What is a surge protector

What Is A Surge Protector

Ever wonder why sometimes your TV or computer just suddenly dies on you? It’s not because it’s old, it’s just worn out. This electrical arthritis is caused by power spikes and surges found almost everywhere. Even in some developed countries where electric voltage is steady, this electrical phenomenon just cannot be avoided. This is why the surge protector is used.

When buying a laptop or PC, the surge protector already becomes an integral part of the shopping list. It allows the usage of multiple components into a single power outlet and is quite useful for desktops that need it for screens, CPUs, speakers, printers and scanners; much less for laptops. However, there are a lot of power outlets that aren’t surge protectors. So what is the difference? First, we will need to know what a surge is.

A surge is a sudden increase of electricity or electrical levels. Most components can function at either 110-120 volts or 220-240 volts. These are the standard levels that components can handle. Any less than this will usually result in the device not working. However, the important part is when they voltage increases. Voltage is the difference in electric potential. Electric current travels because of this difference. The greater voltage on one side will push the current to move to the other. This concept is very similar to a water hose. One side of the hose has more pressure than the other, and thus the water travels along it. However, if the water pressure is too much in the hose, the hose will tend to break. The same thing happens when surges occur. The circuits heat up with the excess electrical energy and the wire burns. It can either burn when there is an immense surge at an instant or with chronic spikes. Surges last for about three nanoseconds, while spikes for two. Constant spikes can have a steady toll on the electrical components and wear them down; they may just suddenly die down one fine day. So what does a surge protector do to prevent this?

Whenever a spike or surge arises, the surge protector will channel this excess electrical energy through various different electrical components within itself and eventually into the ground wiring. One vital component in the surge protector is a variable resistor. When the voltage is just perfect, it does nothing. When the voltage is below normal, its resistance decreases and lets the current through to the grounding line. When the voltage goes back to normal, the resistor goes back to doing nothing. In this way, only at times when the voltage is in excess will it flow into the grounding, leaving only the perfectly normal levels to pass on through.

The surge protector thus serves two functions--to plug in multiple appliances into a single power socket and to protect all these from electrical spikes and surges. The protector doesn’t cost a lot and it is imperative that you get one if you want your computer to live.

A Computer Guy

What Is A Surge Protector