Not sure if this is the right place to ask and I know a few electricians frequent this site so....
We did the right thing some time ago and bought surge protectors for all the pc and entertainment equipment, or so we thought .........
A power surge last week and one fried tv later, and we now discover that the cheap ones are hardly worth having! Did not realise there were different standards of surge protection.
So can anyone recommend a good surge protector please? What specifications should I be looking for?
They may be cheap and crap, but regardless it might have come with an £x,000 equipment guarantee ...
They are Masterplug and only seem to come with a 3 year guarantee. They are at least 7 years old (one is dated 1999) and we have looked and can't find any receipts or the package inserts we thought we kept.
Yep, I got a load of cheap ones in a box full of miscellaneous cheap crap I got cheap from somewhere years ago. They're still sat in the box.
How many sources are you looking to protect? The best solution is to use a UPS, small ones around 350VA can be had for around 35-40GBP and will mostly come with a connected equipment guarantee.
I have a 2KVA UPS protecting my PC, slightly OTT but it was sat doing nothing at the time.
Its so called warranty is full of exceptions. That warranty is just not honored as others before have learned. A big quid equipment guarantees is essentially useless. Meanwhile real world protectors mean no damage.
Multiple type of surges exist. Type that typically damages seeks earth ground. Another will post a citation where page 42 Figure 8 shows a plug-in protector earthing a surge, 8000 volts destructively, through the TV. That surge protector had no dedicated earthing wire for the 'less than 3 meter' earthing connection. That earthing wire is the difference between ineffective plug-in protectors and effective solutions.
How to identify the ineffective protector? 1) No dedicated earthing wire and 2) manufacturer avoids all discussion about earthing. Simple rule. Notice your protectors and therefore resulting damage violated both points.
Protectors are not protection. Protectors are simply a connecting device between each utility wire and earth ground. No three meter earthing wire? Then a surge protector must earth that surge maybe via TV or computer.
Every wire incoming to the home is the equivalent of an antenna to each appliance. Lightning seeks earth ground via antenna wires; as via any other incoming utility wire. Effective protection must be applied to every incoming utility wire. Earthing 'system' must be the best earthing - often enhanced beyond what electrical codes demand. Earthing - not the protector - defines protection.
An application noted demonstrates the principles:
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buried wires must connect to that earthing electrode before entering a structure.
Cable TV and dish satellite wires need no protector; connect 'less than 3 meters' to that earthing electrode via a hardwire. AC electric and telephone wires make that connection via a 'whole house' protector. Some examples:
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An industry professional demonstrates the principle and its effectiveness:
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Well I assert, from personal and broadcast experience spanning 30 years,
How a surge protector connects a surge to earth defines an effective or ineffective 'system'. No 'magic box' will stop or absorb what 4 kilometers of sky could not - as plug-in protectors claim. Demonstrated by example: a plug-in protector without THE most critical 'system' component (single point earth ground) and damage resulted. How do you know it will not be effective? No 'less than 3 meter' earthing connection. No earth ground means no effective protection.
For good information on surges and surge protection try
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the title is "How to protect your house and its contents from lightning: IEEE guide for surge protection of equipment connected to AC power and communication circuits" published by the IEEE in 2005 (the IEEE is the dominant organization of electrical and electronic engineers in the US).
also:
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this is the "NIST recommended practice guide: Surges Happen!: how to protect the appliances in your home" published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (the US government agency formerly called the National Bureau of Standards) in 2001
The NIST guide is very readable. IEEE guide requires some (not much) technical background. Surge information is completely generic. Protection information is based on US, but differences to UK for surges are pretty minor, primarily earthing.
Both guides say plug-in suppressors are effective.
Suppressor ratings range from junk to very high. At high ratings a manufacturer can warrantee both the suppressor and connected equipment.
Note that all interconnected equipment needs to be connected to the same plug-in suppressor. External wires like phone, cable TV, ... also need to go thorough the suppressor. The voltage on ALL wires (power and signal) to protected equipment needs to be clamped to the common ground at the suppressor. This is described in both guides.
Take a three quid power strip. Add some 10 pence parts. Sell it for tens of pounds. Some call that quality because it costs more? When did a higher price prove quality? Why is that Belkin with same circuit superior to one sold in a grocery store? Hype and myth. Each has the same circuit - MOVs strapped between wires. Only one is blessed with holy water before leaving the factory.
How do we make lightning rods better? The naive will sharpen those rods. The informed will improved earthing. Why? A lightning rod - just like a surge protector - is only as effective as its earth ground. Some will promote 'higher quality lightning rods' using myths that also promote 'age defying creams' and 'quality surge protectors'.
Belkin is hype. If it was so good, then the Belkin would list each type of transient AND provided numbers for protection from each type of transient. Where are those numbers posted here? Where is the quality? Belkin's own specifications do not provide numbers for protection from the typically destructive types of surges. Go ahead. Post those numbers that prove 'quality'?
No earth ground means no effective protection. Belkin avoids earthing discussions hoping that junk science here - without facts or numbers - will promote it. If the Belkin is so good, then where are manufacturer specification numbers? Number not provided because manufacturer does not even claim such protection.
Add some ten pence parts to a power strip, slap on a big name, and suddenly it is superior to power strips with the same circuit? Nonsense. Sell it for more quid and the naive will declare it 'quality'. No spec numbers; just miraculous knowledge that a 'magic box' must be better quality. Belkin is recommended using the same logic that recommends 'age defying creams'.
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