House Surge Protectors - Protect your Home from Electrical Chaos

If you have a lot of electrical/electronic equipment in your home, then you have to realise that the major potential and actual; fire risk this poses and such equipment is exceptionally fragile, meaning they are especially susceptible to a fluctuation in the power supply (known as a voltage spike.) One of the most effective ways of preventing such incidents is by using a surge protector. A typical surge protector works by means of controlling the voltage that is supplied to an electrical device or appliance, by reducing or blocking such voltage. As a side note, though an area of some importance is that people tend to confuse a surge protector and a power strip, a power strip does not provide any of the protections offered by a surge protector.

All surge protectors have a specified response time, this means the period of time in which the surge protector does not stabilise the voltage levels, obviously, the higher the response time then the greater the risk to the appliance in question. Also be on the lookout for the value in joules, this is a reflection of the amount of voltage that can be safely absorbed by the protector, before it fails, obviously the higher the number then the greater the degree of protection that is on offer.
So how does a surge protector actually work then?

Well, whenever you use an electrical appliance that requires power from the power supply (i.e. you need to plug it in) you will plug in the power cable for that appliance, and the power provided form the sockets will be conducted through the cable, thus powering the appliance. Now, a surge protector is very similar in design and function to a normal electrical appliance, as it even has a main power line that has an extra connection that is attached to the ground wire. The purpose of the ground wire is to conduct any and all excess (and thus potentially harmful) electric currents to the ground. (hence the name of the cable!)

In order to maintain the actual working functionality of the electric appliance in question the surge protector will only ever channel away excess voltage, the reason for this is simple. If the surge protector worked TOO effectively, and siphoned away too much of the electric current then the appliance would not be able to work.

In order to better determine when it should kick in, the surge protector will make use of a voltage dependant resistor. This is actually a conductor of electricity which will be made of a material typically resistant to electricity so that when a certain threshold is reached (or breached as the case maybe) the conductor successfully conducts the electricity directly through the ground wire, meaning that the electricity is conducted and dispersed through the ground.

Please be aware, surge protectors do not offer blanket, absolute protection, they are not much use in severe power fluctuations such as lightning storms. However, they are ideal for the protection of personal computer systems where even the most minor of fluctuations can cause major damage to the delicate components of the computer.

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