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PROTECT YOUR HOME DEVICES

Inland Power strives to provide safe, reliable and consistent electricity to our members. Nevertheless, Inland Power cannot guarantee 100% protection against all power quality problems in your home and power quality events can occur for reasons beyond Inland Power’s control such as lightning strikes, animal damage or faulty equipment in nearby homes and businesses. Most of the time members will never notice these voltage disturbances, but large variations may cause some members’ computers, household appliances, or other personal or business equipment to malfunction.

COMMON ISSUES THAT IMPACT HOME DEVICES

Members should take prudent steps to protect themselves from possible power quality fluctuations as Inland Power is not responsible for loss or damage resulting from these events. A short list of the conditions you should consider when determining proper system protections are discussed below. Please remember this list is not inclusive of all possible scenarios.

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  • SAG & SWELL FLUCTUATIONS — An abrupt decrease (sag), increase (swell) and longer duration fluctuations of power quality can occur at any time. Momentary sags do not generally disturb lighting, motors or heaters, but do impact the performance of electronics such as televisions, computers and networking equipment. High quality surge protectors and UPS power backup are highly recommended to avoid equipment damage and data loss.
     

  • LOSS OF A PHASE — It is common during an outage for only one or two phases of our power line to be affected, resulting in less than all three phases to the large equipment being energized. The loss of one or two phases to a three phase motor or pump can cause significant damage to a motor and its control system. It is the responsibility of each member to determine and install the appropriate protection equipment for their system in the event of a loss of a phase.
     

  • OVER-VOLTAGE — There are many causes for over-voltage conditions on a power system including lightning and operations on either the distribution or transmission system during abnormal conditions. While Inland Power has surge arrestors on our high voltage system, these devices are designed to protect our equipment. These lightning arrestors are not a substitute for surge protectors or similar devices designed to be installed on members’ equipment to protect against damage.
     

  • INSURANCE — Each member should assess their need for an appropriate level of insurance coverage for their system and home.

HOW CAN YOU PROTECT YOUR HOME?

There are two major ways to protect your equipment from surges. First, you can provide protection at the point of entry or your electrical panel. Second, you can install protection at the point of use, where electrical equipment connects to electrical outlets. A combination of point of entry and point of use protection will provide the greatest level of protection. Homeowners can find a whole home or plug in surge protector at any local hardware or office supply store. Members should select protectors that are at least UL 1449 listed so that they meet the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) standard for protection. The lower the listing the better.

Despite our best efforts, Inland Power cannot provide 100% protection against all power quality problems that you may experience in your home. Please be proactive in protecting your electronically operated equipment from the effects of power sags, swells and other possible disturbances.

If you have any questions on how to protect your home, please contact Inland Power at (509) 789-4277 or inlandpower@inlandpower.com and a member of our team will be happy to assist you.

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