Periodically replacing home surge protectors?

[Anonymous user]

I was doing some reading about how surge protectors work and which ones to buy. I came across some advice saying surge protectors don’t last forever. And you should replace them periodically.

the advice was if you live in a home with a good power supply from your electrical company with only rare brownouts and good wiring in your house, to replace your surge protectors every five years. Or if you live in an area with more frequent brownouts, to maybe replace them every two years.

now I noticed that the APC surge protector I’m looking at buying, the PE66, has a “Proection Working” LED on it. I’m thinking as long as that LED is illuminated, I don’t need to replace the surge protector.

is that pretty much how I should go about it?

just replace the surge protector when that LED goes out?

[JonPro]

Hi @Anonymous user 

Thank you for reaching out to the SE Community, my name is Jon and I will assist you with this query.  Let me assist you with this query.

The Protection Working LED is our indicator that the surge suppression components of the device are in good shape and can protect you from surges.  Depending on the model, these components are:  (MOV, thermal fuse, fast-acting fuse, metal rod core inductors, and capacitors).

If this LED goes out, it is time for you to replace the surge protector.  I hope this helps.