Protecting electrical devices against damage from power surges is a wise decision a surge protector can help with. A single 220 volt surge protector, or surge suppressor, is a device that protects powerful electrical equipment—such as welders, washing machines and kilns—from spikes in electricity caused by storms, electrical company failures and internal electrical power fluctuations. Power surges are increases in electricity that occur for three nanoseconds or longer; power spikes last two nanoseconds or less. Such power surges occur frequently, and eventually will cause the deterioration and subsequent failure of devices connected to the electrical circuit experiencing the surges. Surges in power occur when the circuit becomes energized; for instance, when an air conditioner, heater or refrigerator clicks on, they dump an excess amount of electricity into the circuit, and can cause a surge of power just as dropping a heavy rock into a still pond will cause waves before the water settles back down again.
A surge protector is a device that plugs directly into a wall outlet, but that has a number of outlet openings on the power strip so that other electrical devices can be plugged into it, and it has a rocker switch to turn the power to the surge protector and the connected devices on and off. The surge protector is a go-between; the devices plug into the surge protector, and the surge protector plugs right into the wall outlet. In the case of a power surge, the protector—as the go-between—takes the brunt of the flux, leaving the devices plugged into it unharmed, as if no voltage fluctuation occurred at all. This protection is possible because when the fluctuation reaches the surge protector, it trips a circuit breaker inside of the device, and the protector responds by trying to regulate the voltage. It either blocks it all together or shorts to ground the voltages that are above thresholds safe for the devices plugged into it.
The most common 220 surge protectors have a metal oxide varistor, or MOV, that guides the excess voltage to the grounding wire. It essentially connects the hot power line to the grounding line. There are three parts to the MOV: the metal oxide strip in the middle, and then two semiconductors that join the hot and grounding wires. The semiconductors are variably resistant depending on the voltage passing through them; when the voltage rises above 220 the electrons in the semiconductors move more freely, causing the MOV to conduct much of the excess current to the ground wire, lessening the voltage load back to 220 or under. Once the voltage is back under control, the hot wire returns to normal, and the MOV increases its resistance. This is how the surge protector is able to move with the flow of the electrical courses; much like a pressure release valve that only opens when there is too much pressure and then closes again when the levels are even once more.
Surges in electricity are not desirable for the electronic devices plugged into the circuit. In some particularly delicate devices, as little as one single power surge is enough to permanently damage the device. In other, more resilient appliances, a buildup of repeat power surges will eventually burn up the wiring in the devices plugged into the circuit. This action is exactly like blowing a balloon up too full of air; when the balloon reaches capacity, it will burst to release the pressure. This same thing happens with the wires in electrical devices during a power surge or spike, except that instead of blowing up they heat up and catch on fire, causing not only damage to the device but also having potentially deadly consequences.
For North American homes, you can use a 220V surge protector with 110V rated outlets, but you are losing protection on surges below the 220 volt peak. Anything between 110 and 220 volts will slip through and cause damage. Typically, 220V running between the neutral line and the ground is not a problem for a 110V appliance. Placing your surge protector, 220 volts protecting a 110 volt appliance, on the 110 volt side, things can go horribly wrong. The varistors within the device will overload and fry. Varistors cannot sustain a steady surge for any length of time, they are better suited for short over voltages that last mere microseconds. This kind of setup will cause the surge protector to fail prematurely.
By choosing to plug electrical devices into a surge protector instead of directly into a wall outlet, users are making both a wise and safe decision. Not only are they protecting their electrical devices, but they are protecting their lives, the lives of their families, and the structures their electrical devices are housed in.
