The most common electrical issue is a power surge. This is a spike or surge in the electrical current that can damage electrical components. For this article, we will be discussing protection against power surges.
The most common protection against a power surge is a surge protector. At a minimum, a surge protector should be on any electrical device. There are also specific surge protectors for specific devices. If you are using a high powered device, make certain you get the appropriate surge protection for that device. Generally, a standard surge protector will work for most household devices like a home computer.
An upgrade to a surge protector is a UPS, Uninterruptable Power Supply. Here is an extended article on UPSes. Basically, a UPS is a surge protector with a battery that provides backup power and voltage regulation and voltage conditioning. This is a very good upgrade for any computer user. Also, many new UPSes communicate with computers to automatically shut down the computer during electrical incidents.
With either of the two protectors, it is also a good idea to turn off your devices when they are not being used. There will be a future article discussing the advantages and disadvantages of leaving on or turning off your computer. For this article, turning off the computer is a good “next step” in protection it. The less power drawn by the computer, less likely an electrical incident will damage it, or the amount of damage will be less. Be aware, when your computer is “off” there is still power being drawn. New computers do not have an on/off switch like a light, which leads us to the ultimate electrical protection.
The best electrical protection is to unplug the computer from a wall outlet. One may say this is drastic. We agree. For the general user, with day-to-day operation, leaving the computer plugged in is fine (assuming you have a surge protector and, even better, a UPS). When we recommend users unplug their computer, is when there are lightning storms, or during the summer when the electric company may have rolling black outs, or even if work is being done in the building; someone may trip a circuit breaker. If there is no connection to a power source, one cannot have an electrical power issue.
One additional note regarding lightning storms, we know it is a good idea to unplug your computer from the wall power outlet, since a lightning strike is significantly greater than a power spike or surge. A lightning strike can “skip” the surge protection and still damage your computer. It is also a very good idea to disconnect any networking cables, phone cables and USB devices that are plugged into wall power outlets. A lightning strike can also travel through cable TV cables, phone lines and network cables to your computer and cause significant damage.
As with any protective measure, nothing is 100%. Also, the best protection begins with prevention.
If you have any questions regarding this article or any other topic, feel free to contact us.
How do i protect my computer from electrical issues?
The most common electrical issue is a power surge. This is a spike or surge in the electrical current that can damage electrical components. For this article, we will be discussing protection against power surges.
The most common protection against a power surge is a surge protector. At a minimum, a surge protector should be on any electrical device. There are also specific surge protectors for specific devices. If you are using a high powered device, make certain you get the appropriate surge protection for that device. Generally, a standard surge protector will work for most household devices like a home computer.
An upgrade to a surge protector is a UPS, Uninterruptable Power Supply. Here is an extended article on UPSes. Basically, a UPS is a surge protector with a battery that provides backup power and voltage regulation and voltage conditioning. This is a very good upgrade for any computer user. Also, many new UPSes communicate with computers to automatically shut down the computer during electrical incidents.
With either of the two protectors, it is also a good idea to turn off your devices when they are not being used. There will be a future article discussing the advantages and disadvantages of leaving on or turning off your computer. For this article, turning off the computer is a good “next step” in protection it. The less power drawn by the computer, less likely an electrical incident will damage it, or the amount of damage will be less. Be aware, when your computer is “off” there is still power being drawn. New computers do not have an on/off switch like a light, which leads us to the ultimate electrical protection.
The best electrical protection is to unplug the computer from a wall outlet. One may say this is drastic. We agree. For the general user, with day-to-day operation, leaving the computer plugged in is fine (assuming you have a surge protector and, even better, a UPS). When we recommend users unplug their computer, is when there are lightning storms, or during the summer when the electric company may have rolling black outs, or even if work is being done in the building; someone may trip a circuit breaker. If there is no connection to a power source, one cannot have an electrical power issue.
One additional note regarding lightning storms, we know it is a good idea to unplug your computer from the wall power outlet, since a lightning strike is significantly greater than a power spike or surge. A lightning strike can “skip” the surge protection and still damage your computer. It is also a very good idea to disconnect any networking cables, phone cables and USB devices that are plugged into wall power outlets. A lightning strike can also travel through cable TV cables, phone lines and network cables to your computer and cause significant damage.
As with any protective measure, nothing is 100%. Also, the best protection begins with prevention.
If you have any questions regarding this article or any other topic, feel free to contact us.
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