Originally Posted by Mattee
Westom, I know you're trying to help, but unfortunately, I'm dumber than you (at least when it comes to electricity, and possibly at everything else).
Everyone learned about surge protectors in elementary school science. Just did not know it.
Lightning was striking wooden church steeples to connect to earth. Wood being an electrical conductor. But wood is not a good conductor. So 20,000 amps through wood creates a high voltage. 20,000 amps times a high voltage is high energy. Church steeple damaged.
Ben Franklin put a lightning rod atop the church steeple. But a lightning rod (just like any surge protector) does not do any protection. Either the lighting rod connects a direct lightning strike to earth. Or the lightning rod does nothing. 20,000 amps to earth via a protector is near zero volts. 20,000 amps times near zero volts is near zero energy. No damage.
A lightning rod is a protector. But it only works when connected to protection – earth ground. Same applies to every power strip or UPS protector. Either a surge protector connects short (ie 'less than 10 feet') to earth. Or a ‘high profit’ protector is promoted by hearsay, advertising, and scams.
Lightning strikes AC electric wires down the street. That means lightning is connected directly to every appliance inside the house. Which appliance is damaged? A surge selects an appliance that make the best connection to earth. And destroys that appliance.
Nothing stops surges. Nothing. Especially not power strip protectors or UPS. Especially not those APC or Tripplite protectors. If any surge (ie lightning) connects to earth before entering a building, then that surge is not inside hunting for earth destructively via appliances. Just like Franklin's lightning rods: protection is always about dissipating that energy harmlessly in earth.
As noted so many times previously: protection is always about where hundreds of thousands of joules dissipate. Either you connect a surge harmlessly to earth outside the building (one 'whole house' protector from responsible companies). Or that surge goes hunting for earth, destructively, inside the house. Only you make that choice.
Codes that define human safety do not address transistor safety. All homes already earth one AC wire only for human safety. Transistor safety means all other incoming wires connect to earth via a 'whole house' protector. AC electric is three wires. One connects to earth directly. Other two must be earthed via a ‘whole house’ protector. If any wire does not connect to earth, then surge protection does not exist.
As Franklin demonstrates in 1752 and as was taught in elementary school science; protection is always about earthing energy. No protector - not one ever - stops or absorbs surges. A myth posted by a majority is a near zero protector stopping surges. Either a protector connects within feet to single point earth ground. Or the only protection is that already inside every appliance.
Your only concern is the rare surge that overwhelms protection inside every appliance. That occurs typically once every seven years. Only a 'whole house' protector with the *always required* short connection to earth makes a destructive surge irrelevant. Does so for reasons that Ben Franklin demonstrated in 1752.
Describes is how surge protection is done everywhere that damage cannot happen. And describes are surge protectors that are only ‘profit ceneters’ - scams. Why do munitions dumps suffer direct lightning strikes without damage? Those dumps only use 'whole house' protection. Much of what we do today to protect electronics is how surge protection was done in munitions dumps even long before WWII. The science is that well proven.
One 'whole house' protector is a least expensive solution. And the only solution that actually does surge protection. You intercept lighting from striking your roof with an earthed lightning rod. And you intercept surges from damaging all appliances with an earth 'whole house' protector.
What is required to protect power strip protectors and UPS from damage? A 'whole house' protector. So that nobody knows a surge even existed. And so that even the protector is not damaged - for about $1 per protected appliance.
I can only hope that rephrasing it again and again eventually helps all to understand. Products from APC, Tripplite, Belkin, and Monster do not even claim such protection. Informed homeowners earth one 'whole house' protector from so many responsible companies such as Clipsal, Keison, General Electric, Leviton, Siemens, Square D, ABB, Polyphaser, Intermatic, and Cutler-Hammer - to name but a few.
A concept that defines all ineffective and effective protectors. That was understood and implemented even 100 years ago. Protection is always about where energy dissipates. Always – no exceptions. Most important, a protector is only as effective as its earth ground.
Either you learn a well proven concept. Or you do what a majority so often do - be scammed by miracle plug-in devices that do not even claim surge protection in spec numbers. Only you make that choice.