Using Circuit and Surge Protection

Protect your electronics with power suppressors and circuit protection devices
By Leah Kuriluk Power surge protection is an important aspect of protecting your company's computer equipment and electronics. A surge protection device or power suppressor can help prevent damage to essential systems during a storm or electrical malfunction. This type of protection is essential for businesses that rely on computer systems or other electronics to conduct transactions and keep records.

Circuit and surge protection can be provided in many different ways, from a circuit breaker to a surge protector. A combination of methods is best for making the most of circuit and surge protection.

1. Always check to make sure your industrial power surge protection can handle the maximum amount of voltage needed for your electrical equipment.

2. Using circuit and surge protection can provide additional benefits, like limiting line noise, providing additional outlets and stabilizing power consumption.

3. Circuit breakers and other circuit protection sometimes requires a manual reset after being triggered.

Get industrial power surge protection for business and network use

A surge suppressor, or protector, defends computers and electrical equipment from voltage spikes. It does this by regulating the voltage a device is fed. If the voltage spikes to an unsafe level, surge suppressors will short or break the connection to the electronic device. This prevents damage to essential devices like computer and network systems, communications equipment and other important electronic devices. Larger models can often protect entire networks and devices that use huge amounts of power.
Try:  Purchase an industrial network surge protector from CDW, or learn more about surge protectors from PowerSquid.com.

Use power strips that contain surge suppressors for added protection

Surge protection devices and other power protection units are often integrated into power strips to provide added functionality. This allows them to protect everything plugged into the power strip, and provides the additional outlets usually required for computer equipment. Most power strips include built-in surge protection, but not all. Always check that your power strip contains a surge suppressor before foregoing other security measures.
Try:  Buy a power strip with built-in surge protection from Radio Shack, or SmartHomeUSA.com. LifeHacker provides some useful tips on using your power strips to their maximum efficiency. Cyberwalker.com has an article on choosing power strips to protect your equipment against power fluctuations.

Add circuit protection by installing circuit breakers

Breakers provide circuit protection against electrical shorts and overloads by disrupting the connection. This prevents electrical catastrophes in appliances and electrical devices. You can find circuit breakers in large industrial models, which are designed to handle multiple devices, and smaller models designed for protecting a single appliance. If you have more than one important electrical device, it's probably best to invest in a multiple-device circuit breaker.
Try:  Get circuit breakers from Honeywell or Industrial Equipment Recovery. Electronic Design publishes an article on the perils of choosing the wrong circuit breaker. Home Depot offers a detailed survey of the circuit breaker types available to consumers.

• Heavy-duty power protection units and circuit breakers may require permits and a licensed electrician to install and inspect them. Local regulations may vary, depending on where you plan to install your protection and whether the equipment will be used in a business or home.