Tim Carter, of http://AsktheBuilder.com, suggests whole-house and point-of-use surge protectors to protect your home from power spikes

Video Transcription

This time of year, here in the triton area, we got a lot of thunderstorms and what comes with thunderstorms are lightning. What can the lightning do? Well, it can strike an overhead power line maybe a half mile away from your house or even the lawn right next to your house and come right through your electric meter and down into your house and there it goes on a search and destroy mission. It starts looking for TV, VCR, computers, microwave ovens, anything, any electronic devices that got a little chip in it. Now, how can you stop that from happening, it is easy. You can buy two types of surge protectors and that is the best way to go. You want to first get a whole house surge protector. These devices attached right next to your electric panel, whether it is in the basement or the garage and they do a really good job. They come with audible alarms, they come with little lights that come on that tell you that the thing is working and they are really fantastic. Then, what you want to buy is what we called the porn or use search protector. Those are the ones that most people are familiar with. Those are the ones that plugged in right next to your computer or your television and they also have lights and alarms that lets you know whether or not the device is still working. Now, why do you need to know that, remember, the surge protectors are a lot like automobile brakes, they wear out. In other words, if you got a surge protector that is five or ten years old, it maybe worn out, so you have to replace them every so often. Remember, surge protector is really important and make sure you have a professional install your whole house surge protector. If you want to discover more home improvement tips, go to AsktheBuilder.com.