06
Surge protection, smoke detectors and inspections
The three pieces of work that exist to stop a problem rather than to fix one. Protection at the panel, detection in the hallway, and an inspection that tells you what you are actually living with.
Chapter 01
Why protection at the panel beats a power strip
A plug in surge strip protects one outlet and only against what arrives down that circuit. A whole home device sits at the service entrance and clamps the transient before it distributes into the house, which is where the large events actually come in.
That matters more than it used to. The load in a modern house is largely electronics with switching power supplies in them, and that now includes things nobody thinks of as electronics: the HVAC control board, the range, the washer, the garage door opener.
The two layers are complements rather than alternatives. A panel device handles the big transients; a good strip at a sensitive piece of equipment handles what is left and what is generated inside the house. We fit the panel device and we will tell you honestly where a strip is still worth having.
Eaton whole home surge protection device installed and landed inside a residential breaker panel
Fitting it, and what the device tells you afterwards
A surge device is only as good as its connection to ground and the length of its leads, so it goes in close to the panel with the leads kept short and straight, landed on a breaker sized for it. We work Eaton equipment as a certified Eaton contractor, and this is one of the places that matters.
These devices are consumable. They absorb energy over their life and eventually stop protecting, which is why they carry an indicator. We show you what the indicator looks like when it is healthy and what it looks like when the device has done its job and needs replacing.
A panel upgrade is the natural moment to add one, because the panel is already open and the breaker space is already being planned.
Chapter 03
Smoke and carbon monoxide detection, wired properly
Hardwired and interconnected is the standard worth meeting: when one alarm senses smoke, every alarm in the house sounds. In a single storey house with bedrooms at the far end from the kitchen, that difference is the entire point of the system.
Detectors have a service life, typically around ten years from the date on the back of the unit rather than from when you last changed the battery. A great many houses we visit have alarms well past that, which is why we check dates rather than just pressing the test button.
Placement matters as much as the device. Too close to a kitchen or a bathroom door and the alarm gets disabled by the household within a month, which is worse than not having fitted it.
What a residential inspection actually gives you
An inspection and a repair are distinct services that work hand in hand. We use the inspection to find and name the specific problems, then lay out the repair options so you can decide what gets done and in what order. The inspection is not a quote in disguise.
One customer had us do a whole home inspection, then called us back for the work they had decided they wanted. They said we were not pushy about it, and that is the intended shape of this service. Another told us that because we took the time to talk to an inspector first, they avoided a considerably more expensive repair than two other contractors had quoted.
It is also the sensible first move on a house you have just bought, or an older property where you have inherited decades of other people's decisions behind the walls.
Eaton certified contractor. Licensed Master Electrician TMEL#26724. Better Business Bureau accredited, family owned in Euless since 1981.