With the constant load shedding that the country faces, there are cases whereby when Eskom is turning the power back on, a voltage which is higher than that which is supposed to be supplied comes surging through the power cables to your house therefore causing damage to electronic components as well as DB Board. Although insurers do provide cover for power surge, it is best for one to check their policy if this cover has been selected and/or the limits that are being provided for the cover. If there is a limit for power surge on your policy and the cover is too low to cover your appliances and repairs then one should increase the cover to a more suitable amount.
In order to minimize loss due to power surge, it would be best to install surge arrestors on the DB Board or use the surge protection adapters to plug in your electrical components. The surge arrestor is installed at the point where the power comes into your house, and protects you against surges in power, usually up to around 6000 volts. You can get a surge arrestor for up to as much as 20,000 volts. One of the most cost-effective methods to completely prevent a power surge is to unplug certain appliances in the event of load shedding or during thunderstorms. Once the electricity has returned, one should wait a further 10 minutes before plugging in all the appliances.
Thus far, we have had instances where we have experienced stage 6 which means we are out for 4.5 hours, with a 2-hour reprieve till the next outage. If you have the alarm warranty on your policy, you must still activate your alarm, whilst unoccupied, as you would under normal circumstances, even if you are going through scheduled outages. It is important to note that most alarm backup batteries can last for at least 6 hours. Double check whether your backup battery for the alarm is checked regularly and ready to kick in during these times. If not, it is your responsibility to regularly test the batteries to ensure maximum protection is provided by your system.
Contact one of our advisors for more information.
Phone: 011 803 9686
Email: vivian@pbafsa.co.za or bev@pbafsa.co.za
https://www.pbafsa.co.za/