How to Add Surge Arresters to Circuits

Your home's electrical equipment—everything from computers to phones—can be taken out in an instant by the surge from a lightning strike. To stop an electric surge, you can add a whole-house surge arrester at the main circuit breaker panel. Follow these steps to add a surge arrester at the main circuit and provide protection against damage to your expensive equipment.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Shut off the main circuit breaker at the service panel. Always test that the circuits are not live before continuing, because the power stays on at the panel where it connects to the main breaker and out to the electric meter. Remove the panel cover, making sure to collect the screws.

2. Place the surge arrester nearest the circuit you want to protect. Depending on the model, the arrester may mount inside the panel, in place of a circuit, or outside the panel. A whole-house surge arrester will protect all the circuits, not just the one connected to it.

3. Connect the surge arrester to the red and black hot wires from the circuit you want to protect.

4. Look for a pigtail-shaped white wire on the back of the surge protector. Attach this wire to the neutral bus bar on the circuit.

5. Join the grounding wire to the grounding bus if it is separate from the white wire. If the electrical panel you are working with is a sub-panel (such as a panel controlling one apartment in a multi-unit building), the white and grounding wires will need to be connected separately.

6. Replace the panel cover and turn on the breaker. Look for a light on the surge arrester that indicates the arrested is functioning properly and the circuits are receiving power.

Tips & Warnings

• To increase protection, connect computers and other sensitive devices to additional individual surge arresters. Note that most multi-outlet power strips do not provide effective surge protection.