A-Team Electricians Podcast · Episode 8 of 12
Monsoon storms from July through September send water and power surges at the equipment outside your Summerlin home and the control boards that run your cooling and pool. A whole home surge protector sits at the main panel and guards the wiring; point-of-use units guard single high-value equipment.
A whole home surge protector is installed at the main electrical panel and looks out for everything on the home's wiring. According to the A-Team Electricians podcast, point-of-use protectors instead guard one high-value piece of equipment. A-Team installs both kinds; which fits depends on the house and what is plugged into or wired to it.
Outdoor electrical gear is built for the weather, but it does not last forever. The Summerlin area guide from A-Team Electricians describes short July through September thunderstorms that push rain into anything with a weak point.
Exterior equipment relies on gaskets to keep rain out. Sun breaks down gaskets, fixture lenses and cable jackets all year, so a seal may have been weakening for months before the first monsoon cell arrives. Where a gasket has failed, or where conduit (the pipe the wires run through) is not sealed, water follows it inside.
On the west side of the valley, where Summerlin sits against the escarpment, wind pushes rain into equipment instead of simply letting it fall. The area guide says that makes water intrusion more likely, not less.
Exposed items include landscape lighting transformers and controllers, gate operators, and pool and water-feature equipment. Moisture inside electrical equipment can cause shorts and corrosion over time. Daily heat cycling can also loosen connections in exterior boxes, and storm moisture then lands on top of that.
A surge is a quick spike of extra voltage. Lightning is the most familiar cause, but the podcast stresses it is not the only one.
A-Team's service-area pages say the resulting damage tends to land on HVAC control boards, pool controllers, gate operators and low-voltage landscape transformers: the small electronics that run cooling and outdoor equipment. A-Team's Summerlin South page adds that whole-panel surge protection costs a fraction of one control board, and that on a house with this much low-voltage equipment it pays for itself once.
The podcast describes two kinds of surge protection. A-Team Electricians installs both.
This type sits at the main electrical panel, like a guard at the front door watching everything on the wiring. On a house with a lot of low-voltage equipment, A-Team brings it up first.
This type works like a bodyguard for one specific, high-value piece of equipment. Whether you want one, the other or both depends on the house and what is on it, so ask a licensed electrician to look at your setup.
Unplug sensitive electronics such as computers, TVs and gaming systems. Leave one lamp on so you can tell when power returns, then wait a few minutes before plugging anything back in, because power can fluctuate as it comes back. Stay away from downed lines and always assume they are live.
Weather damage is a reason to get the system inspected rather than wait.
If something sparks, smells hot or buzzes, switch off the breaker and call a licensed electrician. If there is smoke or flame, leave the building and call 911. A-Team Electricians is licensed by the Nevada State Contractors Board (License #0093397), bonded to $500,000 and insured.
Monsoon storms push water and surges at your outdoor equipment and your cooling and pool controls, so keep seals sound, ask about whole-panel and point-of-use protection, and have a licensed electrician look at anything that seems off.
Host: Okay, hey, welcome back. It's episode eight, and today's about those July-through-September storms we get out here. Which, honestly, Dan, I always figured were just a fun light show and a break from the heat.
Dan: They are a nice break. Until they aren't. The storms are short and they hit hard, and they go after the stuff outside your house, plus the electronics that run it.
Host: Okay, so two problems. Water, and, what, lightning?
Dan: Pretty much. Water getting in, and surges coming through. Let's do water first, since that one's easier to picture.
Host: Sure. But my outdoor stuff is all weatherproof, right? It's built to live outside.
Dan: Built for it, yeah, but things wear out. Exterior equipment has gaskets, basically seals that keep the rain out. And the sun here breaks those down all year, along with fixture lenses and the jackets on cables.
Host: Huh. So by the time the storm shows up, the seal's already been cooking for months.
Dan: Exactly. Then the monsoon finds every spot where a gasket has failed. Or where the conduit, that's the pipe the wires run through, isn't sealed. Water just follows it right in.
Dan: Kind of, yeah. And the wind makes it more likely, not less. On the west side of the valley it's windy, so the rain doesn't just fall, it gets pushed into things.
Host: Okay, and what's out there that water can hurt? Like, specifically?
Dan: Landscape lighting transformers and controllers, gate operators, pool and water-feature equipment. And moisture inside electrical equipment can cause shorts and corrosion over time.
Host: Got it. Is the heat part of this too, or is that a separate thing?
Dan: Kind of connected. It's thermal cycling. Hot afternoon, cooler night, over and over, and the connections inside exterior boxes can loosen. Then you add storm moisture on top of that.
