Is surge protection needed?
- Thread starter J_T_
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keynes
Multiverse Poster
For the relative small cost of a surge protector and considering how much your system costs I would get one, nothing to do with UK's electricity providers but more to do with possible problems with the wiring in your house, I had a couple of issues with some electrical appliances causing the electricity to shut down or once we got a notice from our supplier that electricity will be shut down for a few hours,
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Destructive surges occur maybe once every seven years. How often have surges damaged less robust appliances such as dimmer switches, RCDs, and digital clocks? Surges in the UK occur less often.
However, that ballpark number can vary even with each neighborhood. A more useful answer requires neighborhood history of at least 10 years.
Should you need protection for any one appliance, then you need protection for all appliances. Best protection on an appliance's power cord is already inside each appliance. A protector on an appliance power cord will only do what already exists inside the appliance. A surge that can overwhelm existing appliance protection is not stopped or blocked. It must be shunted to earth BEFORE entering a building.
Ddefined are two completely different devices. One claims to protect only from a type of surge that typically causes no damage. Already made irrelevant by protection found inside appliances. The other device is a single device that means protection for all household appliances. Typically costs tens of times less money. And does protect from other and typically destructive type of surges (ie lightning). Should your appliances need protection, then the second device is required. Most consumers in the UK do not have it because surge damage is rare.
First, how often do destructive surges occur in your neighborhood? How many damaged dishwashers and furnaces have you replaced?
I don't necessarily think that this is the right way to look at the situation with regards to surge protection. I agree with what I think is your point (ie. surge's don't particularly occur very often and if your concerned about them you should protect every electronic item in the home) however, you have to start somewhere, and with the cost of the extension leads being very similar (the same?) as surge protected extension leads, I dont see a good reason why not to use them.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Masterplug-Gang-Extension-Metre-White/dp/B0001P0GDK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377498078&sr=8-1&keywords=extension+lead
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Masterplug-SRG42-Surge-Protected-Extension/dp/B0001P0GGM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1377498101&sr=8-2&keywords=surge+protected+extension+lead
I appreciate the Surge Protected one has a shorter cable (might be the reason why they cost the same I guess). Still, I'd go with surge protected stuff for anything that is plugged in for any length of time through an extension.
bigben
Master Poster
Like most of the others say, it's worth the small amount of money. I don't know what setup you are looking at but I personally have a £1500 desktop, 2 x £200 monitors, a £60 external harddrive, £50 set of speakers, and a £150 hifi, all plugged into a 30 quid protector until about a month ago I also had an Xbox plugged in there. If you get a decent surge protector they will insure you for all the bits plugged into it.
By by the way, I had a surge which killed my ram not long ago.
By by the way, I had a surge which killed my ram not long ago.
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Neither power board claims surge protection. Where is a spec number that defines protection from a harmful anomaly? Only protection is a 13 amp fuse that blows to protect human life from fire created by a damaged appliance. That is not surge protection technically. And is surge protection subjectively. Because it will disconnect power after damage has occurred.
Should the OP desire actual protection, a simplest (and best) solution is one protector for everything - at about £1 per protected appliance. Is it needed? Most every home should have one. A surge maybe once every 15 years should occur without damage to anything. Not all homeowners want to spend that much for an event that infrequent.
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Remember, it is electricity. It must have an incoming path at the same time that same current is outgoing to earth on some other path. Often damage occurs on the outgoing path (ie network card or modem).
A direct lightning strike far down the street is incoming to every appliance. Are all damaged? Of course not. Only damaged are appliances that also make the outgoing path to earth. Good earthing maybe be via telephone and internet modems. And so network/modems connect that surge to earth - destructively.
Nothing stops that current. Just one of a long list of reasons why power board protectors do not claim and will not discuss such protection. And why one properly earthed protector at the service entrance is effective protection for everything. It must be single point earth ground. All four words are significant.
Either connect current to earth BEFORE it enters a building (a connection that must be less than 3 meters). Or that current finds earth destructively via your appliances (ie network / modem ports). A homeowner makes that decision.
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I thought you mentioned earlier that you could also use a surge protecting socket as long as one was on every appliance (assuming you also routed your telephone wire through it too).
EDIT: I misunderstood what you were saying, I realise now you're speaking about lightening specifically rather than voltage spikes through the mains.
