can power conditioners cause lcd displays to function price

The HD Guru’s readers have asked for the real story on power line conditioners. Are they really needed with an HDTV? Do they provide a sharper picture as some salesmen claim? How well do they protect the TV in case of a lightening strike or other electrical spike? What about surge protectors and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS)? The HD Guru responds.

In the United States the alternating current (AC) sent from your electric company should be delivered to your home at a steady rate of 120 volts at 60 cycles per second. In some parts of the US, there are variations, resulting in voltages that are either too high or too low. Sometimes interruptions cut the power altogether. Delivery of too much power is called a voltage surge; too little, a voltage droop or sag. Electrical storms can deliver lightening strikes, which can produce catastrophic voltage surges capable of destroying the power supplies of all the electronics plugged into the system, whether they’re powered up or not. Air conditioner and refrigerator motors powering on and off can also cause momentary voltage fluctuations. Another potential power problem is electrical interference caused by industrial grade electrical equipment operating nearby as would be found in a factory. Your home’s wiring may also pick up electrical line interference or radio frequency interference (RFI) caused by, among other things, broadcast transmitters located in your vicinity.

Fluctuating voltages can cause lights to brighten and dim. TV, lights and other electrical devices may momentarily shut off due to total voltage dropouts. Radio frequency interference can create hum and/or video noise bars and static.

Power conditioners can’t give your digital HDTV a sharper picture or better color, regardless of display technology, whether plasma, LCD, DLP, SXRD, or DILA rear projection. Period. Resolution is, by definition fixed, and so cannot be increased. If a salesman tells you otherwise, ask why are there no power conditioners connected to the dozens of TVs on display. All HDTVs have internal power supplies designed to filter and transform the incoming AC to voltages necessary for the set’s operational needs. These built-in power supplies do a great job, and are designed to accept a fairly wide range of line voltages. Can a power conditioner clean up heavy interference in your power line? Yes, but most of the time they are simply not necessary and will be of no use because the vast majority of households are free of electrical interference.

While power conditioners cannot improve your picture, a surge protector can protect your set in the event of a power surge. What’s needed depends on the display and the amount of protection you can afford. For LCDs and plasmas the HD Guru suggests a surge protector at the very minimum. According to experts, the rating should be at least 360 joules. These are very inexpensive, with prices starting at under $20. For lamp driven devices such as microdisplay front and rear projectors, including LCOS (Sony SXRD and JVC DiLA), DLP and LCD, you should purchase an uninterruptible power supplies (UPS). The HD Guru also recommends using the UPS with digital video recorders (DVRs like TiVo). A UPS will prevent the lamp’s cooling fan motor (or hard drive in the DVR) from shutting off during a power failure. You need just enough battery power to cool off the projector to prevent premature lamp failure or a DVR’s power down. 10 minutes worth of battery back up is more than sufficient. Virtually all UPS units also have built-in surge protection.

UPSs’ are either on-line or off-line designs. The on-lines are best because they actively filter and convert AC wall power into DC (Direct Current) to charge the battery, while simultaneously converting the DC back to AC to run your HDTV or DVR. In addition to offering excellent line conditioning, on-line UPS systems provide surge protection. Because it’s “on-line” there is no voltage drop when the AC power fails. The switch to battery backup is seamless.

The Tripp-Lite SU750XL is a good on-line UPS. Rated at 750VA, it will run a 500-watt load for about 10 minutes, which is plenty of time to cool off the lamp in any projector or properly shut down a TiVo. While it retails for $449, a quick internet search found it for $288.93 + shipping.

Depending upon capacity off-line UPS prices start at around $40. Because the AC in/out circuitry is not coupled to the output there’s around a 1-millisecond switch between line current and battery power. Virtually all have built-in surge protection and many of the mid size and larger one also have line conditioners.

Bottom line? Instead of selecting a line conditioner with surge protection, which can cost up to $500 or more, get first-rate protection that includes surge and battery backup plus top quality line conditioning, for under $300 by purchasing an on-line UPS. For under $100 you can be protected from the most common surge and short-term power loss problems with a UPS with surge protection combo.

Whether you’re building a home theater or have had yours set up for years, longevity is of utmost importance to you, because you want your investment to last for as long as possible. So what can you do to keep your home theater in great working condition for years to come? You may have heard about how a power conditioner can be a great solution to increase the longevity of home entertainment equipment!

So do you need a power conditioner for a home theater? Yes, a power conditioner is a vital piece of equipment that filters out the “dirty” power and keeps your expensive equipment safer and functioning more efficiently. It helps to ensure that your equipment lasts for as long as possible.

