In addition to his extensive writing experience, Chris has been interviewed as a technology expert on TV news and radio shows. He gave advice on dark web scans on Miami's NBC 6, discussed Windows XP's demise on WGN-TV's Midday News in Chicago, and shared his CES experiences on WJR-AM's Guy Gordon Show in Detroit. An electrical surge is a brief spike in voltage. They can be generated outside your premises or within it, depending on what equipment is malfunctioning (mainly electric motors, such as water pumps, building elevators, etc.). These surges can cause damage to electronic equipment within your home or office. Though the terms are often used interchangeably, there is a big difference between power strips and surge protectors. A power strip is essentially just a wired, multioutlet extension of a power outlet. A surge protector adds in circuitry, which is designed to prevent damaging power spikes from making their way to your TV, soundbaror really anything that's plugged in.

Independent: We will tell you exactly what we think of a product and we would never recommend anything we wouldn't use ourselves. Branch surge panels are fixed to the load side of the main service entrance and offer protection against motor driven and internally generated surges.Operation time is important because the bad news about surge protectors is that they have a limited lifespan. Surge arresters can only absorb so much energy as they are rated for. A 500J surge protector can successfully filter a single spike of 500 joules of power, or ten spikes of 50 joules. Upon reaching its joule rating, the surge arrestor ceases to function as a filter: electricity will keep flowing through them, but so will spikes. Still, it sits cleanly on a wall and can work well next to a nightstand to plug in a lamp and some phone chargers. For travel and small spaces, the 3-Outlet Mini Surge Protector with USB ports can come in handy. Just use it mostly for smaller devices. It does have eight AC outlets, two on each side, and each pair has its on/off button to help save energy and help you save money on your energy bill. Plus there are three USB Type-A and one USB-C ports. The only thing is that those ports are only on one side so anyone needing access to them would have to do some sort of maneuvering, especially if there are several electronics and devices already plugged in.

Comprehensive Research: Our team dedicates extensive time and effort to research and analyze products, so you can make informed decisions. What's unique about this surge protector is that each of its AC outlet - it has four - has its own switch, which should make a difference when your next energy bill comes around. To ensure the kids' safety, each also has a safety door. And though it doesn't specify its protection level, it does offer overvoltage, overcurrent. and short-circuiting protection. Surge protection devices help to protect devices and equipment against changes in the electrical current running through the system. Current spikes or transients can cause significant damage to equipment and is also a safety hazard. You can learn more in our guide to industrial surge protection. What are surge protection devices used for? While this ExtraStar lead surge protector doesn't say exactly how much protection it offers, this is a great option for budgeting households that doesn't have very demanding plugging needs. This is a cheap yet realiable extension cord perfect for smaller bedrooms and kitchen, especially with that 3.3ft cord - it just means you don't have a lot of cord length to put away when you're working with a tighter space. A surge-protection rating of 400 volts or better: Although we verified each model’s abilities in our own electrical testing, we required that they be rated by one of the major product-safety corporations, UL or ETL, to bring a surge down to (at most) 400 volts. Lower is better when it comes to let-through voltage, the measure of how much extra voltage reaches your electronics.The wall-mounted Belkin BSV300ttCW has three outlets and two USBs, all on the front. Its most interesting design feature is a lipped top surface where you can lean your phone while it's charging.