Surge Protection Pays Off!

Electricity does not flow through your house or office at a constant rate; it fluctuates. It goes low and high like a wave. The high part is what I want to talk to you about in this article. Years ago, my brother’s upstate NY home was hit by lightning. Everything in the home that was plugged into an electrical outlet was lost…. From the garbage disposal to the major appliances. Anything plugged into the wall was lost and, fortunately, covered by his homeowner’s insurance. You know how they say lightning never strikes the same place twice? Well THEY are WRONG. It did. He lost everything again and gave up and sold the house.

So what should he have done? We all know the answer, yet no one does it. You unplug everything from the wall, well at least everything you care about. Lightning strikes at such an incredible speed and intensity; the only safe thing to do is power down. Read stories or play cards until the storm passes. If you are using a laptop, you can run on battery power until the storm passes but don't be connected to the internet unless it's by wireless. And while you are at it, reach around and unplug the cable to your TV. Both TV cable and network cables can conduct electricity and send "spikes" to your electronics damaging them.

Plain power strips don’t provide surge protection against spikes. They only provide power for multiple devices.
A surge protector comes with a guarantee for X amount of dollars should your equipment suffer electrical damage. The guarantee is on the packaging. If it isn’t there, then it is most likely a plain power strip and good for your clock radio and lamp, but not your precious electronics.

Belkin and APC are the big names in surge protection. I usually stick to one of those two, but any brand will do the job; be sure to save the packaging and receipt in case you ever need to collect on that guarantee you are buying. You should compare the ratings and ensure you are getting a good quality surge protector. Of course with all electrical stuff, you can get bells and whistles which include plastic outlet covers, network and phone cable surge protection, and swivel plugs. You'll have to decide what fits your budget.

When you are buying surge protection, think about more than just your computer. Remember your $2000 big-screen TV, stereo systems and even printers!