In our post, 10 Ways to Protect Home Theater Equipment, we explained that power, by nature, is dirty. When your power runs throughout your equipment in your home theater, small dips and spikes in electricity can cause damage to your equipment. A power conditioner filters these out, and in turn, better protects your equipment. Additionally, a power conditioner typically also filters out AC line noise. Check out this YouTube demonstration by Panamax on how power conditioners work.

So if you have expensive equipment in your home theater, as many of us do, a power conditioner is a great investment for you! Whether you want a budget-friendly or high-end power conditioner, you’ll be able to find one that meets your needs. In addition, many power conditioners come with great additional protection features, like surge protection to help your home theater equipment’s longevity in every way possible. No matter what your budget is, you’ll find that a power conditioner is a great investment for your home theater equipment, helping it last for many more years.

If you’re still not convinced that you need a power conditioner for your home theater, here are some reasons why it’s a great investment for many home theaters or home entertainment systems.

When it comes to home theaters, most are built with a lot of expensive equipment, even if there are some components that are on the lower end. Whether it’s an expensive receiver, subwoofer(s), front speakers, or all of the above, you want to do everything you can to protect your equipment from damage.

Maybe you’ve only taken precautions against physical, visible damage to your home theater equipment, but what about the damage you can’t see? Internally, your equipment goes through a lot. Are you doing everything you can to keep everything running smoothly and efficiently? The best option for you to keep your equipment up-to-speed internally is through the use of a power conditioner.

If you have a home theater in your living room, the chances are that it gets a good amount of use. Whether you’re watching movies with your kids and family regularly or you’re a die-hard sports fan that loves to watch your games, then your home theater definitely gets used a fair amount. This will bring on a lot of internal wear and tear on the smaller components within the equipment. Normally, lots of wear and tear can shorten the lifetime of your equipment, so you’ll want to do everything you can to extend that lifetime. One surefire way to add years onto your equipment’s life, in the midst of lots of everyday use, is through the use of a power conditioner.

It’s not every day that you buy new home theater equipment. It takes lots of time, energy, research, and testing to decide what is right for you. And it’s likely that you took a couple of years saving up money to buy the individual components. The last thing you’d hope for is to have to replace your expensive receiver or subwoofer within a few years! You wouldn’t want to replace any of your components with less than what you have, and it may not be in your budget to purchase the same caliber equipment, if something were to happen.

The good news is that, with a small investment in a power conditioner, you’ll be able to trust that your equipment will be highly protected from internal damage, and you won’t have to worry about making room in your budget for an emergency replacement anytime soon. Additionally, many power conditioner and surge protector manufacturers will actually back their product with money, even though it’s a good practice to replace them every 2 years anyway as we explained in our tutorial! Depending on the product and manufacturer, if something were to happen to a piece of equipment, it’s possible that the company would cover the damages and replace the equipment.

Budget– When deciding which power conditioner is right for you, you’ll need to figure out your budget. You can find a great power conditioner for many home theaters for under $100 such as the Furman M-8X2. This unit is a great budget power conditioner with 8 outlets and built-in surge protection! Or if you want to splurge, you can find one for a couple or few hundred dollars for really high-end equipment such as the Panamax MR4300. This unit is specifically built for home theater systems. It includes both power conditioning, surge protection, and even comes with a lifetime connected equipment protection policy!

Of course, there are a few differences between the high-end and budget-friendly models, such as the number of outlets and the level and quality of the power filtration. One similar feature you’ll find across all models of power conditioners is surge protection, which is a great add-on to the protection of power conditioning.

Your needs– It’s important to also know what the power needs of your home theater are. How big is your home theater? What type of equipment are you using? You’ll need to know the power capabilities of all of your home theater equipment, so that you can match your power conditioner with your current system. The power conditioner you choose has to be able to handle the amount of power that you’re sending through it from your equipment. For example, you’ll need to know if it has to the right amount of high current plugs for equipment like your subwoofer and receiver.

Where to go – There are a lot of places you can turn to, when you’re ready to browse and buy a power conditioner for your home theater. Amazon is one destination that many home theater gurus turn to, because you can easily look at hundreds of reviews to see what the best products are and what the downfalls are of each. In addition, you can go to any tech destination, such as Best Buy and other tech stores in your local area. It might be helpful to talk to one of the professionals in-store and physically see the different options to choose from.

Not sure if you need to consult an expert for your power conditioner purchase or if you should just browse online and make a selection? If you’re unsure of any of the specs of your home theater equipment and how much power your home theater system uses, you’ll definitely want to seek the advice of a home theater or tech expert. Additionally, if you’re unsure of which brand of power conditioner is best for you or what capabilities you need in your power conditioner, it’s a great idea to speak to a tech professional.

