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Manufacturers of surge protectors certify their devices and measure their effectiveness, giving them a rating in Joules which is the amount of energy they can filter, and also its clamp voltage, which is the threshold. Put simply, the more joules, the better protection and the longer your surge protector will do its job. Industry standards for surge suppression and power conditioning devices include IEEE 62.41 and UL1449, which limit the quantity of electricity that can pass through them. They specify how the surge suppressors will handle surges and what voltage they will clamp at. UL1449 specifies 330V as the best clamping rating for Metal Oxide Varistors (MOVs). However, not all surge protector manufacturers use the same clamp voltage ,many use 400 volts. If your equipment is more critical or sensitive, you want to choose a surge protector with a lower clamp voltage. In the latest edition 3 specification, the term "Voltage Protection Rating" or VPR is used instead of let-through or clamping voltage. Don’t plug a space heater into a surge protector. Space heaters and other appliances with an open heating element (such as toasters or hair dryers) use a lot of power, increasing your chances of overloading the outlet. A surge protector adds even more resistance that can allow heat to build up, potentially catching fire or damaging the device. To be on the safe side, plug any open-heat electronics straight into the wall.
As for the ports, there's a lot of them. 12 AC outlets and six USB Type-A ports mean that you'll never run out of a place to plug in again. There's just no USB-C port, unfortunately, but that can be easily remedied. It does have eight AC outlets, two on each side, and each pair has its on/off button to help save energy and help you save money on your energy bill. Plus there are three USB Type-A and one USB-C ports. The only thing is that those ports are only on one side so anyone needing access to them would have to do some sort of maneuvering, especially if there are several electronics and devices already plugged in.Our best surge protector overall will easily protect most devices. But if you have really costly equipment such as gaming PCs you'll want something more powerful to make sure your expensive equipment doesn't get fried. In that case, the Furman Power Station 8 (PST-8) is for you. Metal Oxide Varistors are the most important electronic components inside Surge Protectors that perform the “magic” filtering of excess voltage. They have a limited lifespan. (Image credit: Tripp Lite) How do surge protectors protect your devices? Most people don't need a kitted-out power strip with surge protection, and if you're one of them, you're better off choosing something that's affordable like this one from Anker that offers 2,100 joules of protection. That's more than enough for your basic devices like smartphones, laptops, and printers, which is what most people have in their offices. Never use an adapter to plug a surge protector into an ungrounded outlet. Bypassing the ground negates most of the benefits of using surge protectors, since typically two-thirds of their MOVs are tied to the ground leg.
Unlike most surge protectors that use Metal Oxide Varistors (MOVs) to divert surge current, the Furman PST-8 uses Series Multi-Stage Protection Plus (SMP+) that provides great surge filtering alongside an automatic shutdown circuit that cuts off the power when a surge is detected. This setup protects both your appliances and the surge protector, allowing it to last longer in theory than MOV-based options. A surge-protection rating of 400 volts or better: Although we verified each model’s abilities in our own electrical testing, we required that they be rated by one of the major product-safety corporations, UL or ETL, to bring a surge down to (at most) 400 volts. Lower is better when it comes to let-through voltage, the measure of how much extra voltage reaches your electronics. The Monoprice 12 also has lights that indicate if surge protection is working, and if protection fails following a major surge, the light will shut off. The device will auto-shut to prevent damage to electronics. It’s also UL Listed.
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For the technically inclined who want to know: it’s small electronic components called Metal Oxide Varistors, or MOVs for short, which are more often used for this filtering of surges. Other types of filters are gas discharge arrestors which are often seen in antenna protectors, but most of the time, MOVs are used, often in combination with other components like capacitors. It is a little basic in terms of its line of protection, but you are getting three layers here - just enough to protect your kitchen appliances and small electronics at home. And its six foot cord means that it's a little more versatile in its location. We wouldn't recommend using this to regularly power your PC or laptop, however, as it won't offer enough protection if a surge does happen. Most other surge suppressors continue to let power through even after their circuits have been damaged, leaving your equipment exposed to future surges. APC's SurgeArrest fail safe, which means that once the circuit of an APC SurgeArrest has been compromised the unit disconnects equipment from the power supply ensuring that no damaging surges reach your equipment.
Operation time is important because the bad news about surge protectors is that they have a limited lifespan. Surge arresters can only absorb so much energy as they are rated for. A 500J surge protector can successfully filter a single spike of 500 joules of power, or ten spikes of 50 joules. Upon reaching its joule rating, the surge arrestor ceases to function as a filter: electricity will keep flowing through them, but so will spikes.We love a good extension tower, especially when it's very affordable, and this one from Tessan is definitely a shoo-in. It offers 1,700 joules of protection, which is pretty high and will keep your pricey laptop or computer from frying. And it has light indicators to indicate that the surge and ground protection are working, giving you that extra peace of mind.
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