SMECO StormSentry

Chris0nllyn

Well-Known Member
Considering only about 20% of surges occur outside the home (lightning strikes), a service entrance surge protector (whole home surge protector) isn't going to save you if and when a surge occurs inside the home.

EDIT:: I should mention that the 20% of surges that happen outside the home are typically the bad ones that damage equipment. The 80% inside the home come from simply turning things on and off and aren't really a big deal. Having some sort of surge protection is better than nothing, but I would never pay for it monthly.

You're better off doing a whole home surge "system" using MOVs (metal oxide varistors) or "sacrificial shunt mode technology" which includes a service entrance surge protector, branch circuit surge protection, and point of use (those electrical strips). the first 2 mentioned should be installed by a licensed electrician, but obviously you can "install" the power strip on sensitive pieces of equipment as you see fit.

Keep in mind, MOVs are meant to be sacrificial (hence the name) and when a surge occurs, you should replace the components. Which is why you see things like "replace surge protector if any part of this area is black" on meter-mounted surge protectors.
 
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Chris0nllyn

Well-Known Member
You also have power filters that don't wear out and are a better option if you have high quality a/v equipment because it constantly "monitors" the lines unlike the shunt trips that only stop a surge when the level is exceeded.
 
You also have power filters that don't wear out and are a better option if you have high quality a/v equipment because it constantly "monitors" the lines unlike the shunt trips that only stop a surge when the level is exceeded.

Along the same lines are UPS (uninterruptible power supplies). They can be used on anything, not just computers. I used one on a heater I had in the greenhouse to keep the frequent power hits from knocking out the heat in the dead of winter. Downside is that the battery needs to be replaced every few years.

Basically two kinds of UPS, Standby and In-Line. The standby passes line A/C to the end device, and if a power event occurs, the batteries kick in. There is a minor delay, and while not on batteries you can get power transients. The In-Line uses the batteries all the time, then passes the battery power to the end device. End result is clean, filtered power.
 

Chris0nllyn

Well-Known Member
Along the same lines are UPS (uninterruptible power supplies). They can be used on anything, not just computers. I used one on a heater I had in the greenhouse to keep the frequent power hits from knocking out the heat in the dead of winter. Downside is that the battery needs to be replaced every few years.

Basically two kinds of UPS, Standby and In-Line. The standby passes line A/C to the end device, and if a power event occurs, the batteries kick in. There is a minor delay, and while not on batteries you can get power transients. The In-Line uses the batteries all the time, then passes the battery power to the end device. End result is clean, filtered power.

Yep. I have a few in my house, and have installed a few rack mounted ones in my previous job.

Tripp-Lite makes real nice ones.

http://www.tripplite.com/
 
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