Power surge protectors - worth buying?
 

is it worth getting power surge protectors?
like this one (Belkin SurgeMaster) or similar.

UK homes have a main circuit breaker.
and hopefully that will take care of most surges/spikes coming from the power distributor company.

but i'm a bit cautious.
and i'd like to protect my tv, computer etc from surges/spikes.

this is what i think MAY happen when there is a surge/spike... most of the surge/spike "wave" will be caught at the main circuit breaker board. the device should switch/break off the connection.

however, could some of the surge/spike "wave" get past the cicuit breaker? so this part surge/spike could end up hitting your electrical device?

i'm not an expert.
it is just a feeling i have.
i'm sure someone on this forum will set me straight!

so are power surges worth getting?
and if so, which make/model/type is worth getting?

cheers.

A surge protector is better than nothing -- but only marginally so. At best, it will fry itself to prevent loss of connected devices. But even that doesn't really work, in my experience.

The worst electrical action for a computer or high-end electronics devices (HDTVs, optical disc players, etc) is NOT surges, but rather a sudden loss of power. Or "false starts" where the power turns on and off a few times, such as due to storms or electrical grid failures.

Probably.

This is best done by getting these devices uninterruptable power supplies (UPS). This will provide temporary battery backup power, so you can safely turn off computers, TVs, DVD/Blu-ray players, etc, when the power gets unstable. This way, you won't lose valuable data, have pixels or bulbs go out in the TV, or screw up the inside of your video players.

There's quite a few at Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/redirect....creative=19450
And I'd suggest APC brand, not Cyberpower.

ah, i see.
very valuable advice.
thanks a lot.