It won't be too much longer before the summer storm season arrives in Queensland. This brings rain, winds, and plenty of thunderstorm activity. While the summer rain is welcome after a dry winter, you are a little worried about how these storms will impact on your home. This is your first home, and since it is an older property, now is the perfect time to be thinking about summer storms and power surges. There are two ways you can protect the electrical appliances in your home from the power surges that happen when lightning is around, so consider these pointers and make an appointment with your electrician to get this electrical work taken care of.

What you can do to prevent power surges damaging electronics

Power surges during storms happen when lightning strikes and interrupts the power supply. For example, if lightning strikes a power line close to your home, this causes the electrical pressure to increase in the line, and the result is a power surge hurtling into your property. All unprotected electrical devices plugged into power outlets at the time of the power surge receive this overpowering spike in pressure, and this causes them to blow out their circuits. You are facing replacement rather than repair for most electronics that experience this surge.

All appliances plugged into a socket in your home must be protected by a surge protector. You can buy surge protectors at all electronic and department stores. They plug into the electrical outlet, and then your devices plug into the surge protector. The good thing about a surge protector is that you can plug more than one device into it. This is particularly useful for areas where you have several devices sitting together, such as the television, DVR and surround sound system in the lounge.

The way a surge protector works is that when an increase of power comes pouring in from the outside power line, it sends that excess power into the ground before it reaches your appliances.

What your electrician can do to prevent power surges damaging electronics

Not all homes have a surge protector installed at the mains panel, so this is why you need an electrician to come to the home and see if you do. If not, then they can install one while there. The benefit of adding a surge protector to the mains panel is that you can then protect devices like your air conditioning unit which are directly wired into your home's electricity system.

The surge protector at the mains panel works the same as the portable one you buy at the store in that it stops the power surges before they enter the home. The more you control these voltage spikes, the longer your electrical appliances will last, so make sure you book an electrician well before the summer storms arrive.