Sophisticated home electronics, such as a computer and its peripherals, need quality voltage. Swings and excessive interference can easily damage the equipment or significantly reduce its service life. However, the electricity supplied to apartments and private houses is far from ideal. That is why often users have to purchase expensive stabilizing devices. But there is a way that does not require such a significant cost - it is a surge protector with switches for each outlet. Today it will be about him.
Surge Protector: what it is and what it serves
Increasing the service life, protection against power drops or power surges - all this is the task of the block of sockets with switches. A separate protection is installed on each outlet in such a device, and therefore, if one of the household appliances breaks down, a short circuit occurs, only it will turn off, and the rest will work in normal mode. There are cheaper models of line filters, on which only one toggle switch is installed, but such units in an emergency turn off the power at all points of power supply.
The main tasks of the device
Surge protectors with switches for each outlet perform many useful tasks for electronics:
- Providing surge protection. This happens during lightning strikes during a thunderstorm.
- Getting rid of electromagnetic interference. Noise interference arises from operating microwave ovens, electric motors, and even radios.
- A sharp increase or decrease in voltage. This is not uncommon, especially in private sectors with worn transformer substations. Surge protectors successfully cope with a similar problem.
- Overload and short circuit. Often people connect many different household appliances to one outlet block. If the protective automation in the control cabinet is not selected correctly, the wiring may overheat and erupt. A filter with a switch on each outlet will save the user from such a danger.
- Additional security in the absence of the user. When leaving, you can simply press a key and not worry that the device will remain energized.
Differences between models of similar devices
Surge protectors can differ from each other in many ways. Some of them can be visually determined - this is the length of the cord and the number of outlets. However, when choosing, it is worth paying attention to some technical characteristics, including the presence of protection against overloads and short circuits, filtering and voltage surges. These functions may be absent (all or some), which significantly affects the cost of the extension cord with switches for each outlet.
It is important to pay attention to the maximum operating current limit. If the indicator is low, the device will constantly turn off. To approximately understand what operating current will be when connecting household appliances, you need to add their power, and divide the resulting value by the voltage indicator in the network. This is the simplest and inaccurate version of the calculations, but it will give a general idea of the magnitude of the current. For example, the power consumption of devices planned to be connected through a power strip with switches to each outlet is 2.6 kW (2600 W). Then the maximum current that the unit must withstand will be 2600/220 = 11.8 A. With this value, it is optimal to purchase a filter with a maximum operating current of 16 A.
Useful advice! The socket into which the device will be connected must also withstand a current of 16 A. Otherwise, it will burn, ruining the plug of the unit.
Using surge protectors in apartments and private homes
Choosing a similar device, it should be understood that it is not suitable for any home. For example, the private sector, where electricity is periodically turned off or significant power surges occur, is not the best option for using a power filter with switches for each outlet. Here, it will be more rational to purchase an uninterruptible power supply device that not only protects data, but also provides the electronics with ideal power parameters.
If the filter is purchased only for preventive purposes and power surges are not typical for an apartment, it makes sense to choose a device with one switch - it will cost much cheaper. But according to the length of the wire, everyone will have to decide on their own. Here, the choice will depend on the remoteness of the equipment from the power point. However, in apartments often computers are located in close proximity to outlets, so there should not be any problems.
Finishing touch
Purchasing a surge protector is often a necessity. Regardless of whether there are voltage surges, such a device is useful in the first place in order to get rid of interference from working household appliances. Based on the rather high cost of computers and peripheral devices, such protection will be far from superfluous. The main thing is to make the right choice and buy a surge protector with the characteristics that are necessary for certain equipment.