electrical protection for HVAC equipment

ionized_gw

8 years ago

Would Compressor Defender or something like it be a good investment? It probably costs about 80 bucks.

http://www.intermatic.com/en/Products/Power_Protection_Duo/Compressor_Defender.aspx

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (4)

d2305
8 years ago
Don't know, but you can use a surge protector on you air handler. I just thought of this.
0
fsq4cw
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Great idea, wrong product;
why stop there? This product only
protects your HVAC equipment but what about everything else in the house that’s
digital and sensitive, particularly other 220VAC equipment with digital
controls, such as a dryer, stove top and oven; not to mention refrigerator,
computers and AV systems.

Once you’re going this far,
protect it all with ‘Whole House
Surge Protection’ so that it’s as if there’s a ‘Monster’ power bar surge
protector on every outlet on every appliance in your home including everything 220V.

Something else these units
do is tie all your grounds together,
electrical, cable/satellite TV and telephone.
Ever measure the electrical potential between cable TV ground and earth ground
and see a voltage as high as 80VAC? I have – and I wouldn’t want to put my
tongue there!

Bottom line important spec
to look for is:

‘UL 1449 3rd Ed., Type 1
SPD’

This is my recommendation a
geothermal design professional, a high-end audio electronic technician and an
advanced amateur radio operator with decades
of experience.

I have one installed at our
load center in our home. I no longer disconnect sensitive electronics every time there’s a thunderstorm
predicted. Besides, how do you disconnect a digitally controlled stove except
at the breaker; who wants to do that!

See link below:

IMPO

SR

Schneider Square D Whole House Surge Protection 'SurgeBreaker Plus'
0
Related Discussions
carrier hvac or trane hvac
Q
Comments (5)
Jt Some questions please. What is your location? What size home living area? What size furnace and eff are you replacing? What size AC are you replacing? I would like to know the exact mdl number evap coil for each quote. What thermostat is proposed for the Carrier quote? That is a big difference between the 96% eff Carrier furnace and the 80% eff Trane furnace-both 60 K input. That would be about 56 KBTUs output on the Carrier and about 48 KBTUs on the Trane. Not insignificant. I don't care for some shortcuts that homeowners make particularly on reusing linesets and using existing thermostats that shortchange a nice furnace's operational capability. Post back with the info requested. IMO
...See More
Criteria for selecting HVAC equipment
Q
Comments (2)
1. Is there a measurement (decibel reading) that tells me how loud the unit is (inside blowing noise and outside the house). - Yes, there is a decibal rating but I believe that it is for the outside unit only. The inside blowing noise (at the vents) is more of a function of duct design and blower speed. A 14 SEER unit and above will have a variable speed fan which should be more quiet than a fixed speed fan. 2. Where's the break point SEER for energy efficiency (say a 5 year payback)? I know that 13 is the new standard, but is it worth going up to 17 SEER? - Ah, the mother of all questions. Depends on electric rates, climate, and system usage. You say that the climate is temperate most of the year so the system usage will be fairly minimal compared to Texas or Florida. How are the electric rates in CA? I would think that payback from a 14 SEER to 17 SEER would be 10 years or more in your situation but I do not know the rates. 3. What is a typical warranty? 1 year, 10 yr? - Some systems are 5 year warranty, some are 10 year. Major parts only, labor is another issue. 4. Does the suitcase models require less maintance than the full size units? Are their any benefits to suitcase models besides the size? - Not sure what you mean by "suitcase models"? Good luck to you.
...See More
Meter based surge protection; HVAC not covered!
Q
Comments (14)
joed: I re-read my post, and it is ambiguous about the two meters. I am sorry I am late in posting a reply, but I had a real problem logging in as a user today. We have 400 amp service, but it is broken down to two 200 amp circuit breaker boxes each with their own meter. KCP&L then on their bill has "heat energy charge" and "energy" charge since they can read both meters with the total being of course the sum of the two. The meters on the outside of the house are close together on a large box with one post coming up from the ground to the box, and I guess all splitting between the two circuit breaker boxes goes on in the large box. That is all I know. So KCP&L wants to put their surge protector on the meter that reads the "energy" part. The other meter has the HVAC, water heaters, and ejector pump. The question was does the surge protector on the one meter protect everything in the house. KCP&L as of this moment has given me no written statement that it does. Maybe this is a trivial issue to a sophisticated electrician or an electrical engineer, but it is not to me as the average homeowner.
...See More
Electrical wires through HVAC return
Q
Comments (8)
Whoa, that's really ugly. Here's a true story for you. Several years ago I walked down into the cellar one evening and heard an odd humming noise. After some investigation I found that some of our old original rubber-and-cloth knob and tube wiring had been run over, into, and through a cold air return duct. The wires were unsupported and had no protection at all where they passed through the sheet metal, no ceramic tubes, not even loom. This must have been done when the heating system was upgraded and the cold air return was installed, probably between 10 and 25 years earlier, before I owned the house. Over the years, the duct's vibration had worn the insulation from the wires where they touched the sheet metal. They also had sagged so they were touching the top of the duct (probably the reason for the humming). Fortunately, the copper actually touching the duct was the grounded (neutral) conductor. But the hot side wasn't far behind. If I hadn't found that, we might have had a fire or electrocution. So, no, what you have there isn't right; and yes, it's hazardous. I think (I'm sure Ron will correct me if I'm wrong) that it's still permissible to route NM cable through a cold air return if it's protected by thinwall conduit or something equivalent. But IMO it's best to avoid it entirely if you can. In general any wiring of any type (including low voltage and phone and data cable) that passes through an air handling space is supposed to be "plenum rated." IIRC, that has to do with its flame resistance and smoke production when heated. Please get that fixed.
...See More
ionized_gw
Original Author
8 years ago
fsq4cw, you feel that under voltage and over voltage protection is useless?
0
fsq4cw
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Re: ionized

