Surge suppressors save your equipment and your money. Surge suppressors protect your electronics from spikes in power. Turning them, and the devices plugged into them off, can save significant money.
By turning off the power strip, you disconnect those devices from the mains, removing any phantom loads and helping reduce your electricity bill by a tiny amount. It's also good for the environment, since most municipal energy in the U.S. is generated by burning fossil fuels.
Smart power strips won't cost you any more than a regular strip. They'll both hover around 10-15 bucks. Put simply, a smart power strip saves you more money when more things are plugged into it. They also save you more money when the things plugged in draw a lot of power.
Here's what uses the most energy in your home:
- Cooling and heating: 47% of energy use.
- Water heater: 14% of energy use.
- Washer and dryer: 13% of energy use.
- Lighting: 12% of energy use.
- Refrigerator: 4% of energy use.
- Electric oven: 3-4% of energy use.
- TV, DVD, cable box: 3% of energy use.
- Dishwasher: 2% of energy use.
So is it worth the trouble? The energy costs of plugged-in appliances can really add up, and unplugging these devices could save your up to $100 to $200 a year. Another benefit of unplugging your appliances is protection from power surges.
If you're aware of your surge protector taking a big hit, you should probably toss it too. Otherwise, a good rule of thumb is to replace them about every two years.
All things plugged in will bleed some energy. Called "standby" electricity loss because it's so often associated with electronics in standby or idle mode, it's also known as "phantom" or "vampire" electricity (for obvious reasons). Even turned off, many appliances keep drawing power.
So is it worth the trouble? The energy costs of plugged-in appliances can really add up, and unplugging these devices could save your up to $100 to $200 a year. Another benefit of unplugging your appliances is protection from power surges.
Do you have your PC, television, or other expensive electronics plugged directly into a power outlet? You shouldn't. You should plug your gadgets into a surge protector, which isn't necessarily the same thing as a power strip.
You don't need a surge protector for your desk lamp or your standing fan, but you do want a surge protector for expensive devices that have intricate microprocessors, like computers, televisions, stereo systems, and media centers. Plug those into a surge protector. It's better to be safe than sorry.
Rule two: never plug high power capacity appliances, like space heaters, refrigerators, or microwave and toaster ovens into power strips or extension cords. These appliances have higher power capacity and need to be plugged into a wall outlet directly. Rule number three: always plug power strips directly into the wall.
We do not recommend connecting a refrigerator or freezer to a surge protector. The compressor is sensitive to temperature and current overloads, and will shut itself down with a surge. A surge protector will override this system, and if there is a power surge, your refrigerator may not restart.
A unit with up to 1000 joules of surge protection is adequate for these small electronics. A surge protector with 1000 to 2000 joules will provide sufficient protection for power tools and office equipment such as printers, copiers and routers.
So here is my list of The 10 Best Surge Protectors.
- APC P11VT3 11-Outlet Surge Protector.
- AmazonBasics 6-Outlet Surge Protector.
- Belkin BE108000-08-CM 8-Outlet Surge Protector.
- HOLSEM 12-Outlet Surge Protector.
- Belkin BP112230-08 12-Outlet Surge Protector.
- BESTEK 8-Outlet Surge Protector.
- APC P11U2 11-Outlet Surge Protector.
Check the surge protector's energy absorption rating, and its “clamping voltage.” The absorption rating is, as the name implies, how much energy it can absorb before it fails. You'll want something at least 6-700 joules or higher. (Higher is better here.)
Typically, whole-house suppressors are hard-wired to the service panel, a process that takes a licensed electrician about two hours. Whole-house systems should be rated to stop a 40,000-amp surge, at minimum.
Yes, whole home surge protectors are a good idea. A whole home surge protector can save you thousands of dollars in broken equipment. Over 50% of power surges are internal. Most of these surges are too small to be detected, but they can still hurt your electronics.
WHILE PLUGGED INTO THESE SURGE PROTECTORS. They are a total waste of money in my opinion. The only way to prevent lightning damage is to unplug stuff when you are not using it, and especially when there is lightning. The sellers os surge protectors are the only ones that benefit from them.
So be aware of the possible appliance usages that may affect voltage spikes. Just because a power strip has eight outlets on it doesn't mean you should plug in eight devices. To avoid tripping a breaker, limit the number of large devices (such as electric heaters, TVs and refrigerators), on one surge protector.
There's no surefire way to know if your surge protector is bad, but some come with warning lights that indicate you need to get a new surge protector. Surge protector lifetimes are measured in joules, so the more joules your protector has absorbed, the more it has degraded.
Those cheap surge protectors are little more than power strips for more outlets. If they do offer any suppression ability. They'll keep working once the suppressor bit has worn out leaving you totally unprotected. A good quality surge strip stops functioning once the surge protector mechanism has burned out.
The green grounded light and the red protected light on the plug-in protectors serve two. different functions. The green light indicates that the receptacle has a ground reference. Grounding references are vital for surge protection because Ground is the exit pathway for the excess surge current.
The problem with this is that the light may not be visible because the surge protector is buried in a corner. The most important issue after a failure, however, is whether the surge protector should continue to power the devices plugged into it.
So here is my list of The 10 Best Surge Protectors.
- Belkin BP112230-08 12-Outlet Surge Protector.
- BESTEK 8-Outlet Surge Protector.
- APC P11U2 11-Outlet Surge Protector.
- ON Smart Solution 4-Outlet with 4 USB Surge Protector.
- APC P6W 6-Outlet Wall Surge Protector.
- GE Power 14092 6-Outlet Surge Protector.
You don't need a surge protector for your desk lamp or your standing fan, but you do want a surge protector for expensive devices that have intricate microprocessors, like computers, televisions, stereo systems, and media centers. Plug those into a surge protector. It's better to be safe than sorry.
He said laptops don't need surge protectors because their power bricks protect the machine from power surges. A strong surge or lightning strike can easily take out the power brick itself, and the laptop along with it if the surge is strong enough.
No surge protector is 100 percent effective, and even top of the line equipment may have some serious problems. Electronics experts are actually somewhat divided over the best way to deal with power surges, and different manufacturers claim other technologies are inherently faulty.
The 30-30 Rule is an easy way to determine the threat of lightning in your area: 30 Seconds: Count the seconds between seeing lightning and hearing thunder. If this time is less than 30 seconds, lightning is a threat. Seek shelter immediately.
It isn't dangerous to watch TV during a thunderstorm, but the electronics in a TV set are vulnerable. If you have to make a telephone call, use a mobile phone detached from its cable rather than a landline device. Over-voltages resulting from a lightning strike may follow electrical conductors into the handset.
A full-featured whole-house surge protection device (SPD) can protect all your electronics, appliances, telephone, Internet and cable TV equipment (the Square D No. SDSB1175C is one type; about $300 at spectrumsuperstore.com). Electricians charge about $175 to install it.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, you should unplug all of your appliances. This is because lightning striking near a local electric pole can cause a surge of electricity to burst through the power lines.