One of the easiest ways to do this is by going to a tech store, because they specifically hire people that can help with this. In fact, you’ll probably learn more than you even thought possible about which choice is the best for your specific home theater.

Is a UPS a power conditioner? A UPS is an uninterrupted power supply. It provides backup power in the event of a power outage. Most UPSs will have built-in power conditioning and surge protection. However, this isn’t standard on all uninterrupted power supplies, so check the specs before you purchase.

What are some brands to keep an eye out for?When it comes to power conditioners, there are a few brands that stand out above the rest, like Panamax, Furman, APC, Pyle, Bryston, and PS Audio. Monster is a popular entry-level brand, but the quality is typically rated less than the aforementioned brands, which have power conditioner models for all budgets and needs.

Is there any reason that my home theater doesn’t need a power conditioner?Although a power conditioner is a great investment for most home theaters, it is not 100% necessary if you have an overall low-end home theater system. Power conditioners are most useful for high-end equipment in home theaters, so if you have any expensive equipment in your home theater, it is important to purchase a power conditioner. If not, then you won’t need to purchase a power conditioner for your home theater. Just know that it’s likely that your equipment will degrade a faster rate and is more suseptible to

Power surges are both common and costly. According to IBM, every home or business gets hit every day by at least one surge measuring between 100 and 1,000 volts. The effects of a surge can be subtle or dramatic, depending on the surge’s duration, intensity, and whether the affected devices have adequate protection. Smaller surges destroy internal circuitry slowly, over the course of several months. Larger surges, on the other hand, inflict the same damage, but in less than a millisecond. If the surge is long enough and strong enough, it may even heat up the internal electronic circuits to the point that they catch fire. In addition to the obvious costs needed to replace damaged devices, surges also cause lost productivity (when employees are idle in business environments) and loss of use (when home theater equipment and appliances are idle in home environments).

Surge protectors protect against spikes and surges. They come in many configurations, and most include EMI/RFI filtering to decrease line noise and improve audio/video quality.

A surge protector should be sufficient for devices with lower inrush currents, like TVs and stereos. Their usefulness, however, depends on the protection you need. If your equipment is mission-critical or your facility experiences frequent outages, this might not be the solution for you.

And while surge protectors require less money up front, they often cost more in the long run, because they typically need to be replaced every few years.

Power conditioners not only protect against surges; they protect against brownouts as well. With built-in voltage regulators, they continuously monitor power, then condition it and keep it steady.

What a power conditioner will not provide is EMI/RFI shielding. If you want to improve video quality or decrease line noise, this might not be your best option.

While power conditioners cost more up front than surge protectors, they’re better suited for higher inrush devices like copiers and laser printers. Because they’re designed for devices that need ongoing power regulation, they’re often used in factories and hospitals.

A UPS can do everything a surge protector can do, but its main purpose is to reduce downtime that can cost your business money. And unlike a surge protector, a UPS features battery backup that allows equipment to stay up and running through power failures.

Like power conditioners, many UPS systems have voltage regulators. These models not only provide battery backup, but they also keep voltage at an acceptable level.

For a data center or server room, a UPS is your best option. They come in various configurations for both single- and 3-phase applications. Many also include special features, like LCD panels, hot-swappable batteries and energy-saving operation.

A good power conditioner can improve the overall tone and performance of your guitar amp. Here are a few specific ways in which a power conditioner can help: 1. By providing clean and consistent power, a power conditioner can help your amp sound its best. 2. By protecting your amp from power surges, a power conditioner can help extend its lifespan. 3. By keeping your amp’s power supply free from noise and interference, a power conditioner can help it operate more efficiently.

What is the best way to use a power conditioner on guitar? This is a forum for discussing music electronics. Many people mistakenly believe it to be snake oil. Anyone with an FFT-capable Oscilloscope would be able to assess the spectrum of the mains voltage (with or without a power conditioner). In addition, they can look for noises on the secondary components of the power transformer, rectifier output, or anything else. A power line conditioner can be manufactured in the United States. I can’t tell you how many of them do what they say they’ll do.

A properly functioning amplifier power supply consumes a little current from the AC line at the peak of the waveform, then turns off, not ‘eating’ another pulse until the next waveform peak. The only wiggles occur when the diode connects the power line to the nearly AC-short filter caps on the line, which are what the line can reach without issue. High-frequency hash and grack can be combined using a power transformer in some situations. Other options are available, but they are expensive and heavy, and sales people are less likely to recommend them. As a sine wave inverter, it takes the AC power line and slices and dicing it, resulting in DC current being converted. It only supplies power to your amps when the AC waves are high. It is a complex and high-power electronic system that can go wrong at any time.

