Saturday, January 1, 2011

Protecting Your Computer System from Summer Storm Power Surges

Protecting Your Computer System from Summer Storm Power Surges

Author: Robert Bell

Protecting Your Computer System from Summer Storm Power Surges

With unpredictable spring and summer weather looming over the horizon, protecting your computer system from the harmful effects of a power surge is crucial.

A power surge is a quick, short burst of voltage through a circuit caused by lightening strikes or power outages. This irregularity in the power flow can allow too much power to rush into an electrical device at one time, causing damage to it; this damage can cause a device to run improperly or to not operate at all.

The good news about this is that you can protect your computer from this danger in many ways. By using devices and a little common sense, you can rescue your computer from the dangers of volatile voltage conditions.

One way is by using a handy device called a surge protector. While there are many different brands and styles of surge protectors on the market, they all perform the same duty. This device does exactly what its name states; it protects your electronic equipment from unexpected surges of power. It does this by passing the extra electric current along to the outlet�s grounding wire, saving your computer. This handy gadget is also called a power strip, and it plugs into the electric outlet in your wall. You then plug your computer, monitor, printer, digital camera, and any other electrical devices into the handy extra outlets contained on the power strip. Turn on the flip switch and voila! You�re protected. Easy cheesy. When you buy a power strip, make sure it has adequate spots for all of your electronic devices; also check the product rating on the box. As with any other piece of equipment, you want to make sure you are buying the best quality for your money. You can never be too careful when you�re protecting a costly investment such as a computer system.

So now you�ve got a surge protector and everything is plugged in. Excellent. However, this is not a 100% fool-proof guarantee that if your home or office suffers a power surge that your system is completely protected. The only way to make sure there is absolutely no risk of your system being affected by a power surge is to power off the entire system and unplug it from the surge protector when inclement weather strikes. This guarantees that, if a surge were to happen, your computer would not be on the circuit affected.

If you absolutely need to be able to use your computer system during inclement weather, consider using an uninterruptible power supply such as a battery to power your system. Again, this ensures that your computer system is not on a circuit vulnerable to a power surge, thus guaranteeing protection from power surge related damages.

Your computer system is an expensive setup that is very important to you. You use it for homework, financial needs, perhaps even for your job. Protect this valuable piece of equipment from damaging power surges that are out of your control. Utilizing easy to use devices and a little bit of common sense will keep your computer system out of harms way this spring and summer.Dudley Heller writes on topics such as Whole House Surge Protector, SPDIF. Visit Protecting Your Computer System from Summer Storm Power Surges.

Article Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_853887_10.html

About the Author:

No comments:

Post a Comment