Although plasma technology is not new to the television industry, what we think of today when we use the term plasma TV typically refers to flat screen devices. These ultrathin televisions have to operate on smaller processors, which make their systems much more vulnerable to spikes in electricity despite their sophistication.
This can become a real issue in an area that experiences frequent power surges, especially in homes on an electrical grid system. Often on a grid system, power modes change from business to residential which causes spikes in the shuffle.
As these higher voltage spikes heat the tiny microprocessors, the microprocessors degrade. In some cases, they flat out melt from the overload. Considering the cost of a plasma TV, it’s worth protecting your investment by installing a plasma TV surge protector.
Statistics show that an average home is hit with about twenty surges a day. What’s worse is that you won’t know it’s happened until the damage is done.
If you’re familiar with surge protection devices you know that their job is to block power flow to your equipment in the event of a surge.
In the case of a plasma television, you want a protection device with multiple outlets, so that all equipment that connects to your television runs through that surge protector. This will prevent any stray surge from entering your plasma television via another conduit.
Any wire, it doesn’t matter, a coaxial line, power cord, HDMI outputs, mp3 players, etc., anything that can conduct electricity can be exploited by a surge if that line is not protected. Plugging all gear that works as an extension of your TV into a surge protector will save you from the risk of damage.
By extension, I mean a DVD player, a home theater system, a cable box, satellite dish, whatever. Run that gear through your surge protector.
What Is The Best Surge Protector For A Plasma TV?
A good surge protection device for plasma TV is one with at least a 1500 Joules rating if you have accessory equipment as each outlet provides protection per device connected so you want to figure about 300-400 Joules per device, including coax and other EMI/RFI lines.
It is really necessary to use a three-mode protection device. Three-mode protection is L–N, L–G and N-G. This translates to line to neutral, line to ground and neutral to ground.
With standard surge protection the ground is connected to the power line so that a surge will be diverted to the ground. If you’re wall outlet is not properly grounded you can create more damage than you are preventing.
Like I said, a surge will find an entrance point somewhere. If it travels to the ground and you’re outlet was not grounded it will reverse itself and travel along another line such as coaxial cable or phone line.
Also, make sure it comes with a connected equipment warranty, CEW. This covers all equipment running through the surge protection device. This kind of warranty is essential if your home insurance policy does not cover lightning strikes. Some CEWs cover up to $300,000 of equipment failure and loss.
One thing to note is that you will void a warranty if you are not correctly connected. Certain factors won’t affect you, like lightning strikes or problem with your power company’s transformers. But using the wrong type of surge protector will nullify the warranty.
Remember, a surge protector for plasma TV doesn’t have to be expensive though you do have to consider what price is worth protecting your television.
This particular Tripp Lite model is a fine example.
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