Loadshedding has become part and parcel of our lives in South Africa. With it no longer being a temporary issue, homeowners are forced to adopt a new way of living. Aside from the inconvenience, one major threat loadshedding poses is the impact on electrical devices and appliances – garage doors included.
In this article, we’re going to take a look at some of the steps that you can take to protect your garage door against damage caused by loadshedding.
But first, let’s glance over why appliances and electrical devices are at risk in the midst of South Africa’s rolling blackouts.
The dangers of loadshedding for home appliances
Loadshedding itself has the potential to cause damages to appliances and electrical devices, but the main concern are the accompanying power surges. Any device or appliance that is connected to the mains power is at risk when a power surge occurs; these power surges can cause irreversible damage to appliances and devices.
Thankfully, there are some things that you can do to protect your garage door from bearing the brunt of loadshedding-induced power surges.
How to protect your garage door from power surges
Here are 3 tips that you can start implementing to protect your garage door from power surges.
Disconnect your garage door during loadshedding
Your first line of defense when loadshedding strikes is to switch off your garage door motor – this will help protect it from power surges when the electricity is restored.
It’s advised to wait at least 30 minutes once the power has been restored before turning the device back on; this gives enough time for the power supply to stabilize (this is a critical moment where power surges are rife).
Invest in surge protectors
A surge protector is designed to reroute excess energy into a grounding wire; this prevents it from reaching the device in question. Additionally, they can also help protect devices if voltage drops below a safe threshold.
There are many different options available to South African customers – various online stores and hardware stores offer either DB board or surge protector rewireable plugs and power strips. DB board surge protectors provide protection for multiple appliances whereas rewireable plugs only protect the device which they are wired to.
Consider a UPS
A UPS, or Uninterruptable Power Supply, makes use of batteries to keep your devices running uninterruptedly when the power goes out. Additionally, they regulate the amount of power connected devices receive.
