That keyboard lockup, corrupted executable file or system crash may not have been caused by software incompatibilities, spyware, a trojan or a hacker. It might have been the result of inconsistent utility power.

A few years ago, IBM did a study that showed that a typical computer was subjected to over 120 power problems per month. I used to think all I had to worry about with my PC was lightning strikes. When a storm came to town, I just shut down my PC and unplugged the power cord and the phone line from the wall.

Then I went to work for a company that deals in uninterruptible power supplies. I learned that power companies are just not able to provide clean, consistent power that sensitive electronics need to work properly. As more and more circuits are crammed into CPUs and clock speeds are raised to undreamt heights, the delicate dance of electrons through a computer's motherboard requires power that does not sag or spike or surge--that definitely doesn't blackout!--and that is free of noise.

A sag, or lowered voltage, happens when motors start up, when your air conditioner kicks on. Power companies often lower voltage levels to cope with high electric demands. Sags cause frozen keyboards and system crashes, plus, they shorten the life of your hard drive motors and cooling fans.

A spike is an instant, dramatic increase in voltage, typically caused by a nearby lightning strike. It can also occur when a knocked-offline power company comes back on. Spikes cause loss of data and catastrophic hardware damage.

A surge is a short term voltage increase that usually lasts less than 1/2 second. It's what happens to your household current when your air conditioner compressor motor cuts off. Surges stress delicate electronic components and cause early failure.

Electrical noise disrupts the smooth sine wave your electronics love. It's caused by lightning, generators, load-switching, radio transmitters and industrial equipment, among other causes. Noise is responsible for glitches and errors in downloads, executable programs and data files.

All of these issues can be solved with a good quality uninterruptible power supply (UPS) hooked up between your wall power outlet and your PC. These units work by keeping a battery charged as long as there's power, and then using the power from that battery to supply voltage when the power goes out or if it sags. They also have built-in circuits to reduce or eliminate noise, smooth spikes and protect against surges. They keep the power going into your PC more consistent. The end result is that your PC runs smoothly and consistently and laughs at power problems! You keep your data, and it's more accurate. (UPSs can also be used to protect your TVs, stereo equipment, etc.)

I totally agree that power protection is important. I am actually in search of a better power protection system than the surge protector that I'm using now. I also agree that a good quality UPS unit can probably solve all the power problems you stated. The backup battery can come in useful and prevent data loss when there's a power outage.

However, I would see that the UPS solution is only a viable option for companies, corporate use due to the cost of even getting one. I wouldn't be able to afford one in my home. But that doesn't mean we are not still exposed to all those power problems. A common surge protector protects against only voltage surges, even though it is widely affordable by the general public. I believe a similar technology needs to be developed in the form of a surge protector so that everyone can benefit from it. The new technology does not necessarily require backup power. But at least it should feature protection against sags, which I heard occurs much more often than voltage surges.

That's probably easier said than done. But I would love to see such a product in the market.

i disagree on the "UPS not being affordable" deal check This out...it's basically a surge protector/line conditioner with a battery built in...it also connects to your PC via USB so you can run the APC Powerchute software wich allows you to configure your computer to shutdown safely when the battery reaches a certain level during a power outage...the MOST expensive version of this model is still under $100

the "higher end' home models are all under $200 and can last ALOT longer than the other ones without power...and also offer better line conditioning

This post has been edited by DSenette: Oct 4 2007, 02:42 PM

you are right. $40 a unit is not that expensive, especially when compared to a home theater system that could cost hundreds or thousand bucks. and i guess it also differs from people. my surge protector costs at most 10 bucks, which my dad bought 4 years ago when i started college. i don't even think it's working now (this applies to my computer too). personally as a student with little to no income, $40 is out of my budget. i think my dad felt the same too, that's why he only bought me a cheap one 4 years back. but yes, when i start working and building my own family, $40 is a good deal.

here i have a more general question. how do we get assurance that our electronics are 100% protected with any power protection unit? Does UPS offer 100% protection? Also, I know the better devices have lights to indicate whether the device is still functional or not. But to what extent can we trust that indicator? And when there are no indicators, is there a way to get assurance? i don't have any technical background, so forgive me if i'm asking questions that may seem common sense to you. i'm simply thinking from a consumer's point of view.

there's no such thing as 100% assurance....though warranties help....this doesn't apply to MOST home UPS devices but the larger corporate ones come with warranties for the devices connected to them (i.e. you get $100,000 dollars if you can prove that their device failed and caused your system to be damaged)...most reputable companies will offer some form of similar warranty...but not as large. the only way to be even close to sure that you're safe is to only buy from known, reputable companies


again...nothings 100%...but a UPS is better than nothing....(as is a surge protector)...a UPS will AT LEAST allow you time to shut down your computer (or tell the computer to shutdown on it's own) before the power completely drops from the computer...which goes a long way to keeping your PC safe....also...all UPS systems are also surge suppressors, and MOST do line conditioning (cleaning out uneven electrical levels) either passively (the fact that you're technically running your device off the batter instead of the mains line means that the electrical supply is a lot more stable than straight out of the wall) or actively (some UPS systems use complex circuitry to completely level out the voltage on the line and compensate for under or over voltage)

in a quality device...the indicators should be able to be trusted in most situations...there can be failures in the indicators...but most quality systems have diagnostic systems in place to verify all functionality


if there are no indicators...then you've bought a substandard product

the only way to learn is to ask

also...something that most people don't realize...but should know

if your surge protecter has EVER tripped due to a power surge...it's no longer functional...surge protectors work by having a "fuse" or a "breaker" inside of them...when a surge hits that breaker or fuse....it destroys it (that's how they work after all)

there are some surge protectors (more now than there used to be) that are actually able to be reset....but they can only sustain so many surges and surges of certain amplitudes...so any time you have a surge protector trip due to an actual surge...you should start shopping for a new one

thanks for your input

Here's 100% for you.
I agree 100% with Dsenette about periodically replacing low-end type surge protectors.

