Surge protector for refrigerator is an inexpensive device that is easy to use. You can protect your expensive home appliances, such as refrigerators, with this relatively cheap surge protector device. Unexpected high voltages can often damage unprotected household electrical appliances. Power surge protectors act as barriers to isolate the devices from such voltage spikes. If you live in an area of constant thunderstorms and lightning occurrences, then having this protector is highly beneficial for the electrical safety of your equipment.
Why Do I Need a Surge Protector for my Refrigerator?
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The general home appliances can handle only 120V of AC power, and this is supplied by the electric outlets at home. In the case of a power surge, the voltage increases and damages the device. It would create a high voltage arch that can heat and melt the parts of the appliance and even catch fire in the worst case. The power surge protector is the device that can protect your appliance from this harmful effect. Having a power surge protector is mandatory if there are malls or factories near your residence. So having a surge protector for refrigerators would ensure their long life without damaging the electrical circuits.
How Does a Surge Protector Work? ?
A power supply is an unexpected increase in the voltage that would last for a very short time, like a few milliseconds. Power surges can occur due to internal reasons such as electrical overload or damaged wiring. Large electrical appliances like air conditioners and washers can cause large power fluctuations. The external causes for this are lightning strikes and power outages. The standard voltage of electricity in the US is 120V AC at a frequency of 60Hz. Most electronic appliances cannot handle voltage above 169V. Anything above this voltage is a damaging power surge that could damage electronic components and circuit boards.
What is a Power Surge Protector?
A surge protector is a device made especially to protect high-powered electrical and electronic equipment, instruments, and communication lines from power surges and current spikes. When it detects any unusually high voltage fluctuation, it will shut off the power supply to the refrigerator. It is also known as a lightning protector and is an important device in modern lightning protection as well.
How Does a Surge Protector Work?
The electrical circuit in a surge protector for refrigerators is designed to be in an off state with infinite resistance when there is no overvoltage. When an overvoltage occurs, the circuit closes, and the resistance gets minimal. Then the internal components would clamp the voltage within a predefined range. After the current is absorbed and discharged, the surge protector returns to its original state of high resistance. This process would not have any other effect on the equipment. So use a surge protector for refrigerator to save your electrical equipment and avoid any electrical accidents and fires.
The Functioning Mechanism of Surge Protector
Alternate current is transformed by the iron core transformer in the surge protector. It also has a Metal Oxide Varistor (MOV) that limits the voltage significantly. Sometimes this component will be self-destructed in the functioning. When the MOV detects high voltages, it increases resistance and vice versa. The metal oxide of the MOV connects to the power line and grounding line. The semiconductor in it has variable resistance, which changes the electron flow depending on these circumstances. This is the mechanism by which surge protection for refrigerators is supplied.
Important Parameters of the Surge Protector
- The maximum continuous operating voltage (Uc): This is the maximum AC or DC voltage that can be applied effectively to the surge protector continuously.
- Maximum discharge current (Imax): This refers to the maximum discharge current that can be tolerated by the surge protector when using an 8/20μs current wave to impact.
- Minimum discharge current (In): This is the discharge current at which the surge protector works normally.
- Protection level: This is the maximum voltage value between the terminals of the surge protector during an impulsive overvoltage. This is a fundamental parameter used to choose the SPD correctly. This should be accounted for the impulse voltage of the equipment to be protected.
How Does a Power Surge Affect Your Refrigerator?
Power surges can destroy your refrigerator and even cause an electrical fire. A strong power surge causes an electrical arc that produces heat that overheats the components. Refrigerators are made with microprocessors and inverter boards. Power surges can fry these parts or even melt away some plastic components. Weaker power surges can cause incremental damage to the refrigerator, which would affect its performance and shorten the lifespan. So use a surge protector for refrigerator to save your equipment and avoid any electrical accidents and fires.
Should I Put a Surge Protector on my Refrigerator?
Electrical surges can occur at any time, regardless of the climate or other conditions. It might even have happened at your home without your notice, as it didn’t damage anything. So before anything gets damaged, it is necessary to use a surge protector to safeguard your home appliances. Refrigerators especially need surge protectors as they consume a lot of power, and if damaged, you would have to spend a huge amount of money on the repair. Hence, it is always better to have proper precautionary measures before you get into trouble.
What are the Benefits of having a Power Surge Protector for your refrigerator?
In addition to protecting your refrigerator from power surges, this surge protector also offers the following benefits.
Inexpensive and Easy to Use
Power surge protectors are very inexpensive and easily affordable. As they have plug-and-play installation, they are easy to be used. There are no advanced using mechanisms, and they can be used just as similar to the adapters.
Prevents Low Voltages
Not only high voltage spikes, but the refrigerators can also get damaged by low voltage fluctuations as well. So in the event of a low deficit, some power surges shut down the refrigerator to avoid any damages. It would save your refrigerator’s compressor from stalling and overheating.
Increases Durability of Refrigerator
Weak power surges would occur very frequently that would create accumulated damages and gradually decrease the lifespan of the refrigerator. So using a power surge can avoid this and increase its usable lifespan.
