Surge Protection

By: Jim Collins, This Old House magazine (Page 1 of 5)

Photo: Michael Heiko

Power Strip
What it does: Provides basic protection for multiple devices.
Look for: Switches for each outlet; space between outlets for three-pronged plugs and transformers; indicator lights to show if unit has worn out; clamping voltage of 400 volts or less.
Cost:$20-$40

Photo: Michael Heiko

Surge Station
What it does: Protects phone lines and coaxial cable, in addition to plug-in devices.
Look for: A clamping voltage of 330 volts of less; built-in thermal fuses. UL 497A for surges through telephone lines and UL 1283 for electromagnetic and radio interference.
Cost: $40-$70

Photo: Michael Heiko

Uninterruptible Power Supply
What it does: Supplies clean, fluctuation-free power. Battery backup buys time to save data during a power outage.
Look for: Indicator lights for burned-out fuses; phone and cable connectors. Make sure it's plugged into its own power strip.
Cost:$150-$250

Photo: Michael Heiko

Whole-House Suppressor
What it does: Stops surges from entering house wiring. Separate devices needed for power, phone, and cable lines.
Look for: A rating between 20,000 and 40,000 amps; internal fuses and failure-indicator lights.
Cost: About $200 per unit plus two hours for electrician to install

Photo: Michael Heiko

Computer Networks
Features: Guards the sensitive components in coaxial cable networks against static discharges as well as lightning-induced spikes. Clamping voltage: 8. Reponse time: less than 1 nanosecond.
Price:$40

Photo: Michael Heiko

Laptops
Features: Protects modem; excess-current detector light warns against connecting the telephone line.
Price:$45

Photo: Michael Heiko

Home Entertainment Equipment
Features: Eliminates line noise and electromagnetic interference on all 10 outlets. Two outlets are "delayed-on" for high-demand amplifiers, subwoofers. Connections for cable TV, satellite TV, and telephone line.
Price:$350

Photo: Michael Heiko

Telephone, Modem, or Fax Lines
Features: One jack for phone; two AC outlets; ground-okay and protection-okay indicator lights; two-stage filters prevent interference.
Price:$70

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Not long ago, electrical contractor Allen Gallant was about halfway through the job of completely rewiring a 3,200-square-foot house in Acton, Massachusetts, when the owners decided to save some money and not install whole-house protection against power surges. Sure enough, soon after the house was finished, Gallant got a phone call from the distressed owners: Lightning had struck a utility pole near their house, sending a tidal wave of voltage through the wires, past the main breaker panel, and into the house. "It burned out the motherboard in the Sub-Zero refrigerator, fried the temperature controls in the double-wall oven, killed six dimmers, two computers, and every GFCI plug in the house," Gallant says. "It was an $11,000 loss."

Many homeowners believe that adequate surge protection begins and ends with plugging their computer into a power strip. Unfortunately, that's seldom the case. First of all, not all surge protectors live up to their name; some are little more than glorified extension cords. Second, a surge will follow any wire into a house — phone and cable lines included — and threaten fax and answering machines, televisions, satellite systems, computers, and modems. And third, as the owners in the Acton remodel discovered, delicate electronic circuitry has pro-liferated throughout our homes, leaving common appliances as vulnerable as computers to the effects of surges.