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THE
most serious threat to your computer and other
electronics today might not be a virus or spyware
attack. It’s a thunderstorm—or more precisely, the
sudden blackouts and power surges that lightning can
cause. If you haven’t done anything to protect your
equipment against this threat, it’s time. And if you
haven’t checked the protective devices you bought a
couple of years ago, it’s time for that, too.
Here’s
why: Most of the components in your PC are designed to
operate at 12 volts, 5 volts or even lower levels. Your
computer’s power supply (which sits just inside the case
where the fan on the back can cool it) normally
transforms the sizzling, 120-volt AC current in your
house into the low-voltage, direct current that your PC
needs.
The
power supply can take care of small, normal fluctuations
in line voltage. The problem is a sudden spike that can
fry the insides of your machine. This is most likely to
happen when the voltage returns after a power
disruption—and it may happen repeatedly if the
electricity comes back, goes out and comes back again.
But
surges can also happen in a home when a refrigerator,
air conditioner or some other appliance on the same
circuit cycles on. Surges are endemic in some office
buildings.
The
first line of protection for your PC (or high-definition
television, or any expensive electronic gadget) is the
surge suppressor. Usually sold in power strips with four
or more outlets, these devices divert surges to the
ground wire of your home or office. Better units also
filter and condition the power to protect your equipment
from smaller glitches and burps that can damage it over
time.
You
can buy a surge suppressor for as little as $8 or spend
$75 and up, depending on bells and whistles. The first
thing to look for is an Underwriter’s Laboratories label
certifying the device as a Transient Voltage Surge
Suppressor-compliant with UL Standard 1449.
Now
consider three specifications, all of which should be
detailed on the box or label. One is the amount of
energy the suppressor can absorb, measured in joules.
Look for a minimum of 700 joules. More is better. The
next is the clamping voltage—the voltage at which the
suppressor starts to do its job. Lower is better. Most
experts recommend a maximum of 400 volts. Finally, look
for the response time. Again, lower is better—preferably
under 10 nanoseconds.
There
are also two must-have indicator lights. One shows
whether the strip is turned on (it’s all too easy to
kick the switch into the off position). The other shows
whether you’re still protected against surges. Every
time it absorbs a surge, your strip dies a
little—eventually it offers no protection at all. A
glowing indicator lamp tells you the suppressor can
still do its job. If you have an older suppressor, check
it out. Even then, it’s not a bad idea to replace
suppressors every couple of years.
Other
useful features include outlets arranged facing outward,
rather than in line, and spaced wide enough to
accommodate the ubiquitous little black boxes that
charge cell phones and other gadgets. Some strips also
offer protected jacks and connectors for telephone and
cable lines.
If you
have lots of gadgets and don’t want to worry about
protecting each one, consider a whole-house surge
suppressor. These devices cost $150 to $250 and must be
installed by an electrician at your breaker box, which
may double the cost of the unit itself. But once you
have one, it will protect all the equipment in your
house from outside surges.
Surge
suppression is the first half of protecting your
valuable equipment. For some devices, especially a PC,
you may also want an uninterruptible power supply, or
UPS. A UPS is a heavy, bulky box containing a
rechargeable battery that sits between the wall outlet
and your computer and other components. Most have
outlets for several devices.
When
the voltage drops precipitously, the battery power kicks
in and keeps your PC and other devices running from 10
minutes to an hour, depending on how much equipment you
plug in and much you’re willing to pay.
This
protection is especially important for PCs, because a
sudden power loss while the computer is writing data to
the hard drive can seriously scramble the disk and even
render it unusable—along with all your data, music,
videos, financial records and so forth. A UPS also will
give your equipment a smooth, untroubled ride with a
minimum number of restarts in areas where there are
frequent, short blackouts.
Most
consumer and small business UPS units also provide surge
suppression and power line filtering. They typically
have a couple of outlets with battery backup and several
more with surge suppression but no auxiliary power.
Generally speaking, you should use battery backup only
for your critical equipment to maximize battery
life—never plug in printers or scanners. I plug in only
my PC, cable modem and router.
The
backup capacity of UPS units is measured in Volt/Amps
(VA). Determining how much UPS you need can involve some
onerous calculations, so your best bet is one of the
handy calculators on a UPS manufacturer’s site. It will
probably overstate your needs, but it’s better to buy a
bit more juice than you need than too little.
The
calculator on the
American
Power Conversion Web site
recommended a unit of at least 800 VA to provide 10
minutes of backup power to my desktop system (computer,
monitor, router and cable modem). They start at $150.
Other experts say I could get away with a somewhat
lighter-duty model, in the 600 to 700 VA range, for $100
or so.
There’s no need to plug a laptop computer into a line
with a battery backup—the laptop’s battery kicks in
automatically when the power goes out. However, it’s
always a good idea to plug it into a surge-protected
outlet.
A
final word: If you’re working at home and hear a nasty
thunderstorm approaching, give your PC the best
protection available: Shut it down, unplug it and put
your feet up until the storm passes. It rarely takes
more than a half-hour, and it’s guaranteed to work. |