Host: Okay, now the other one. Surges. I know the power strip thing, but I couldn't tell you what it's actually stopping.
Dan: It's a quick spike of extra voltage. Like somebody shoving a door way harder than it was meant to be shoved. Lightning is the famous cause, but those same storms also bring grid transients, which are brief bursts on the utility side.
Host: Wait, so it's not only a direct lightning hit?
Dan: Right, right. Outages and power coming back on can do it, grid fluctuations, even a fault inside the house. So it's not just a bolt hitting your roof.
Host: Okay, and what actually gets fried?
Dan: Around here, air conditioning control boards, pool controllers, gate operators, and low-voltage landscape transformers. Basically the little brains running your cooling and your outdoor stuff.
Host: Ooh, the AC board. In August. That's a bad time to find out.
Dan: Nobody loves it. Which is why surge protection comes up, and there are two flavors. Whole-panel, sometimes called whole-home, and point-of-use.
Host: Okay, break those down for me like I'm five.
Dan: So whole-panel sits at your main electrical panel, think of a guard at the front door of the house, looking out for everything on the wiring. Point-of-use is more like a bodyguard for one specific, high-value piece of equipment.
Host: Oh, that's a good picture. So which one do I want? Or do I need both?
Dan: Honestly, it depends on the house and what's on it. We install both kinds. On a house with a lot of low-voltage equipment, though, whole-panel is the one we bring up first.
Host: Okay, what about stuff I can do myself? Without, like, touching anything I shouldn't.
Dan: Easy ones. In an outage, unplug the sensitive electronics, computers, TVs, gaming systems. Leave one lamp on so you know when power's back. Then give it a few minutes before you plug anything in again.
Host: A lamp as a signal. That's kind of clever.
Dan: Simple, right? And the wait matters, because things can fluctuate right when the power returns. Oh, and stay away from downed lines. Always assume they're live.
Host: Yep, no heroics. So after a storm, how would I know something's off?
Dan: Lights dimming or brightening on their own, a warm outlet or switch, buzzing, a breaker that keeps tripping, or a burning smell. Weather damage is a reason to get it inspected rather than wait.
Host: And if it's, like, really off?
Dan: If something sparks, smells hot, or buzzes, switch off the breaker and call a licensed electrician. If there's smoke or flame, leave the building and call 911. Don't stick around to investigate.
Host: Love it. So if you had to boil down episode eight into one sentence?
Dan: Monsoon storms push water and surges at your outdoor equipment and your cooling and pool controls, so keep the seals sound, ask about whole-panel and point-of-use protection, and have a licensed electrician look at anything that seems off.
Host: Love it. And, quick reminder for everybody, this is general information, not a substitute for an on-site evaluation. Talk to a licensed electrician.
Dan: Always.
A whole home surge protector sits at the main electrical panel and guards everything on the home's wiring, according to the A-Team Electricians podcast. Point-of-use protection, by contrast, guards one specific high-value piece of equipment.
Power surges during monsoon season come from lightning, grid transients on the utility side, outages and power returning, grid fluctuations, and faults inside the house. A direct lightning hit on the roof is only one of those causes.
In Summerlin, A-Team Electricians reports that surges and grid transients take out air conditioning control boards, pool controllers, gate operators and low-voltage landscape transformers.
The right surge protection depends on the house and what is on it, per A-Team Electricians, which installs both kinds. On a house with a lot of low-voltage equipment, A-Team brings up whole-panel protection first.
During an outage, unplug sensitive electronics such as computers, TVs and gaming systems, and leave one lamp on to show when power returns. Wait a few minutes before plugging anything back in, and stay away from downed lines, which should always be treated as live.
A-Team Electricians is a family-run, licensed electrical contractor based in North Las Vegas that serves the Las Vegas Valley, including Summerlin, Summerlin South, Henderson, Enterprise and Southern Highlands. This podcast is general education, not a substitute for an on-site evaluation by a licensed electrician.
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Further reading: National Weather Service: Lightning Safety Tips and Resources
A-Team Electricians is a family-run electrical contractor in North Las Vegas serving Summerlin, Summerlin South, Henderson, Enterprise, Southern Highlands and the rest of the valley. Nevada State Contractors Board License #0093397; bonded to $500,000; licensed and insured.
The voices in this podcast are AI-generated from scripts based on information published at ateamelectricians.com. This is general information, not a substitute for an on-site evaluation by a licensed electrician. If an outlet or panel sparks, smells hot or buzzes, switch off the breaker and call a licensed electrician. If there is smoke or flame, leave the building and call 911.