Surge protectors are one of the most important components of any electronics you may be using in your home.  Most consumers invest in surge protectors for their computers and neglect other major electronics, such as televisions or appliances.  A surge protector helps filter out voltage spikes in your electrical service.  Voltage spikes can short out electronics plugged into the wall during a power surge, a brown out or a black out.  Surge protectors serve as a deterrent to the burst of electric that occurs during those types of surges.

There are four aspects of a good surge protector: Clamping, Joules, response time and standards. Clamping refers to the clamping voltage or what is actually passed through from the wall to the surge protector and eventually to your device. The lower the clamping voltage, the shorter the life span of the protector. 330 volts is the industry standard for clamping voltage. Joules refer to how much energy a surge protector absorbs before overloading. The higher the Joules, the longer the surge protector will last. Most protectors should be at least 1000 Joules or higher to protect against most electrical issues that might arise in the typical home.

The response time of a surge protector refers to the fact that the unit does not respond immediately, there is a bit of a lag time between a spike and when the surge protector kicks in to do its job. Since surges tend to build up themselves, a surge protector can begin to notice a spike before it occurs so that its lag matches up for the most part with the electrical spike happens. Standards for surge protectors depend on the class of unit. Each standard defines exactly what a surge protector can and cannot do.

You want to make sure you have surge protectors and not just power strips in use in your home.  Otherwise, you are not protected from electrical issues that might spike in your home.  Surge protectors can be purchased in most retail stores, including grocery stores nowadays.  Make sure you take advantage and protect your electronics to the best of your ability with power surge protectors today.