advanced search

Product of the Month

Oct 1, 2004 12:00 PM, By Ellen Parson, Contributing Writer

Safety starts from the ground up

The recent case of Ember Coolbaugh, a nine-year-old girl from Pinellas Park, Fla., serves as a sobering reminder of the hidden electrical dangers relating to touch voltage conditions. Playing in a neighbor's yard, Ember touched a copper pipe connected to an outdoor water heater and felt a tingle. After calling her friends over, she touched the pipe again and was electrocuted. Ironically, the homeowners had reported a problem to their utility prior to the tragedy after receiving a shock in the kitchen. However, after taking a voltage reading and inspecting the service to the meter, workers found nothing wrong and recommended that the customer call a licensed electrician.

This accident hit especially close to home for Pine Brumett, president of Spring Hill, Fla.-based PSG Enterprises, a family owned and operated supplier of power quality and surge protection devices, for several reasons. He not only has a nine-year-old daughter, but has also spent the past three years developing a product that could prevent this exact type of accident.

Since 1993, PSG has devoted most of its resources toward developing residential surge suppression offerings. According to Brumett, those arrester packages are solid performers, but they suffer from one functional limitation: they all depend on an adequately grounded system to operate properly but can do nothing to monitor that connection. That's why the company called on strategic partner EFI Electronics, a Schneider Electric company based in Salt Lake City, to help design and manufacture a better working and safer surge arrester that would also monitor ground resistance.

The result of that partnership is the HomeShield monitoring and protection system, which features a patented system monitoring and recognition technology (S.M.A.R.T.) design that monitors the earth ground resistance, presence of current, and presence of voltage on the electrical service ground conductor. The UL-Listed device's intelligent dual-stage hybrid arrester circuitry makes it possible to distinguish between “true” transient surge events and overvoltage conditions. By alerting homeowners to a potentially hazardous condition, it lets them take corrective action before a potentially catastrophic event occurs. “At first people think it's like a smoke detector for your electrical system,” Brumett explains. “But when a smoke detector goes off, you've already got a problem. When the alarm sounds and LED indicators [on the HomeShield] illuminate, the condition is still in its infancy and you have the ability to correct it.”

Scott McNeil, energy solutions representative and licensed master electrician at New Hampshire Electric Cooperative, a public utility co-op based in Plymouth, N.H., can attest to this claim firsthand. He has discovered and corrected several potentially hazardous conditions, including a shorted hot water tank, well pump, and air conditioner. He has not only installed at least 60 of the HomeShield devices for his employer since April, he also bought one for his own house.

Although installation is relatively simple, the process must be undertaken by a licensed electrician or utility representative because it involves work at the electric meter or the main service panel or disconnect. “The connections are basically made to the load lugs or the bottom jaws of the meter,” McNeil says. “There is a ground sensor that interfaces with the ground electrode conductor. “

Although life safety was the driving force behind the development of HomeShield, cost was also a concern. In fact, Brumett went into the venture with a price cap of $200. “To me, it could be the best product in the world, but if you minimize or limit affordability, it's not going to be used,” he says.

For more information, visit www.homeguardsystems.com.

Product Specs

Service voltage	120/240VAC
Clamping voltage	450V (6kV, 500A, 8 × 20µsec)
Surge current	40,000A
Joule rating	1000 (10 × 1,000 µsec)
UL Listing	OWHX, secondary arrester
Ground resistance	<25 ohms, 26-300 ohms, >300 ohms
Ground Voltage	<5V, >5V
Ground Current	<1A, >1A
Housing	NEMA 4X, weather-tight
Dimensions	3.6 in. × 3.0 in. × 2.67 in.
Unit weight	2.5 lb

Want to use this article? Click here for options!

© 2012 Penton Business Media, Inc.

---

Acceptable Use Policy blog comments powered by Disqus

Browse Back Issues Select an Issue EC&M Magazine | April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 1, 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 1, 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 1, 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 1, 2006 May 1, 2006 April 2006 March 1, 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 1, 2004 January 1, 2004 December 1, 2003 November 1, 2003 October 1, 2003 September 1, 2003 August 1, 2003 July 1, 2003 June 1, 2003 May 1, 2003 April 1, 2003 March 1, 2003 February 1, 2003 January 1, 2003 December 1, 2002 November 1, 2002 October 1, 2002 September 1, 2002 August 1, 2002 July 1, 2002 June 1, 2002 May 1, 2002 April 1, 2002 March 1, 2002 February 1, 2002 January 1, 2002 December 1, 2001 November 1, 2001 October 1, 2001 September 1, 2001 August 1, 2001 July 1, 2001 June 1, 2001 May 1, 2001 April 1, 2001 March 1, 2001 February 1, 2001 February 1, 1995 January 1, 2001 December 1, 2000 November 1, 2000 October 1, 2000 September 1, 2000 August 1, 2000 July 1, 2000 June 1, 2000 May 1, 2000 April 1, 2000 March 1, 2000 February 1, 2000 January 1, 2000 December 1, 1999 November 1, 1999 October 1, 1999 September 1, 1999 August 1, 1999 July 1, 1999 June 1, 1999 May 1, 1999 April 1, 1999 March 1, 1999 February 1, 1999 January 1, 1999 December 1, 1998 November 1, 1998 October 1, 1998 September 1, 1998 August 1, 1998 July 1, 1998 June 1, 1998 May 1, 1998 April 1, 1998 March 1, 1998 February 1, 1998 January 1, 1998 December 1, 1997 November 1, 1997 December 1, 1996 November 1, 1996 October 1, 1996 September 1, 1996 August 1, 1996 July 1, 1996 June 1, 1996 May 1, 1996 April 1, 1996 March 1, 1996 February 1, 1996 January 1, 1996 December 1, 1995 November 30, 1995 November 1, 1995 October 1, 1995 September 1, 1995 August 1, 1995 July 1, 1995 June 1, 1995 May 1, 1995 April 1, 1995 March 1, 1995

browse e-newsletters