Their Isobar series are very good and have all-metal enclosures, but they can be a bit pricey ($42 for a 2-outlet wall wart unit, up to $205 for a 12-outlet rack-mount unit).
But if you’re on a budget, they make many lower-cost models as well. If I apply a filter for units with >2000J power dissipation, I see 46 models, priced between $27 and $205 (that Isobar rack-mount unit).
Another good brand I use is Belkin. They sell power strips with and without surge suppression. If I filter their product listing for Filtering it for only strips with >2000J rating I see 19 products, ranging between $21 and $45.
Evaluating TrippLite. Initially tried to contact Belkin as I often use their products but for several days they were unresponsive. Finally spoke to someone at Belkin, was told they only have 2 power strips w/surge protection powerful enough for TVs & both are currently unavailable from Belkin and Amazon. No indication if/when they will be available.
Think I have a six-outlet Isobar in my closet. I’ve bought several Tripp-Lite products over the years. They’ve all been pretty reliable and well made. Never were the cheapest though.
Has no one mentioned ACP products? They’ve been around for years. They make the Smart-UPS line, the Back-UPS and Back-UPS Pro line, etc. They were bought out years ago by a larger firm but are still producing under their own name. I’ve used their hardware along with some Tripp-Lite equipment for years.
I’ve had indifferent results with APC products over the years…Quality control over the years was less than optimal. Add to that the inability to permanently turn off the alarm, and I don’t recommend them.
APC is now a part of Schneider Electric, a French manufacturer of industrial equipment.
I’m a fan of their Smart-UPS line of UPSs. And they make very good commercial/industrial equipment.
For their other products (e.g., Back-UPS UPSs and surge strips), I have no particular opinion. They’re quality products, but not necessarily any better or worse than their major competitors.
Oh, right, Schneider Electric. I should have remembered that. I had a large Smart-UPS Pro(?) a few years ago that either shorted out or burned out or something. There was acrid smoke in my small office and that kind of freaked me out. I sent it back to APC and they shipped me a new one. But I never used that model again. I’ve been using a Back-UPS Pro for a few years and it’s been fine. Meets my needs and I don’t have that much plugged into it (iMac, cable modem, router, power strip with a few outlets for a phone charger).
I was puzzled when I first read about surge protectors and after a while I realised it was an American thing. In Australian there is no demand/need for surge protectors and I can’t remember any reports on power surges damaging household appliances, personal and business computers, etc. Maybe we have suitable power surge protection built into our electricity systems. Maybe it is because we have full strength electricity supply at 240 volts and not the puny 110 volt offering.
I have noticed that the power system in our Boston suburb has improved its response to power interruptions over the 30+ years we have lived here. It used to be that something like a car accident in the area could knock out power for a few hours. Now it’s usually only a matter of minutes before the control system can be reset. The only recent exception was when a truck driver managed to break off two power poles on opposite sides of the street about 500 feet away, and we got our power back in a couple of hours.
So I guess you don’t have lightning or power outages in Europe? I work in power production and am grateful for our voltage and frequency system. Do you also enjoy the 50 cycle flickering in the lighting?
I don’t believe that for a second. No power system is, or can ever be, perfectly stable under all circumstances, including weather storms, load cycling, physical accidents, and countless other reasons.
And voltage levels have nothing to do with this.
Do your building codes mandate the use of SPDs (e.g. Residential and Commercial Surge Protection Devices) in residences? If every service panel is required to have an SPD installed, then the worst surges from the grid will be filtered out before reaching your appliances. But those SPDs don’t last forever - you would need to periodically check them and replace those that have failed in order to maintain protection.
I live in England. There is no discernible flickering of the lights. We have lightning but it has never, in my experience or hearing, caused an interruption to the power supply. I have never used a surge protector and nor has anyone I know; and I have never experienced or heard of a surge causing any damage. In domestic, and most commercial, premises, backup power supplies and surge protectors are simply unnecessary because they protect against something which just doesn’t happen. Perhaps, since @brucesherman you “work in power production”, you could suggest an explanation for the apparently greater vulnerability of power supply in the USA; I can’t.
One possible difference is weather and the vulnerability of overhead wiring. Lightning strikes are a big problem, as are falling tree branches and drivers hitting utility poles. Overhead transformers seem particularly vulnerable. Here in New England snow, ice and tree branches do much damage in winter, but I can’t say how much.
How common are buried utilities in England and Europe? They are not common in many parts of the US, particularly older cities, because they are much more expensive.
I’ve found that even in the US where utility lines are buried, the lines are cut accidentally during construction work causing power outages. Lines are buried where I live yet power has gone out in the area when either a new building is being built or there’s construction for a new road.
Good point. I saw construction across the street that dug into telephone ducts that had been buried under a new sidewalk when it was laid. (The local power lines are aerial.) Damage inside a duct can go unnoticed for years until water works its way inside the duct and causes a short.
Wait until a transformer needs to be replaced. With above-ground power, just hang the new one on the pole, have a five-minute outage while you switch over, then take down the old one.
If your transformer is underground, they have to dig down to it, then disconnect the power, pull the old unit out of the ground, and get the new unit lowered into place before they can get power back on. Takes 8-12 hours, and that’s a planned outage with the replacement unit at the ready and the excavator on-site.
Here on the West side of Las Vegas in Summerlin our power lines are underground but the transformers are on the surface. A basic aspect of the residential scenery here are the transformers in residence front yards - generally one transformer for multiple homes. Also we have enough solar power to see notes on the transformers saying they are “live” even when the main power is off. As I have noted before our electrical power is very reliable.