In my opinion, a surge protector in use for more than a year, should only be thought of as an "extension cord".

Great discussion people.

Best Regards
Doug

deffinitely...people get lulled into a false sense of security...they think "hey...i got a surge protecror...i'm good"....but they forget that they have a shelf life...and a limit to what they'll protect....

Joining this year old topic a couple days late...

Here's my 3 cents:

A surge protector is nothing more than a fancy and expensive extension cord! EVERY computer system should be protected with an uninterruptible power supply (UPS).

A "good" UPS - one that includes automatic voltage regulation (AVR) provides MUCH greater protection over even the best surge protectors. Don't let the UPS opponents fool you with their "myths" that UPS are not worth it, or spew their narrow-minded rhetoric about computer PSUs being "switch-mode" devices, and therefore are more immune to power fluctuations. Bull-hockey!!!! Well, the switch-mode stuff is true, but not the point.

Is your computer the only thing you plug into your surge protector? I bet not! I plug my computer into my UPS, but I also plug in TWO 17" LCD monitors, 8-port Cable Router, cable modem, wireless access point, Palm PDA cradle, and a USB card reader.

It is important to note what a surge and spike protector will NOT do, and why better protection is needed. Note that EVERY time the air conditioner, toaster, microwave oven, refrigerator, hair dryer, coffee pot, water cooler, etc., cycles on and off, surges, sags and spikes are sent down the line - not to mention what comes down the line from outside your location. None are good, all help age the components in surge protectors and power supplies. If one of those, or similar power hogging appliances, are in your facility or home, or you live in an apartment where you have no control over what your neighbors plug into the wall, you need an UPS! Period.

Also sent down the line regularly are sags (low voltage or brownout "events") and dropouts (fast, deep drops in voltages - such as spikes are fast, rapid peaks in voltages). Most sags and dropouts go unnoticed - by humans. But your computer and all other devices notice them because surge and spike protectors are useless at stopping them, or adjusting for them. This forces the regulation burden and stresses onto the very devices the "protector" is suppose to protect. And should that sag and dropout be noticeable - that is, the lights "flicker" or dim - instant crash time - and pray all that was lost is just your most recent edit changes, and nothing worse.

Ever flashed a BIOS and had a power hit? I have - it was ugly. That was 15 years ago and have not gone without an UPS since. A "good" UPS handles "flickers" with aplomb! How often do you have to update Windows? What if you had a power outage or severe power line anomaly while a critical OS file was being written to your boot disk?

A "good" UPS with AVR will correct both high and low voltage anomalies. A surge and spike protector only addresses typical short-term surges and spikes. But note an extended surge may cause a surge and spike protector to fail, while a "good" UPS will simply regulate the voltage with ease, for extended periods of time.

Top S&S protectors can easily cost $200 or more. "Good" UPSs do too. Just as there are cheap S&S protectors, there are cheap UPSs. Just as you should avoid a cheap PSU, you should avoid a cheap UPS. Do your homework. I would not recommend anything under 800VA AVR - more with a CRT monitor, or extra equipment. The greater the VA generally means longer run time with the same load. A general rule of thumb is: Watts = .6 X VoltAmps.

I say again, if you live in an apartment, get a good UPS today - if you can't today, get one payday!

Have a nice big screen TV? It should be on UPS too. I have a nice 1450VA UPS that runs the 42inch DLP and HD cable-box/DVR.

Notice I have not mentioned backup power during a total power outage - until now. That's because backup power during a power outage is only the icing on the cake - compared to the regulation of power that happens the rest of the time. My 1200VA provides over 25 minutes of runtime. Most UPSs come with an interface cable and software to communicate with the PC and the computer's operating system. The software monitors the runtime remaining and will automatically save your data, close all applications and "gracefully" shutdown and power off the computer during extended outages, if you are away. No surge and spike protector can do that.

Note that many newer PSUs (and big screen TVs) have cooling fans that typically keep running a few minutes after you power off - no can do if you lose power, unless you have an UPS.

The biggest downside - the batteries have to be replaced every 3 years or so - $50 - $100 if you do it yourself - pretty easy task, however.

APC, CyberPower, Belkin, and TrippLite are good brands.

Finally, for those scoffing at spending $100, $200US or more on an UPS, I recommend you reconsider your position. Yeah, sure, insurance will pay for hardware replacement, and everybody has a current backup of their drives (right??? - yeah right!) - my point is, how many manhours of your time will be lost in getting your new computer AND DATA back up to pre-catastrophe status? 5 hours? 10 hours More? What is 1 hour of your time worth?

Oh, I disagree. Even the cheap APC 350VA UPS covers $75,000 worth of hardware or the CyberPower CPS425SL provides $35,000 "lifetime" coverage.