What Types of Refrigerators Need a Power Surge Protector?
Since refrigerators are expensive products, you need to choose the best model by eliminating the Worst Brands of Refrigerators when purchasing. Refrigerators, in general, are made to have long, usable lives. Once you purchase this, ensuring the long life of this refrigerator is your obligation. This is why all refrigerators need to have some type of power surge protector to avoid any electrical damages. But there are different surge protector models that are most suitable, depending on the type of refrigerator.
The basic Power on Delay model has a built-in power surge protector. It gives protection against all power surges, low voltage fluctuations, and brownouts. This model is suitable for non-inverter refrigerators, freezers, and beverage coolers.
An AVR (Automatic Voltage Regulator) is more suitable for an inverter fridge with fancy electronics. It is also ideal for areas with inconsistent power supply. A built-in Power on Delay function model can be used to cover the bases. The AVR regulated the incoming voltage rather than shutting off the refrigerator when a high or low voltage is detected. Therefore, it is more beneficial for the protection of refrigerators from power surges and low voltage fluctuations.
Things to Know About Surge Protectors
Before you purchase a surge protector, there are some important factors to consider. So let’s find out the things you need to know about power surge protectors.
Are Power Strips the Same as Surge Protectors?
Power surge protectors or surge suppressors are different from power strips. To be exact, power strips are multi-outlet products that are cheap and mostly like an expansion of the wall power outlet. Even though they have a circuit breaker, it doesn’t provide any real protection from electrical issues. Surge protectors are also relatively cheap but offer protection against power strikes.
Joules
A joule is the SI unit of work or energy. The protection of surge protectors is measured in joules. The higher the number of joules, the higher the protection, as it can handle one large surge or many small surges.
Warranty
Most surge protectors come with a limited warranty. Some high-end products even offer a warranty for the connected equipment on any damage by a surge or lightning and will repair or replace it up to a certain cost. Even though such warranties may not be required, it is always better to have them.
No Need of a Power Conditioner
Various products in the market claim to improve the performance of power by conditioning it. If you already have a surge protector for electronic appliances, then you don’t need such power conditioners. This is because most products filter the noise of incoming wall current and convert it according to the necessity of the device. So, you won’t need a power conditioner unless you have very cheap surge protectors and live in an area of very high electrical issues.
Lifespan
The surge protectors also wear out with time. Some products shut off when their protection depreciates and drops below a safe level. But some will keep working despite the wearing out and cause damage to the equipment during a power spike. So if you know of any serious electrical events in your area, such as blown-out transformers due to lightning strikes, then it is always a better choice to replace your surge protector, as it might also have been damaged. It is also good to replace the surge arrestor if it is old and has been used for many years. Since they are less costly, they are worth replacing.
What is the cost of a surge protector?
Most power surge protectors are relatively inexpensive and can be affordable. There are many surge protectors for you to choose from, starting at very small prices of $20 or less.
What is the Best Surge Protector for a Refrigerator?
The overall best surge protector for refrigerators is the Tripp Lite Isobar Refrigerator Surge Protector. It consists of a surge protection rating of 1410 joules which provides adequate protection from most of the surge damages. The diagnostic LEDs on it can be used to confirm proper grounding, correct wiring, and check the active protection. Therefore, users can easily troubleshoot their electrical appliances and find solutions for them.
Tripp Lite IBAR2-6D Isobar 2 Outlet Surge Protector Power Strip, 6ft Cord, Right-Angle Plug, Metal, Lifetime Limited Warranty & Dollar 25,000 Insurance
Both internal and external protections are provided by this surge protector. The isolated filter bank’s safe thermal fusing blocks any interference between the devices connected to it. Hence it provides good protection even in extreme conditions. This is the main difference that makes Tripp Lite Isobar the best performer and stands out from its competitors.
Even if the connected device fails, the Tripp Lite offers a lifetime insurance policy of $10,000. This creates customer confidence about the quality of the product. The protective metal housing of the Tripp Lite Isobar Refrigerator Surge Protector offers high reliability. It consists of two NEMA 5 to 15R outlets so that it can be easily plugged into similar outlets without using power cords. So here are its main benefits and drawbacks at a glance.
Benefits:
- High joule rating of 1410 J
- Limited lifetime warranty
- Lifetime insurance of $10,000
- EMI/ RFI noise filtering
- Diagnostic LEDs
- Advanced Noise/ Surge Protection
Drawbacks:
- It does not filter appliance line noise
Conclusion
Sometimes the lightning impacts might cause very high voltages that cannot be tolerated by surge protectors. However, all other situations can be handled by them. Therefore having surge protection for refrigerators is an advanced step taken for their protection and to ensure a long lifespan. You can protect all your other home appliances using the ideal type of surge protector. However, you need to avoid the faulty models of devices found in the market. This is why there are special concerns regarding Worst Washing Machines, Faulty Dishwashers, and Water Heater Brands to Avoid.
