Power surge protection is accomplished by using a power surge protector, a device that protects any electrical device by regulating the supplied voltage.
What is Power Surge Protection?
Most homes and offices are full of delicate and fragile consumer and professional electronic products that could be damaged by power interruptions or other electrical problems. Luckily, surge protectors offer power surge protection that can protect valuable home entertainment centers, computer workstations, and office equipment from serious damage caused by power surges.
A power surge (transient voltage) is an increase in voltage significant enough to disrupt an appropriate flow of electricity. The typical voltage found in homes and offices is 120 volts. When the voltage rises above 120 volts, problems to electrical components and devices can occur.
To further understand the importance of surge protectors, it is useful to know the fundamentals about voltage:
Voltage is defined as a measure of a difference in electric potential energy. Because there is greater electrical potential energy on one end of a wire than on the opposite end, an electrical current travels from point to point (for those of you who are familiar with water pressure, the same concept is used to explain what makes water flow from a hose – because of higher pressure on one end of a hose, the water gets pushed toward a less pressure space at the other end of the hose). Voltage is a gauge of electrical “pressure.”
There are many causes for a brief increase (spike or surge) in voltage. In the case of an increase lasting 3 nanoseconds or more, it is called a “spike.” An increase lasting 1 – 2 nanoseconds, it is called a “surge.”
Proper power surge protection can help minimize the potential hazards that can occur from these power spikes or surges.
Types of Power Surge Protection Devices
The market is full of numerous types of power surge protection devices. The most common surge protector has either six or twelve outlets. Additional options found on surge protectors include:
- Surge protection devices that can handle different loads
- Wall mounted or placed on the floor
- Surge protection devices that include connections for coaxial cables, telephone lines, ethernet cables, and other data connections, in addition to having electrical outlets
- Surge protectors for computers
- Whole house surge protection
Types of Power Surge Protection Surge Protectors
While there are numerous kinds of power surge protection devices currently on the market, the two most popular brands with consumers is the APC Surge Protector and the Monster Surge Protector.
APC Surge Protector – APC or American Power Conversion is a well-known company providing solutions to power and temperature problems that can lead to downtime, hardware damage, and data loss. Over the years, APC has lead the industry due to its innovation, quality, and support. Not only does APC offer solutions designed for the corporate environment, but the company also provides whole house surge protection solutions as well.
Monster Surge Protector – Monster Cable Products, a leader in high quality and high performance cables that connect audio/video components for home, car and professional use as well as surge protectors for computers and computer games has been in operation for over thirty years. Monster Power, a division of Monster Cable, is well-known both for its power surge protection and for delivering cleaner AC power to audio and video components and computer products using its high joule surge protection system for optimum performance.