QuiltE

Taking the surge protector discussion a bit further .....
There are different ratings as to how much surge they will protect you from.
A little zap? or a whole lot? Depends on what you have.
It's important to remember, that once zapped, they are no good for protection, but still good as a power bar.

An UPS (Uninterruptable Power Source) is another alternative to consider, especially if you are subject to "brown outs". How you can tell this, is if your lights dim periodically, or at certain times of the day (when there is a high usage), the lights stay dimmer for an extended time. Essentially, the UPS works with the power going into the UPS, is stored in a battery, then released to your machine from the battery, so that you get consistent power and no brown outs to damage your machine.

Years ago we had a computer problem, with the end conclusion being the brown out issue had caused a lot of damage. We found out the hard way!!

So many of our sewing machines are now computers ... so yes, I have UPS on mine.
(The UPS has surge protection too.)