Last week the lights went out due to a really bad thunderstorm. When the lights came back on we reset all of the electronic clocks in our current house. We woke up the next morning to find that the microwave was not working...no power at all...how could this be, the microwave is only 3 years old and we reset the clock so we know it was working before we went to bed. So we did some research online...we tried to unplug and plug it back in, we check the socket to make sure it was ok, NOTHING!!! We called GE, who sent out a technician, who told us that the circuit board was fried. Of course, the microwave is over a year old and no longer under warranty. So we asked how much it would cost to fix it...the technician worked out a deal that was less than replacing the microwave, which is also the vent over the range. He also suggested that we purchase a surge protector, which may help prevent this from happening again. The GE technician ordered the parts and we received them on Monday. When the GE technician returned today to fix the microwave, he informed us that a house down the street from us go hit by lightning, which may have sent a surge that blew out the microwave.
We are so very lucky that none of our other appliances or electronics were affected. All of this got us thinking about our new house and how many appliances and electronics are now equipped with circuit boards and gadgets that can be affected from a power surge ... refrigerator, washer, dryer, microwave, TV, double oven, and the list goes on and on. Then we Googled "Whole House Surge Protectors" to see if such a thing exist --- it does exist and it is even at a reasonable cost. So then we reached out to RH to see if a Whole House Surge Protector is provided, we received a response from our PM and of course the answer was 'NO'.
Now we are doing research to determine which surge protector we should purchase, how much it will cost to purchase/install, etc. So once again we reach out to our fellow bloggers...does anyone have any advice, additional info, or words of wisdom that you wish to share to help us make our decision?
Additional info:
HGTV PRO.COM - Whole House Surge Protectors: Protect All Your Electronics
This Old House - Surge Protection
3 comments:
Ok...this time I have no answer for you :(
However, keep us posted...we have also asked about it and got the same answer as you and with any luck we will not forget about until it until it is too late. We do however LOVE LOVE LOVE the electrician doing all the wiring and electric for the new house so we may contact him to see what he can do to help us out with installing one of these. It, however, is not high up on our list so you may have details before we do.
You didn't specifically call it out on your list, but don't forget your Spa Shower is now electronically controlled too...
Wow! That sucks we had damage during the storms as well in our current house! Go figure, only a few days before we close too!
I am happy to hear that is was at least one of the more inexpensive appliances.
This same thing happened to my grandparents (who also live in Pittsburgh). Most of their appliances circuit boards were completely destroyed... Black... And smelled
Like smoke. So, they got a whole house surge protector. Who provided the electricity in your old house?
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