✅ TOP 5 Best Surge Protector: Today’s Top Picks 

Surge protect is a complicated subject with many opinions and technologies. There are books written just about surge protection. Maybe I can clarify it some and give people a better understanding. All the surge protectors reviewed here use MOVs (Metal-Oxide Varistors) inside and shunt to Ground technology which is better than nothing but is considered low end surge protection and can cause its own problems. If you really want a really nice surge protector they will use different technology, cost much more, be bulkier in size, and will only do surge protection (no USB ports). None of the surge devices reviewed here are going to do anything for a fairly close lightning strike as their technology cannot handle those large surges. Surge protection for the devices reviewed here is rated in Joules. The more Joules you start with the more total surge protection you have. Every time these devices detect a surge the MOVs inside shunt the surge off to the Ground wire of the wall outlet (that is why they have a Ground indicator because they need a electrical Ground to work). Each surge uses up some of the original Joules until all the Joules are exhausted. All the Joules could be used up in one large surge but more likely it will happen over time as the total of many smaller surges. They cannot be reset at that point and once exhausted just become a power strip with no surge protection at all. Hopefully the green LEDS go out at that point because I have seen devices like this where the green LED still lights and I doubt there is any surge protection. The MOVs inside vibrate as they work and there have been cases when these type of devices have taken very large surges and actually exploded due to the MOVs over loading. Their is no way of knowing how many Joules remain in a still functioning device. The first two surge devices (5 & 4) mentioned have fairly high 4000+ Joule ratings. Number 3 has a low 600 Joule rating which is not very good at all. The last two (2 & 1) have 2000-3000 Joules but are about half of the first two and would be considered average. Anything under 1000 Joules is really considered low end and I would not recommend them for anything expensive or that draws anything but minimal power (phone chargers). None of the surge devices mentioned here have Cable or Network connections. Some people believe they should not be combined even though some surge devices do. A large surge could actually travel out to Cable and Network attached devices and actually damage Printers, Routers, Cable Boxes, or other Computers. These can all be surge protected with their own devices and technologies and Cable and Phone wires should be Grounded outside before entering the home. There are two different types of electrical surges to deal with, those from outside your home and those from inside your home. Due to all the sensitive electronics in homes these days all new house have been required by NEC (National Electric Code) for a few years to have whole house surge protection installed in your main breaker box. These devices detect incoming surges and immediately shut them to the Ground wire going outside BEFORE they get into your internal circuits. These devices come in different ratings and prices depending on what part of the country you live in (more storms higher rating). They cost $50 to $200+ and usually last 10-15+ years and normally using a twin dedicated breaker. They can be installed at any time if you have two empty breaker spaces in your breaker cabinet and there are lots of RU-vid videos discussing them and how to install them. They have LEDS which show they are functioning and need to be replaced when exhausted. These are highly recommended for all older houses and will solve most surge issues especially large ones. The surges from inside your house come mainly from devices with motors starting and stopping. Devices like Air Conditioners, Refrigerators, Washers, Dryers, etc... can create surges that travel around inside the house wiring. These will not be stopped by a whole house surge protector because they are not coming from outside. These are the surges that these reviewed surge protectors are really stopping especially if you have whole house protection. They can also be stopped by using surge protected outlets ($15-25) in the wall (like behind a TV) although they have fairly low Joule ratings (700-900) and might have to be replaced on a regular basis (they have LEDs and even Audible alarms as well to note when exhausted). All these shunt to Ground surge protector devices will wear out eventually (some areas much faster than others) so it is important to be able to view their LEDS so you can tell when they are exhausted as they will still be functioning as power strips and might not be noticed. If you want real good local surge protection these shunt to Ground devices are not up to the task. Their are multiple companies that specialize in surge protection like Surgex or ZeroSurge but expect to pay much more ($150+). This may seem like a lot but when you are protecting multi thousand dollar TVs or entertainment centers it makes more sense. These devices use technology that can take much larger surges safely and does not wear out over time and do not have Joule ratings. They do not shunt surges immediately back into your existing wiring so they do not effect other inter-connected devices. Remember that a circuit breaker does not know about surge or power strips used on a circuit. It can be easy to overload a individual circuit when start using these strips with 10+ outlets on them. It sounds like the ones reviewed here have their own 15 Amp breakers inside (not all brands do). Even if the strip stays under 15 Amp other devices on the circuit might cause it to overload if you fill these strips all the way up with active devices.

I love that you take every aspect and detail in account

Really hard to understand why #1 is #1, and from there why these are even the top 5. Would be helpful if you started your video by explaining the criteria your are going to judge based on and make sure there is a technical match up, like the joules, wattages/voltages and miliamps after all, their performance is a huge part of what should make them the best. Great production quality tho!

which surge protector to use for Iron, hair dryer and home appliances

They did no testing and have incorrect information in this video. Circuit breaker does not trip during a surge, only during a short… Don’t trust any rating from someone who has not tested any of these devices

Thanks!

How do these stack up against the Monster 1200 stuff?

Sorry, dumb question. Why is the joules relevant? Should I be looking the highest rates amount? I live in an old house and I don’t have enough outlets. I mostly use them to. R able to plug a lot of things in like near my tv and computer and nightstand

Joule and volt ratings would have been more useful

Nice video

Iam using belkin 900 joules surge protector can I use 850w pc ??

had to get a surge protector cause my PS5 somehow stopped powering on during a thunderstorm recently

This video is not helpful it's just basically advertising for these companies. I want to see somebody actually test these with high voltage and I want to see this high voltage test and which one performed the best and which one fails

Hello

Do power strips have fuses

#3 have fire hazard problem and you still recommend it !? No APC ? Wow...

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[ 2023 Buyer's Guide ] - Posted 1 year ago. Scummy clickbait.

belkin is a terrible company