Knowing whether you need a power surge protector or a battery backup system can be tricky to understand, but many people aren’t even aware there is a difference. While surge protectors will protect your computer from the damages of power surges, the battery backup system is a completely different tool. In the following article we will discuss the differences and benefits to both the surge protector and the battery backup system.
Surge protectors for computers look like extension cords with three or more outlets that let you plug an entire computer system in to one wall outlet. Within the power strip is a semiconductor that reroutes excess energy from a power surge to a grounding wire to disarm the surge that would otherwise cause damage to your equipment. Devices like APC surge protectors are some of the most common surge suppressors available.
When there is a surge of power in the lines coming into your house, the energy will travel through your home’s wiring and reach any electronic equipment that is plugged into the outlets. It can even affect your phone line and cable. Once your equipment is hit with this surge of power components can be rendered inoperable or may become slowly damaged. In this case, a whole house surge protector is a handy tool for every large appliance in your home to prevent loss, damage and even fires from faulty wiring in the event of a power surge.
The battery backup system is an uninterruptible power supply and a step above a simple computer surge protector in that it is designed to divert a power surge and also keep power to the computer for a short period during a brown or black out. This allows you to safely back up any tasks you may have been working on and save it before shutting down your computer, whereas a pc surge protector forces a hard shutdown of your computer preventing any work from being saved. This can cause immense frustration if you have deadlines or are working on something important to you.
APC battery backup systems are a bit more expensive running over $100 or more, but the benefits of using the uninterruptible power supply will outweigh the simple surge protector on large scale operations and for prevention of sudden loss of data. When you are choosing the right surge protector needs for you, between these two options you have to weigh the significance of your needs to the purchase you should make. Both the surge protector and battery backup system will save your equipment, it just depends on the size of the operation you need handling.
