surge protector

[Anonymous user]

hi all, i am a home owner in souther spain need to understand some basics before i can make the right purchases for my home protection an reading a few posts on here would suggest you guys know!!
Last week we suffered a fire in our home caused through a surge of a little over 400 volts down the neutral line into our home. This was a result of high winds in the area and we believe an electric pylon coming down. Lots of other homes also suffered damage as a result of this but we so far seem to be the only ones who had a fire. There was a surge protector fitted but if i am correct after reading your info on other posts the fact the surge came down the neutral the protector had no where to send the charge? and the protector did a grand job of saving our electrical items in the home but consequently burnt out. We all got out unharmed but the system needs replacing. We had an electrician visit and he has recommended we have a 'new' device fitted which actually protects the system when the surge comes via the neutral ine, which often happens here in spain!. It runs up pretty expensive but there is no price on safety and life so for sure we will be fitting in but i would love an explanation of how this works, product names and recommendations as i want my money to be spent in the right places so any info would be much appreciated. I am a laywoman so keep it lay!! thanks all

[BillP · Accepted solution]

i would look into a panel mount surge protector. unfortunately APC does not make any for Europe at this time. in the spirit of pointing you in the right direction, one of our compeitor's offers an international version of their panel mount surge: http://www.eaton.com/Eaton/ProductsServices/Electrical/ProductsandServices/PowerQualityandMonitoring...