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A whole house surge protector is a device connected at your service panel that provides protection from ‘big’ surges such as lightning strikes. Most residential houses are supplied with two 120V legs and so a whole house surge suppressor designed for such an installation would typically have ‘four mode’ protection: live 1-neutral, live 1-ground, live 2-neutral, live 2-ground. Some products add additional live1-live 2 and neutral-ground protection to become a ‘six mode’ device. Commercial facilities may receive ‘three phase power’ which will require a different device.
The maximum surge that can be expected at the service entrance is a C3 combination wave of 20kV, 10kA. Whilst lightning strikes can be 200kA this type of current does not reach the service entrance due to operation of utility surge arrestors, arc over to ground at the service entrance and insulation failure. What high kA rated surge protectors typically give you is longer lifespans, though much depends on the SPD and the protection mechanisms it uses.
Basic whole house protectors are sold at the big box home improvement stores. We, however, recommend the Environmental Potentials EP-2050 which is a more sophisticated device that has the benefit of providing a first tier of noise reduction for your system.
Home Theater Design. Scope of Work: Home theater layout, optimal placement of subwoofers, and ensuring optimal video viewing angles and sight lines. Additionally, we advised on baffle wall and riser designs and acoustic treatment design.
“We built this home theater so I could watch all of my favorite movies. It’s just a better experience overall. I wanted it to look better than anything possible, other than what you can see at the studio." Travis C.
Home theater in walk out basement. Scope of work: core home theater design package, sound isolation, HVAC, riser, hush box and baffle wall design.
"The end result is nothing short of spectacular." David W.
Home theater in custom home. Scope: core home theater design package w' sound isolation, equipment & acoustic treatment.
"Our room turned out way better than we ever expected. Everyone is amazed at the sound and picture quality!” Todd B.
Nyal Mellor, Founder, Acoustic Frontiers
Nyal Mellor
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