Living in developing countries taught me to never plugin expensive computers without a surge protector UPS.

schiffern an hour ago | parent | next [-]

Commercial uses layered surge protectors (Type I, II, and III), which is also recommended for other users but rarely followed.

In surge prone areas, at a minimum I would have good quality whole-house surge protector (eg Siemens 140 or Eaton 108), and a good quality surge protector strip for any computer/TV/phone charger.

I also put surge protectors in front of expensive white goods like the fridge, washer/dryer, dishwasher, and garage door opener. Besides being costly to replace these can contain "sparky" motors and this provides protection in the other direction too. Over time smaller surges can degrade the main surge protector for your computer.

Nothing (reasonable) can protect against direct lightning strikes, but for anything less it should provide decent protection.

	▲	david_allison 8 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		> Nothing (reasonable) can protect against direct lightning strikes Belkin make a number of surge protectors which offer a connected equipment warranty in the UK. Admittedly: financial protection, not data protection, but I felt it was worthwhile for the peace of mind. https://www.belkin.com/id/p/6-outlet-surge-protection-strip-...

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kelipso an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Lightning can mess you up in every country lol. Had to replace a PSU because of that, thankfully it was just that and minor damage to GPU.

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jltsiren an hour ago | parent | next [-]

Lightning damage is mostly an issue if the last-mile power lines are above ground. In my experience, power surges in urban areas with a decent grid are so rare that people generally don't bother protecting their devices.

	▲	lanstin 8 minutes ago \| parent \| next [-]
		I have lived in the DC metro area inside the beltway or in Sillicon Valley my entire adult life and have only had above ground power wiring. Despite tree ordnances and wind storms and a grid so aged if we see lightning we lose power.
	▲	assaddayinh 32 minutes ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		[dead]

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kubb 20 minutes ago | parent | prev [-]

Where I live it's not an issue.

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porkloin 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Honestly even in "developed countries" it's not worth blindly trusting that the power in your house/building is clean. It's cheap and easy enough to just put any expensive hardware on a UPS rather than speculating what's going on behind the walls.

	▲	xandrius an hour ago \| parent [-]
		Doesn't even sound like a developed country to me. Is that the US or something?

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Onavo 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Do you still need a UPS if you have one of those household (Powerwall style) battery packs? Also Apple switched mode power supplies are pretty well built.

But then again there's horror stories like

https://www.reddit.com/r/applehelp/comments/1maegvb/i_burned...

	▲	ianburrell an hour ago \| parent \| next [-]
		My understanding is that home batteries are not UPSes, they don't go through the battery. They have a switch between power company, solar, or battery. I think that means would be exposed to surge from power company. You can install a whole house surge protector. Those go in the panel and would protect from different sources.
	▲	bob1029 2 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Yes. The power walls are like cheap UPS topology. You could still get whacked with a transient from the grid before the ATS decides to island the house.