Surge Protector Vs. Power Strip Vs. UPS: Which is Better?

Imagine coming home to find out that unstable power has damaged your laptop or AC. Sounds like a real loss, right? Today, electronics are an unavoidable part of our lives, making it important to protect their sensitive mechanism from sudden voltage spikes.

That is why power protection devices are essential. However, many homeowners don't know the differences between the right device for power protection. Hence, leading them to make wrong decisions and lose their precious data on their laptops.

In this guide, I have compared the three most popular power protection choices, surge protector vs. power strip vs. UPS. Read to see which one works best for your requirements.

How to know if there is a power surge?

Operating high-power electronics in homes or offices can trigger a power surge. Appliances like refrigerators and air conditioners require a considerable amount of electricity to operate their compressors and motors. Hence, load switching can result in an unstable voltage, resulting in a power surge.

Some external sources, like lightning strikes and equipment faults, can also generate a surge of thousands of volts, damaging electronics instantly. Power surges may be unpredictable; but here are a few signs you can look for to prevent an incoming surge.

1. Buzzing sounds near power outlets and lights.
2. Sharp odor or a burning smell near the outlet.
3. Scorch marks or discoloration around the power outlets and wires.
4. Dimming or flickering lights.
5. Heated outlets or smoke coming out of them.

High-powered surges can melt the metal components and wires and fry the circuits within the electrical devices. Eventually, this results in your devices being inoperable.

What is a power strip?

A power strip is an extension of a wall outlet. It has multiple power outlets along the strip and a cord that goes into a wall outlet, providing electricity to the plugged-in devices.

Usually, power strips come with a built-in circuit breaker that cuts off the power to the devices when it senses more current than it's designed to handle.

You can also find power strip surge protectors in the market. Unlike traditional power stripes, these come with surge protectors to keep your appliances safe from surge or power loss due to sudden voltage disruption.

What is a surge protector?

Modern-day electronics need surge protectors to work properly. Still, many homeowners are confused, what does a surge protector do? Simply put, it is a device that protects your electronics from the damage caused by voltage spikes. A surge protector absorbs the extra current caused by a sudden voltage rise and directs it away from your devices.

Today, power surge protectors come with a joule rating mentioned on them. It determines how much energy a surge protector can absorb before it fails. Another important thing about the surge protector is its clamping voltage. It refers to the maximum voltage a surge protector will allow to pass through to the plugged-in devices during a power rise. Typically, the clamping voltage should not be higher than UL 400 volts.

Modern surge protectors come in different shapes and sizes. For instance, stand-up surge protectors have a tower-like design, perfect for less spacious settings like an RV or a camper.

What is a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply)?

An Uninterruptible Power Supply or a UPS is a battery backup surge protector. It provides power supply during voltage disruptions by converting alternate current into direct current and storing it in a battery. Here are some important components of a UPS.

• Rectifier: It converts AC or alternate current, flowing through the grid, into DC direct current.
• Batteries: They provide the electricity to power the system.
• Inverter: It converts DC, from the rectifier or batteries, into AC to be distributed amongst the devices connected to the UPS. When there is a power failure, the inverter draws power from the batteries and supplies it to the connected devices.
• Static Bypass: It switches the load from the UPS to utility power, if there is a fault in the UPS.

UPS is an ideal choice for sensitive electronics and computers, as it protects them from power surges and also prevents data loss in computers due to sudden power outages.

Surge protector vs. power strip

Simply put, a power strip acts as an extension to a wall outlet and multiple power outlets. It may or may not have built-in surge protection.

In comparison, a surge protector also provides the same features, but in addition to one of the two devices (metal oxide varistor MOV or gas discharge arrestor GDA), to protect the load from the power rises.

The MOV provides an alternate path (i.e., ground) to the excess current during unstable voltage, whereas the GDA suppresses the sudden voltage increase using a gas-filled tube. When a power spike occurs, the gas ionizes and conducts electricity, diverting the current to the ground.

Joule rating

That said, a power strip does not have a joule rating like a surge protector.

The joule rating on surge protectors depletes over time. As your surge protector experiences voltage spikes, its ability to absorb excessive voltage diminishes. This can happen in one big surge event or multiple smaller spikes.

Which one is better?

Confused about choosing a surge protector or power strips? Investing in a quality surge protector may be the right decision, as it provides the functionality of a power strip with surge protection. Eventually, it protects electronics worth thousands of dollars from irreversible damage.

Surge protector vs. UPS

While UPS and surge protectors prevent damage against voltage spikes, they have their differences. For starters, UPS and power surge suppressors are used differently.

