Purchasing Surge Protectors

Step

Action

1

Determine what your needs are.

2

Find the right surge protectors for your needs.

3

Learn where to purchase surge protectors.

4

Know when to replace surge protectors.

Step

Action

1

Walk through your home.

2

Make a list each piece of electrical equipment.

3

On the list note how the device is connected to the outside world. If it is connected in any other way than power plug, make a note of that also. Types of connections other than power are

• telephone lines
• modems
• antennas or
• cable TV lines.

4

Looking at the list, determine if any of the devices can be grouped to share a multiple outlet surge protector.

5

From this list, determine

• how many surge protectors are needed and
• the types of connections that each surge protector must support.

Feature

Description

UL listed transient voltage surge suppressors

Consider only products that are UL listed and labeled as transient voltage surge suppressors, or TVSS.

Note: Any number of products will have UL labels listing them as multiple outlet devices. This does not mean the product is a UL listed transient voltage surge suppressor.

Clamping voltage

One of the most important performance characteristics of a surge protector is its clamping voltage. This is the amount of voltage the surge suppressor passes through to your equipment, before diverting it to the ground.

The lowest clamping voltage recognized by UL is 330 volts or .33 kilovolts. The clamping voltage will be listed on the product next to the UL label, if it is UL listed.

Always use the UL number as your purchasing guide.