justin.cool Posted July 24, 2013 Posted July 24, 2013 Question: What kind of whole home surge protection systems will NOT impact my Insteon communications? I have poked around this forum and it would appear, to me at least, that I need follow a simple rule when selecting the various levels of protection, ie Level 1: Whole home device at power main/power meter and Level 2: A surge strip at the devices that may be sensitive. And the rule as I have pieced it together is: As long as there is NO filtering in the Whole home device or power strips, then the surge protection should not impact Insteon communications. Can someone please correct me if I am wrong, and provide some guidance? OR Tell me I am right, and provide any additional guidance as necessary?
Teken Posted July 24, 2013 Posted July 24, 2013 Question: What kind of whole home surge protection systems will NOT impact my Insteon communications? I have poked around this forum and it would appear, to me at least, that I need follow a simple rule when selecting the various levels of protection, ie Level 1: Whole home device at power main/power meter and Level 2: A surge strip at the devices that may be sensitive. And the rule as I have pieced it together is: As long as there is NO filtering in the Whole home device or power strips, then the surge protection should not impact Insteon communications. Can someone please correct me if I am wrong, and provide some guidance? OR Tell me I am right, and provide any additional guidance as necessary? Yes on all counts. I have been using a Sycom 120 / 240 whole house surge protector on the main service panel in my new home for three years. I have 40 plus Leviton point of use electrical outlets which have both LED indicators and alarm sirens to notify the user of failed protection. Both of these devices / brands have not impacted my Insteon system at all. I also have a Primary surge protector on the main service outside so this literally protects the entire home. The secondary surge protectors are in place to ensure smaller transients are caught and allows fail over in case of a large hit. Any critical systems are on UPS back up, and emergency items / devices are completely off grid to ensure fail over. The use of SSR, Opto relays, and transformers are in place to ensure absolute isolation and protection. Teken . . .
justin.cool Posted July 24, 2013 Author Posted July 24, 2013 Teken, Thank you very much for the prompt response. I had looked up the Sycom from one of your old posts. I must say I like the price compared to the Leviton units. But I am intrigued by your Primary Surge Protector on the main. Can you tell me what model you used for that? Thanks again!
Teken Posted July 24, 2013 Posted July 24, 2013 Teken, Thank you very much for the prompt response. I had looked up the Sycom from one of your old posts. I must say I like the price compared to the Leviton units. But I am intrigued by your Primary Surge Protector on the main. Can you tell me what model you used for that? Thanks again! I don't recall the model number off hand. But, it was a Leviton unit like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Whole-House-Sur ... 2313e26bbf Obviously, you need to know if the unit will fit your home. But, before you even go there I would reach out to your local POCO and ask if they have one. If they do please let them install and have ownership of the device. There is absolutely no down side going that route! You do it, you own it, if it breaks, you have to pay someone to come down and kill the power, and then install another one. If you lease the unit from the POCO for like $3-5.00 a month, if it breaks they have to kill the power, remove, and replace, for free! I did not have this option in my city! Teken . . .
apostolakisl Posted July 24, 2013 Posted July 24, 2013 I'm using 3 of these in my house. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Leviton-Whole-H ... 3a830ea753 I did not notice any changes in my Insteon communication after install. This type of surge is very helpful, but you should still protect sensitive equipment at the equipment.
justin.cool Posted July 25, 2013 Author Posted July 25, 2013 Teken and apostolakisl, Thanks for the input. I had gone to my POCO first, and no joy. They don't do, nor do they plan to do it. I don't even want to think about messing with the main on the outside of the house. Thanks again for the great advice and responsiveness! Justin
madcodger Posted July 25, 2013 Posted July 25, 2013 I'm using 3 of these in my house. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Leviton-Whole-H ... 3a830ea753 I did not notice any changes in my Insteon communication after install. This type of surge is very helpful, but you should still protect sensitive equipment at the equipment. Ditto. Works great, no effect on Insteon, similar older unit minimized damage earlier this year but lost switch on unprotected panel (have two) and locally unprotected headset chargers. Both panels now protected.
gatchel Posted July 25, 2013 Posted July 25, 2013 I have this Ditek unit on my house panel and on our garage sub panel with no issues: http://www.ditekcorp.com/product-details.asp?ProdKey=5
Teken Posted July 25, 2013 Posted July 25, 2013 Teken and apostolakisl, Thanks for the input. I had gone to my POCO first, and no joy. They don't do, nor do they plan to do it. I don't even want to think about messing with the main on the outside of the house. Thanks again for the great advice and responsiveness! Justin Justin, No worries. I can't stress enough that anything you do, starts with a good solid and clean ground. Ensure all grounds and neutrals in the main service panel are inspected and tighten down at each terminal post. Once that has been confirmed and validated you can move forward with a layered protection system. Many people often ask what is the purpose of having point of use devices? When you have a surge protector at the meter base, or main service panel. These devices are intended to stop, absorb, and redirect the spike / surge of voltage either within themselves, or to redirect to ground. Most of them are designed to work in a much higher range than what may be seen in a normal environment. Point of use outlets, or plug in surge protectors are designed to work and sacrifice themselves at a much lower voltage threshold. Please keep in mind there are two kinds of surge / spike protectors. Some will stop working (fail secure) and not allow power to flow once the device is damaged. While the (fail safe) will stop providing surge protection, but will continue to allow power to flow in the circuit. Using the combination above and determining the proper use will ensure your home, family, and those attached devices are well protected. There are common things where you will want a (fail safe) design as you need to ensure power is flowing at all times. ie. Fridge, Freezer, Sump, etc Whereas, there may be critical systems you wish to ensure no matter what if surge protection is lost than power should not be re-applied. This can be from Servers, Electronics, etc. Just something to consider when you start to deploy your protection system. Teken . . .
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