfort.

But we've also put a lot more electronics into the equipment.

Depending on the HVAC system in your home, you may have expensive circuit boards, electronically controlled motors, sensors, communicating controls, variable-speed components and inverter technology.

That's a long way from some of the equipment we worked on years ago.

And those electronic components aren't necessarily cheap when they fail.

Most of us wouldn't think twice about plugging an expensive television or computer into surge protection.

But we may have $10,000, $15,000 or considerably more invested in the heating and cooling equipment sitting outside and underneath, above or beside our homes without ever thinking about electrical surge protection for it.

That's worth a conversation.

What Does a Whole-Home Surge Protector Actually Do?

A surge protective device is designed to respond when certain transient overvoltage events occur and help divert that excess electrical energy before it reaches the equipment we're trying to protect.

At Simmons One Hour, the surge protection we use is installed into the home's electrical system rather than being a little plug-in device like the power strip behind your television.

That gives us the ability to provide a layer of surge protection for equipment throughout the home, including your heating and cooling system.

And I deliberately use the words "a layer of protection."

Because that's exactly what it is.

Will a Surge Protector Guarantee Lightning Can't Damage My HVAC System?

No.

I think this is important because I never want to sell homeowners something based on a promise the product can't deliver.

There is no device I'm going to install and tell you, "Don't worry. Lightning can never damage your HVAC system now."

A severe electrical event can exceed the capabilities of protective equipment. A direct or nearby lightning event can be incredibly powerful.

Surge protection is about reducing risk, not eliminating every possible electrical failure.

Think of it like other protection we put into our homes.

We don't install smoke detectors because we're planning on having a fire.

We don't wear seat belts because we're planning on having an accident.

We put those protections in place because we know certain things are outside our control and the consequences can be expensive or serious when something does happen.

I look at surge protection in much the same way.

It's Not Just Your Air Conditioner

We're an HVAC company, so naturally I'm concerned about protecting your heating and cooling equipment.

But whole-home surge protection isn't limited to your air conditioner.

Walk around your house and think about how many things contain electronics today.

Your refrigerator. Washer and dryer. Television. Computers. Kitchen appliances. Garage door opener. Smart-home equipment. Chargers. Entertainment systems.

We've put electronic controls into just about everything.

That makes surge protection a whole-home conversation, not simply an HVAC conversation.

Why Hurricane Season Is a Good Time to Think About It

I don't believe in trying to scare somebody into buying something because there's a hurricane somewhere in the Atlantic.

But I do believe in preparing before you need something.

Hurricane season is a good reminder because we see firsthand how quickly our weather can affect the electrical system.

Sometimes it's a hurricane or tropical storm.

Sometimes it's a severe thunderstorm on a hot Tuesday afternoon.

The lights blink two or three times, the power goes out, and 30 minutes later everything comes back on.

We can't control that.

We can't control where lightning strikes. We can't control when a tree falls across a power line. We can't control a utility outage or exactly what happens on the electrical grid as power is interrupted and restored.

But we can decide how we're going to protect the expensive equipment connected to it.

I'd rather have that conversation before the storm than after we're standing beside an HVAC system with a failed electrical component.

What About Surge Protection Already Built Into My HVAC Equipment?

Some HVAC equipment and individual electronic components may already have a degree of electrical protection built into them.

That doesn't automatically mean additional surge protection has no value.

I look at electrical protection in layers.

Different devices can be designed to respond to different electrical conditions. We're not trying to make the claim that adding another layer makes your equipment indestructible.

We're trying to reduce unnecessary exposure where we reasonably can.

For homeowners who have invested thousands of dollars in modern heating and cooling equipment, I think that's worth considering.

Is Whole-Home Surge Protection Worth It?

For many homeowners, I believe it is.

I'd especially consider it if you have newer HVAC equipment with expensive electronic components, variable-speed equipment, communicating equipment or a significant investment in electronics throughout your home.

I'd also think seriously about it if you live in an area where thunderstorms, tropical weather, power flickers and outages aren't exactly unusual.

That certainly describes a lot of us here in North Carolina.

You're buying protection for something you hope never happens.

If your house goes the next ten years without experiencing an electrical event capable of damaging anything, that's great.

But if an electrical event does occur, I'd rather have another layer of protection in place than wish we'd talked about it afterward.

Surge Protection Doesn't Solve Every Electrical Problem

There's one more distinction homeowners need to understand.

A surge protector and a soft starter are not the same thing.

Every time your air conditioner's compressor starts, it requires a large amount of electrical current for a very short period of time. That's commonly called starting or inrush current.

That's normal compressor operation.

A whole-home surge protector isn't designed to reduce that starting demand.

A soft starter is.

A soft starter manages how the compressor starts and can substantially reduce the amount of current required during those first moments of operation.

Why does that matter?

It can create a smoother compressor start, reduce the starting demand placed on the electrical system and be particularly useful when you're trying to operate an air conditioner from generator or other backup power.

That's a completely different job from surge protection.

I mention it because I don't want homeowners buying one and thinking they're getting the other.

Surge protection helps protect against damaging electrical events. A soft starter helps manage what happens when the compressor itself starts.

Two different problems. Two different technologies.

And next week, I'm going to dig into soft starters, including the EasyStart technology we use, what it actually does and whether I think it's worth putting on your air conditioner.

Here's the Takeaway

We can't control the weather.

And here in North Carolina, we certainly can't control what hurricane season, summer thunderstorms or the electrical grid might throw at us.

What we can control is how well we prepare.

Today's HVAC systems contain more sophisticated and expensive electronics than the systems many of us grew up with. Those advancements have brought us tremendous improvements in comfort and efficiency, but they've also given us more electronics worth protecting.

Whole-home surge protection isn't a guarantee that you'll never have electrical damage.

It's another layer of protection for an investment you've already made.

For me, that's the right way to look at it.

If you're not sure whether your home or HVAC equipment currently has surge protection, ask us the next time we're at your home. We'll take a look and explain your options.

No scare tactics. No promises that nothing can ever happen.

Just another way to help protect your home and keep your family comfortable.