Aug 30 2008
Electronic Devices - Surge protection
2008-08-30 22:02:29Very seldom does a home office have enough electrical outlets. If I could build my dream office I swear that I would have one or two placed every foot on each wall. Until then I guess my 8 outlet serge protectors will have to do.
Electrical surges are death to electronic devices. Even the smallest fluctuation in power can cause your computer to never boot up again. You seldom know when a surge is happening unless it is strong enough to dim the lights and by then it could be too late.
I prefer a surge protector that also provides battery power backup. I use an APC battery backup in my home office. It has 8 outlets - 4 that are battery backup as well as surge protection and the other 4 are surge protection only. I paid approximately $120 and I can get up to 30 minutes of battery backup power.
My computer and its monitor are plugged into 2 of the battery backup outlets so that I have enough time to shut down the computer without loosing data. Some APC UPS (uninterrupted power supply) battery backup surge protectors are sold with software that will automatically perform a shut down in case of an outage.
Power strips are not the same as a UPS. They are better than nothing at all but they typically do not have the ability to protect more than a couple electronic devices. An investment in a UPS is an investment in your electronics future.
