Im looking to mount my TV soon and to do that I also want to add a receptacle behind it as well. Theres an outlet directly below where the TV is, so I dont think extending it to another outlet above it will be too difficult.

I was looking at some wall plates that have both a "bulk cable" hole and recessed outlet in one plate, but I just realized I wont have my TV plugged into a surge protector any more. Im sure theres a solution for this as I find it hard to believe everyone doing a similar install doesnt have surge protection for their TV.

How do people get around this?

Im hoping the answer is something thats available at the local Home Depot/Radio Shack/Best Buy as Im looking to do the install this weekend and wont have time to ship something.


Thanks a bunc!

You could have an electrician do breaker box protection. Or carve a hole in the wall big enough to accommodate a small surge protector. Or:

http://www.smarthome.com/865130/Leviton-Duplex-Surge-Suppression-Receptacle-5380-I/p.aspx

Third option looks to be the best.

Home Depot and Lowes have cheaper ones also. I am already planning to use an in wall protector when I flat mount my LCD.

One thing to remember about breaker box protection (also known as whole house protection) is that only about 20% of surges come form outside the house.

If say your refrigerator motor dies and sends a surge inside the house I believe (but am not positive) that a breaker panel protector will not help. Any electricians out there than can confirm it one way or the other?

Third option looks to be the best.

Home Depot and Lowes have cheaper ones also. I am already planning to use an in wall protector when I flat mount my LCD.

One thing to remember about breaker box protection (also known as whole house protection) is that only about 20% of surges come form outside the house.

If say your refrigerator motor dies and sends a surge inside the house I believe (but am not positive) that a breaker panel protector will not help. Any electricians out there than can confirm it one way or the other?
In theory, if the fridge does send out a surge somehow, it should trip its own breaker.

However, without a protected circuit, the motor kicking on and off could produce electrical pops, though good grounding can eliminate most of that.

The biggest issue is usually the consistancy of power. While the electrical service can recover from higher draws when large appliances turn on, there is always that momentary draw that can affect power throughout the home. In a sense, you get a brown out condition.

That's why I'm big on hooking the good equipment to a UPS rather than just a surge/spike strip. Today's TVs aren't like the old, big and dumb tube models. Modern flat panel TVs are often computers inside with full video processors in them with a mini OS, like, in some cases, Linux. As a result, treating them like computers is important to a long life.