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Why whole house surge protectors are not enough

TL;DR:

One measure of a surge protector is the clamping voltage. That is, at what voltage does the surge protector actually start to work. Whole house surge protectors are limited to no less than ~ 600 Volts (instantaneous) between a leg and neutral or ground. That’s up to 1,200V if symmetrical.

The best surge protecting strips and conditioners clamp below 200 Volts.

Please keep this in mind when deciding whether or not to use surge protectors at your PC, stereo, TV, etc. in addition to a whole house unit.

I wrote more about this here:

 

https://inatinear.blogspot.com/2021/09/time-for-new-surge-suppression.html

No manufacturer of whole house surge protection claims that their devices alone are enough for sensitive electronics when you check the fine print.

erik_squires
russbutton's avatar
russbutton
433 posts
 

This Belkin surge protector in front of your gear rack is all you need.  Less than $45.

wokeuptobose's avatar
wokeuptobose
132 posts
 

Did I miss the response to what we think about "Envionmental Potentials" as a protective technolgy? VH Audio has always seemed to be edgy, but grounded in things that work, and they carry their products. I would really love to have more protection for my system than the whole house Leviton I have and several Shunyata Defenders plugged into my amps dedicated lines.

britamerican
52 posts
 

Caelin Gabriel and Shunyata make suppressors for medical gear so I think they're a lot more knowledgeable than most people here.

 

Than most people here is not setting a very high bar but even then I am not sure. They say a lot of dumb stuff.

150 vrms. They use 140v MOV probably. Not doing anything till 240 DC. A big surge is going to be over 400V.  The datasheets don't give a lot of details. 

What's the controversy?  Whole house plus a power bar for surge protection. Seems pretty obvious. MOVs don't do anything to your audio. Crazy to believe they do.

 

erik_squires OP
16,130 posts
 

The article I referenced in my blog has the only independent survey if surge protector performance I know of.  Furman and Tripp Lite measured among the best with the lowest measured let through voltages.

dpop
293 posts
 

Interested in protecting your outdoor A/C condenser from power surges and brownouts? This package looks to be one of the best I've ever seen:

RSH-50 VRM KIT

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