| |
Don't know the first thing about
how to protect your electrical equipment? You need a spec sheet filled with incomprehensible
jargon. Bankrate furnishes this, below. It may not make sense to read it in one
sitting unless you're suffering from insomnia.
However it makes perfect sense to print this and
take it to the store with you the next time you decide to shop for surge protectors
or uninterruptible power supplies, or UPS, for your computer or home-entertainment
center. Bankrate also offers a .pdf
version of this checklist. Adequate protection with
PC surge protectors These devices: - Protect
your PC investment from damage or loss due to bad power.
- Filter
out the electrical line noise to help your equipment perform optimally
What
to look for: - Underwriters Laboratories 1449 Standard for
TVSS with all three lines protected to <330V. UL1449 has three of four levels,
and best quality surge protectors will offer <330V protection. Inexpensive
no-name brands will protect at 400 V and higher, and this is not adequate. Look
for the term "clamping voltage 330" on the box. The lower the surge
protector's clamping voltage, the greater its level of protection from power spikes
and surges. The higher the clamping voltage, the greater the possibility of damage
from excess electrical current.
- Response time of <1 nanosecond.
Surge protectors with a response time above 1 nanosecond (or a billionth of a
second) react much too slowly and afford poor protection -- and a billionth of
a second can literally mean the difference between life and death where high voltages
are concerned. The best devices, in fact, offer response times of 1 picosecond
(one trillionth of a second).
- Rated at 300 joules or higher.
A good surge protector should also be rated to handle 300 joules of current at
the very least. The higher the number of total joules it can dissipate, the better.
Seek out units that afford 600 joules of protection in terms of energy absorption/dissipation
for best protection.
- Noise filtering. This technology
uses an electromagnet (technically, a toroidal choke coil) which helps smooth
out the minor ups and downs of the AC current, thereby "conditioning"
it so that it doesn't stress or strain the electronic equipment attached to the
surge protector.
- Number and types of outlets. Make
sure that the surge protector has enough outlets to meet your current, as well
as anticipated future, needs. Make sure that the spacing of the outlets is sufficient
to allow you to plug in all of those bulky AC transformers required by some peripherals
such as scanners, external hard drives, digital cameras, etc.
- Proper
data-line surge protection. It is not uncommon for surges and spikes to travel
over phone, Ethernet, COAX, DSL and telephone cable lines. All of your incoming-data
lines should be connected to the power protection device before being passed onto
your AV equipment. Expect to see compliance with Underwriters Laboratories 497A
Standard for Secondary Communication Devices (for RJ11 and RJ45 jacks) and Underwriters
Laboratories 497 Standard for Paired Conductor Communication Circuits (for coaxial
cable).
- Fail-safe design. It is critical that, should
the surge protector give its life to save your AV components, it be designed to
leave the circuit "open," so that successive surges and spikes will
not be able to reach your equipment after the surge protector has sacrificed itself.
|