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[email protected]
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This applies to all typically destructive surges including voltage spikes from mains.
Surge that typically overwhelms protection inside appliances seeks earth ground. Lightning is only one example. Voltage spikes created by utility switching is another. Damage caused by a stray car is a third. All are transients that seek earth. And are ignored by surge protecting sockets that have no earthing and will not discuss earth ground.
So, basically are you saying that surge protecting power sockets are all a load of bull and won't protect your equipment from anything? (I'm genuinely curious, as I'm trying to fully understand what you are saying and its difficult because I don't fully understand how an external ground is any different from using the earth wiring within a house in the case of changes in voltage through the mains not caused by lightning etc.)
My understanding of how they worked was by essentially voltage monitoring and they would break the connection (diverting it to the earth wire) as required if the voltage passed the rating on the surge protected socket? Is this not the case? I appreciate its different with lightning strikes because I understand it can come into the property via many other means, but voltage dysregulation from the mains circuit surely would be stopped by a voltage regulating surge protector?
Perhaps an important thing to note here is that I'm specifically talking about computer equipment which I would suggest is more sensitive to smaller surges/spikes than lots of other household equipment will be.
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vanthus
Member Resting in Peace
A surge protector will protect your computers components from spikes (surges) which can occur in the mains supply for various reasons.
Whether or not it will protect components from lightning is debatable,it's recommended to unplug your computer during a thunderstorm.
The surge protector commonly works through semiconductors that have a variable resistance that is dependent on voltage,this diverts any excess surge current to earth(ground)
Whether or not it will protect components from lightning is debatable,it's recommended to unplug your computer during a thunderstorm.
The surge protector commonly works through semiconductors that have a variable resistance that is dependent on voltage,this diverts any excess surge current to earth(ground)
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Electricity is always different at both ends of a wire. How different? For surges, an earth connection must be low impedance (not low resistance). For example, less than 3 meters, no sharp wire bends, not inside metallic conduit, etc.
Put numbers to it. A 15 meter AC wire might be less than 0.1 ohms resistance. And maybe 120 ohms impedance. A tiny 100 amp surge down a 120 ohm wire is maybe less than 12,000 volts. Because impedance (not resistance) is the relevant parameter. That same 100 amps might create tens or a hundred volts if a connection to earth is low impedance (ie 'less than 3 meters, no wire splices, no sharp bends, etc). Voltage only exists when something obstructs a typically destructive transient.
For 50 hz electricity, wire impedance is low. For surges, that same wire has high impedance. A protector at the switchboard (service entrance) can be earthed. A surge protecting socket cannot.
Nothing stops a surge. Power supplies inside electronics convert lesser transients into consumable electricity. Appliances must withstand voltages approaching 1000 volts without damage. Electronics are quite robust. For example, ethernet ports should withstand 2000 volts without damage. However, some electronics are also a best path to earth. So a surge will increase voltage, as necessary, to make that connection - to blow through electronics.
If anything disconnects to stop a destructive current, then voltage increases as necessary to blow through that obstruction. An EE concept called a current source. Voltage increases as necessary to maintain that current flow to earth.
Where are hundreds of thousands of joules absorbed? Read spec numbers for a socket connected protector. Hundreds? Just enough above zero to claim it is a surge protector. For transients that typically are not destructive. Effective protection means you know where hundreds of thousands of joules dissipate. Harmlessly in earth ground. And on a path that does not flow inside the building. These numbers are damning. And often forgotten to make a sale.
How often do you have destructive surges? A typical number is maybe once every seven years. Much less often in the UK. How often are you replacing less robust dimmer switches, digital clocks, and smoke detectors? With so few surges, properly earthed protectors are less often found in UK buildings.
Why do BT switching computers suffer about 100 surges with each thunderstorm without damage? Every incoming wire first connects to a better earth ground before entering the CO. Earthed either directly or via a 'whole house' type protector. BT also does not use adjacent protectors.
How often is your town without phone service for four days while they replace that computer? A solution that was well proven long ago.
Protection means you know where energy is absorbed. And the 'low impedance' path used to get there. Protectors without that low impedance connection are for a different and typically not destructive transient. And so we discuss two completely different devices; both called surge protectors.