Functionality

For instance, a built-in UPS has inferior surge-protecting capabilities in comparison with a surge protector. Therefore, it cannot be used as a primary surge protection device.

That said, while a surge protector can be a primary surge protection device, it does not provide continuous power during power failures.

You can also mount your surge protector to your home's circuit breaker panel instead of plugging it directly into a wall socket. It can help you divert excessive voltage from all the sensitive appliances in your home.

Which one to choose for your computer?

In PCs, power outages can damage software and adversely affect hardware. Here, UPS prevents data loss and avoids file corruption due to sudden power outages, while a surge protector protects hardware against high voltage spikes. Therefore, some homeowners like to use both protection devices combined for computers.

When to use a surge protector?

Generally, it is recommended to use a surge protector with your expensive electronics as sudden power rises are more common than it seems. Along with being harmful to your devices, voltage spikes can also be unsafe. They can cause damage to your home's circuitry. And at worst, power issues can also start a fire.

Therefore, given its ability to divert voltage from the devices, a surge protector is recommended for sensitive electronics. Given this, you can also use a surge protector with the devices you find expensive to replace, such as air conditioners, washing machines, and computers.

When to use a UPS?

An uninterruptible power supply is useful during a power outage or brownout while providing the added benefit of surge protection.

Cutting off the power supply to your computer while it is on can corrupt files and result in data loss. Even when using power management software, the UPS allows controlled shutdown of the devices.

Today, companies use UPS with power generators to ensure that the generator has enough time to ignite during a peak power failure. In such a situation, solar generators like Renogy Lycan 5000 portable works best. It powers an extensive range of devices safely without any noise.

When to use both a UPS and surge protector?

UPS and surge protectors can both be used simultaneously to prepare your devices for sudden voltage rises and power outages.

In a commercial setting, even the shortest power cuts matter. And, if storms or tornados are common in your region, using a UPS and surge protector together will be useful. This is because you never know if a lighting strike will trigger a severe voltage spike or if power will be out for a long period of time.

That said, even if installing UPS and surge protectors as power protection gives you additional security, it is only viable if you do not experience frequent brownouts.

Tips for using UPS and surge protectors

No matter which device you use, it is crucial to follow the safety guidelines to prevent damage. Here are a few tips to use UPS safely.

• Place your UPS in the upright position indoors and in dry places.
• Do not cover your UPS completely or place it in enclosed spaces. This can disrupt the heat-dissipating process, affecting the working of your UPS.
• Avoid plugging in multiple power strips in the UPS because this can create a potential fire hazard.
• Do not connect loads greater than your UPS can handle. Overloading the UPS can shut it down, and all the devices connected to it will lose power.

You must also be careful when using a dedicated surge protector. Here are a few safety tips:

• If your surge protector is not in use, unplug it, as it's not a substitute for permanent wiring.
• When using a surge protector with the UPS, do not plug the UPS into the surge protector. This will ensure that the UPS gets a consistent power supply and doesn't have to switch to battery too often.
• Additionally, plugging a surge protector into a UPS is not recommended. This can draw too much power from the UPS resulting in inefficient use.

FAQs

Should I use a UPS or a surge protector?

The short answer is that it depends on your needs. If power outages are not frequent for you and you don't mind any rare ones, go for a surge protector. If power cuts are a problem or you need a constant power supply without interruption, invest in a UPS.

Likewise, you can get both UPS and surge protectors simultaneously if you need a consistent supply of electricity and high surge protection capabilities.

Can a UPS be used as a surge protector?

It is important to note that damaging power surges occur more frequently than power outages. While surge protectors UPS protect from voltage spikes, their capabilities aren't enough for high-powered surges.

A UPS should not be used as a primary protection mechanism against voltage spikes as it provides second-level protection. Therefore, consider using a dedicated surge protector. If you need both continuous power supply and surge protection, you can use both simultaneously.

What is better than a surge protector?

An online double conversion UPS! If you want the best of both worlds in one device, an online double conversion UPS does it. As compared to other models, it provides better surge protection along with a continuous power supply. It provides a clean power signal and monitors any changes in voltage.

However, all these features come with an expensive price tag. An Online double conversion UPS is the most expensive model.

Conclusion

When comparing surge protectors, power strips, and UPS backups, your needs decide the right device for you. Usually, internal voltage spikes are more frequent due to several reasons like faulty wiring. Therefore, for home setups a dedicated surge protector should be enough if you do not have frequent power outages.

For offices, where sudden power cuts disrupt business operations, UPS can be used with surge protectors. Additionally, for higher power requirements, a UPS can be used combined with a power generator.