Surge Protection

Q. What type of surge protection should I have on my computer?

A. An excellent question that is frequently overlooked. Here in Florida, lightning is a part of everyday life. Also, we have power fluctuations from the power company. Both can cause havoc for the computer.

Lightning is a powerful thing and not much can be done about a direct hit. Here's why. The current in a lightning strike can exceed 200 thousand amperes (1000 times the typical household wiring capacity). Surge protection is usually measured in joules. One joule is defined as the amount of energy exerted when a force of one newton is applied over a displacement of one meter. One joule is the equivalent of one watt of power radiated or dissipated for one second. The energy input in a typical 3-mile long lightning bolt is estimated to be one billion to ten billion joules. This is for the entire strike. The bottom part has less power, but is still devastating. The more joules your surge protector offers the better your protection will be.

Lightning can hit quite a distance away and still be damaging. This happens when the energy from lightning gets carried by the electrical lines to your neighborhood. This shows up as much fewer joules than the direct hit, but if lightning lands near your home or office, the pulse given off gets inducted back into voltage by the wiring (electrical lines, phone lines, and cable lines, etc) in your house.

One other thing to consider is that "surge" protectors only protect against surges. Hence the name "surge protector". A surge happens when too much power comes through your electrical, phone or cable lines. These devices do nothing in case your power dips or drops below normal levels. Or worse yet, completely goes out like during a storm. Most people don't realize that this can be just as damaging as a surge or more so.

With all this in mind, I always recommend a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply). A UPS, or battery backup, will usually perform a number of features for you.

1. It will protect against surges. Make sure that you check the plugs because not all on a UPS will provide battery backup. Many times, half of the plugs will be battery backed up and the other half provide surge protection only. Plug your computer and your Monitor into the battery half and plug other devices into the surge half. Never plug your printer into the battery half because it will drain the battery quickly.

2. The battery half will keep the power conditioned so you shouldn't receive a surge or a drop in power. It protects you if the power is completely lost. This is helpful if you are in the middle of an important document when the power goes out.

3. If you select the proper UPS, you can get one that has plugs for your phone or your cable line as well. This will help prevent surges from coming in through those lines.

Remember, a surge protector is designed to fail in case of a heavy surge. This is so the surge doesn't hit your computer. If you discover that your surge protector is bad, be thankful, it may have saved you a bundle in repair bills.

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