I had not originally planned on including a section on the website for protecting your hardware. However, after giving it some thought there was a point that I felt was very important to make to the casual (and in some cases, not so casual) user…

Do you know what one of the leading causes of electronic failures are (which includes computer equipment)?

Issues with power (surges/spikes/drops)!

You see, most of us tend to think of power that comes from the power company as being “steady.” You know, rock-solid voltage and amperage at all times. Well, the fact is the world is not that perfect. A lot of factors (including weather) can cause sudden “spikes” in the power coming from the outlet in your home. While it is true that some of these spikes and drops might be the fault of your power company, it is even more likely that the issues are completely outside of their control without a prohibitively expensive outlay of cash.

It turns out that electronic equipment is quite sensitive to changes in power. Sudden spikes or drops in voltage and/or current can wreak havoc on such systems. These problems can range from spontaneously rebooting your computer when the power drops too low, to damaging your electronic equipment when the power spikes too high or too suddenly. Problems that can occur that are not as severe include devices “locking up” or just plain “acting weird” due to not enough/too much power.

There are a few ways you can address such problems…some of which are rather inexpensive. Other solutions can cost a few more dollars…but the protection might just be worth it. You will have to decide for yourself.

Surge Suppressors

Most people have heard of surge suppressors. These devices often are incorporated into a power strip (plug one end into the wall outlet and it gives you several sockets to plug your electrical equipment into) for convenience. Their job is to protect your sensitive electronics from sudden spikes in voltage and/or current. These devices are relatively inexpensive, and the protection they provide is such that no electronic device (and now we are talking about more than just your computer…your stereo system, your television, your DVD player, etc.) should be without one.

One thing to note about surge suppressors, however, is that they only help in the situation where you have a sudden “spike” in voltage and/or current. They do nothing in the case where your power drops. For superior protection, you should consider a Universal Power Supply (UPS), which I’ll discuss below.

Universal Power Supplies (UPS)

For superior protection for a few dollars more (well…okay, it is more than just a “few” dollars more…but they are still a good investment) you can acquire a Universal Power Supply.

A UPS typically includes surge protection (in fact I have never seen one without surge protection) as well as its own backup power source (typically a battery or capacitor) that is used for a few different purposes:

• In the case of a power drop, the power source kicks in immediately and keeps feeding yor computer the proper voltage and current
• In the event of a power outage, the UPS can power your electronic device(s) for a some period of time (typically from several minutes to 15 minutes or more), allowing you to perform a “controlled” shutdown of your computer or other electronics device.
• Most UPS’s today include an audible alarm when the power drops as well as a way to connect to your computer so that it can automatically trigger a “log off and shutdown” of your computer should the power go out and not come back quickly

This brings up some important points.

Out of curiosity, how many times has your computer rebooted because of a momentary power loss at your home or work? The fact is that most power outages are very short duration (a second or two at most). This is long enough for the power outage to cause your computer to reboot, and potentially lose all of your work since your last “save.” With a UPS, your computer will not reboot…but simply continue to run until the power is restored (or until the UPS runs out of emergency power…which as stated before is usually on the order of 5 to 15 minutes).

Next, one of the most damaging things that can happen to electronic equipment is a “brown-out.” We all know that a “black-out” is when your power goes out for some reason (trees knock down a power line, etc.). But sometimes we get a “brown-out,” which is where you get a very low amount of power through your lines (the lights come on…but very dim or “brown”). This is actually worse for your electronic equipment than if the power had simply gone out completely.

A surge suppressor cannot help in a situation like this…but a UPS will keep your computer (or other electronic device) powered until the UPS runs out of emergency power. But here is the important part…even with the UPS runs out of power, it makes certain that NO POWER gets to your computer! It supplies either PROPER power or else NO POWER to your computer. This is superior protection!

Given the dropping cost of UPS units and the relative cost of a computer, the Paladin HIGHLY recommends you consider a UPS. The Paladin and his wife have many computers in their house, and except for out laptops, ALL of our computers are protected by a UPS. We have had very little problems with electronic devices failing, and we believe that a lot of this is due to the fact that we have invested in Universal Power Supplies.

If you find yourself in need of a UPS, many local stores carry them. Just be sure to add up the power requirements of any devices you plan on connecting to your UPS (the sum of watts used by all of your devices) to make certain that your UPS is strong enough to keep the devices powered for at least 5 or 10 minutes.

If you would like the convenience of shopping online and having one delivered to your front door, feel free to click on any of the UPS units shown below (or CLICK HERE for an insanely comprehensive list of UPS units):