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Surge protectors and power strips

As you can probably tell from the name of the device, the main purpose of the surge protector is to protect your valuable electronic equipment from surges of power, which could potentially damage the equipment.

(Side-note: a surge in power is a significant increase in voltage above the level at which the device was created to work. In the US, the standard voltage level is 120 V.)

If the voltage levels increase too much above 120 V, the device that is being supplied with the higher-voltage power will begin to heat up, putting strain on or failing the device's components. But if you have a surge protector between the power source and the electronic devices, the surge protector will break the circuit when the power reaches potentially damaging levels.

Surge protectors are no different than any other mechanical or electrical device: you get what you pay for. Power strip surge protectors start in the area of about $5.00 but hardly offer any protection at all. Then at the other extreme, there are complete power surge systems, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, that protect against almost any electrical power surge. Obviously, for the home user, the quality of surge protectors utilized will fall somewhere in between.

Since a surge protector is a device that is at the point in-between the power source and the equipment in the electrical circuit, you need to have one for every duplex outlet in your home you want protected.

Most home or business consumers will go with one of three surge protector (power strip) options:

• Basic Power Strip - This is simply the basic power strip with five or six power outlets. It costs about $5.00 and does not offer much protection.
• Better Power Strip - If you want to spend closer to $20.00, you get power strips that offer a higher rating of protection and more features.
• Surge Protector System - This is a larger and more expensive surge protector (it costs from about $25 and up), and it will give you high-quality protection from power surges and spikes. This is obviously the recommended device for protecting your more expensive electrical equipment (like computers, TVs, home theater systems, etc.).

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