Why Protect Your Small Electronics From Surges?

It isn’t easy to imagine, but there was a time in recent history when computers were only available for business use. Larger than life, they were housed in rooms of their own, and like flying cars, personal computers were futuristic technology. Fast forward to today. You’d be hard-pressed to find a home without a laptop or desktop computer.

As of 2019, 74% of Americans owned one or the other.¹ That’s 74% of the American people, not households. A 2015-2019 survey indicates that 90.3% of American households have computers,² often more than one. In Florida, computers are in 91.5% of homes.²

Personal computers were cost-prohibitive when they first hit the scene but are more affordable today.Like other small electronics, computers are still an investment, with the average selling price at $632.³ Replacing one or more computers damaged by a power surge is costly. A power surge could be your computer and other small electronics’ worst enemy.

Lightning-created power surges can enter your home through wiring and damage or destroy small electronics, like laptops, tablets, game consoles, theater systems, and more. The good news is that you can help protect your pocketbook against the cost of repairing or replaceing electronics damaged by a power surge by enrolling in the Electronics Surge Protection^SM program offered by FPL Home. The program provides up to $5000 of annual coverage to help repair or replace covered electronics that are damaged by a power surge.

Plug-in power adapters aren’t 100% effective in protecting electronics. A power surge that enters your home’s electrical, cable, or data lines compromises the electronics plugged into them. With Electronics Surge Protection, if a power surge occurs you will have coverage for the out of pocket expenses to repair or replace the damaged items.

Lightning strikes are the number one cause of power surges⁴, and with and average of 3,500 cloud-to-ground flashes per day in Florida,⁴ it makes sense to enroll in the Electronics Surge Protection program to help protect your finances against the cost to repair or replace the sensitive electronics in your home. Would you like more information on how to enroll in the Electronics Surge Protection program to help protect your computers and other electronics? Just call 800-811-9216 or visit FPLHome.com.

FPL Home, is an unregulated subsidiary of Florida Power & Light Company (FPL). The Electronics Surge Protection program is offered and administered by FPL Home, and not FPL, and is provided by United Service Protection, Inc..

¹ https://www.statista.com/statistics/756054/united-states-adults-desktop-laptop-ownership/

² https://www.census.gov/search-results.html

³ https://www.statista.com/statistics/722992/worldwide-personal-computers-average-selling-price/

⁴ https://www.msbo.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/facop2020_power_surges.pdf