I would have thought that it’s
clear from my response that this protection is desirable.

The Schneider Square D
‘SurgerBreaker Plus’ unit provides superior performance and protection to the
‘Compressor Defender’.

After carefully reading the
ANSI/AHRI Standard 110-2012 and the Compressor Defender literature it’s not at
all clear that the Compressor Defender does anything meaningful regarding
brownouts other than inform of an occurrence. The ANSI/AHRI Standard 110-2012 referenced
in the Compressor Defender product literature prescribes minimum and maximum
voltage rating for each voltage rating ‘class’, such as, Nominal System Voltage
120v, Service Voltage 110v, Maximum Utilization and Service Voltage 127v,
Minimum Utilization Voltage 104v.

It is up to the HVAC
equipment manufacturers to ensure that their motors and controls will function
through these parameters. No $80 device will keep a compressor humming below
the Minimum Utilization Voltage of 208v. It might be able to take an A/C or HP
unit off line after 50ms of below 208vac with fast acting active circuitry but this is not confirmed in the Compressor
Defender specs, in fact it seems rather intentionally vague.

You are unlikely to ever
have too much protection but based on the size, cost, specs and lack of detail
regarding the Compressor Defender, I have serious doubts as to its worth. It’s not worthless or useless; I would choose
a better device such as the Schneider Square D ‘SurgeBreaker Plus’.

As a general note, when
compliance to a specific standard is mentioned regarding any product, all the original source material for
that standard must be read to fully
understand what it’s really all
about.

I also prefer complete schematic diagrams and full specs!

Down into the weeds…

IMPO

SR
0

electrical protection for HVAC equipment

Comments (4)

d2305

fsq4cw

Related Discussions

ionized_gw
Original Author

fsq4cw

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

electrical protection for HVAC equipment

Comments (4)

d2305

fsq4cw

Related Discussions

ionized_gwOriginal Author

fsq4cw

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

ionized_gw
Original Author