Why you need a TV Guard in your House – Power surge in Kenya


If you have been using your electronic devices without a TV guard in your house, then you are taking a very big risk with your money. Its no secret that KPLC provides Kenyans with substandard energy filled with over voltages, under voltages, spikes and the most dangerous one Power surges. The featured photo shows what a power surge can do to your electronics. As you can see the capacitor exploded because it could not handle a power surge and the contents spewed out from the top.  On top of that the fuse had blown, all the rectifying diodes and the main processor were damaged too. In short the unit, a Skylife dvbt2 decoder is unrepairable.  Below is what a power surge did to a 32 Inch TV. Dont worry because all these problems can be avoided simply by using a Voltage guard.



In this case the fuse too had blown and the capacitors exploded and liquid started oozing from the top (picture taken upside down). Here the power supply was damaged beyond repair and had to be replaced. Did I mention that in both instances the warranty does not apply. Also most vendors will never give you a warranty on power devices like adapters be they be laptop adapters, decoder adapters,  electrical extensions, plugs and sometimes cables too.

How to tell if your area is prone to power surges

Buy an incandescent light bulb (NOT energy saver or LED lamp) and fix it in your house and monitor it at around 7pm because this is the time most people are at home and the demand for electricity is at its peak. If the brightness of the bulb keeps changing then you live in such an area.

A power surge is an instant burst of voltages higher than what is recommended by Kenya Power itself,  240Volts.

What causes a power surge

More than half of household power surges are internal. These happen dozens of times of day, usually when devices with motors start up or shut off, diverting electricity to and from other appliances.


Refrigerators and air conditioners are the biggest culprits, but smaller devices like hair dryers and power tools can also cause problems.


External power surges


An external power surge, stemming from outside your home, is most commonly caused by a tree limb touching a power line, lightning striking utility equipment or a small animal getting into a transformer.


Surges can also occur when the power comes back on after a blackout.  So always switch off the socket after a power outage and switch it on a few minutes after being restored.

How to prevent power surge losses

Sometimes its hard for me to refer you to a shop and buy something because most of the times the seller inflates the price or sells you a fake product with the same price tag. That was before Jumia so the Buy an electrical extension with inbuilt surge protection devices. Such extensions will cut the electricity to your devices by blowing the fuse. But after that,  you have to take the extension for repair.

But the second method is automatic and involves using a voltage guard like TV guard or protector for your electronics and Voltage guard for bigger appliances.