You can look at the spectrum of mains voltage (without and with a power conditioner) using an Oscilloscope with an FFT capability. In addition, they may look for noise in the transformer’s secondaries and the rectifier’s output, as well as noises in the transformer itself. To see what has changed, simply turn around and listen. It broke inside as I attempted to tie it back down, so I twisted it back. I had to open the door while it was open. The control board had a blown fuse, so I took a close look. This incident was caused by a red lamp fault on the outside.

It arrived as expected, and he told me that I couldn’t tell the difference between the two. During the metal era, the Fury power conditioner was a standard accessory. There are some who claim this period in history saw the lowest level of guitar tone ever recorded. Power conditioners are linked to a deterioration in your tone, according to the evidence. It is possible that they are used in Spandex and large hair.

The Power Conditioners for Guitar Amps Having a good power conditioner for your guitar amplifier is not only important for reducing EMI/RFI line noise, but it is also critical for protecting your gear from power surges and spikes that can damage sensitive circuitry on a regular basis.

The unit is also known as a line conditioner and safeguards equipment against power surges, corrects voltage and waveform distortion, and removes external electrical noise caused by devices such as motors and radio frequency equipment.

If you have recording gear in your home studio, you will need a surge protector. Many power strip models cost between a few hundred dollars and thousands of dollars to purchase. In this section, we’ll look at why it makes more sense to use a power conditioner rather than a traditional power strip. It is almost certain that the price of your power conditioner will determine how effective your surge protection is. In most cases, less expensive models will prevent surges from entering your equipment. More expensive models are capable of handling nearly any type of surge and will continue to provide effective service. Voltage regulators, like power conditioners, work in the same way but at a higher price.

What is the Joule Rating of a Power Supply? You should choose a joule rating based on the significance, value, and sensitivity of the equipment that will be connected to the power conditioner. A power conditioner’s joule rating indicates how much energy it can withstand without causing damage. A 2000 joule power conditioner, for example, can withstand a 2000 joule power surge without failing. As a result, power conditioner capacity can be increased by 2000 times the average power surge seen in a normal environment. The joule rating of a power conditioner, as well as the devices that will connect it, should be considered when purchasing one. A power conditioner can fail if its joule rating is too low, whereas a power conditioner can fail if its joule rating is too high.

A power conditioner, for example, may be all that is needed to get rid of those annoying hums. If you create with no noise, you’ll be able to focus on creating, and nothing will even be recorded.

If voltage fluctuations, interference, or noise are frequently an issue, a power conditioner can be an excellent investment. You should replace any kit that begins to generate excessive noise if it begins to generate excessive noise. It could be because the capacitors or shielding are faulty, resulting in your issue.

Is panamax worth buying? I’m not sure what to think of the question because I don’t have any more information. Instead of focusing on power quality and surge protection, I focus on the latter. If your apartment is a 60-year-old building with 20 other tenants and an electric supply that varies from 100V to 130V on a daily basis, you should consider installing a Power conditioner. A surge protector of $10 won’t do much good, especially if you get hit by lightning. When installing power surge protection, an electrician should be able to check your fuse box to ensure that all of your equipment is protected. Best Buy sells a good quality one for between $100 and $200.

Only online UPS units are capable of isolating your equipment from the grid at all times. The new ones begin at around $1000 and go up from there. In the power supply, the power is routed to the battery and electronics. This is clearly superior to a powerstrip and, in general, higher quality. A good one can cost between $100 and $200 at Best Buy. There are a lot of options, but Panamax SP8-AV is by far the most straightforward. EMI/RFI filtering, 8 surge-tolerant AC outlets, a set of coax and phone inputs, and a $50k lifetime warranty are included in the price. Tripp Lite 1500VAW UPS Battery Back Up, AVR, LCD Display, Line-Interactive, USB, Tel, Coax Protection (SMART1500LCDT), and more are included.

Power conditioners can have an impact on the sound and picture quality of your devices. Power conditioners can help improve your devices’ audio and visual quality by cleaning up the frequency range that hums and buzz the most, as well as protecting your electronics from surges. Furthermore, power conditioning can save you money in the long run by reducing the amount of energy required to run your devices.

Regular power conditioner use can severely limit the performance of your amplifier. This is supposed to be the best (I plugged my amplifier and other equipment into this).

Sometimes, an Amp through LC can sound like a blanket over your speakers. When you use a line conditioner, there may be some limits on its current. The amount of current it can draw from your outlet should be determined by your amp and instantaneous current capability. When it comes to power surges, I sleep better knowing I’m safe with some amps like mine. As one of them has stated, it is determined by the conditioner’s design and quality. When I get my Jeff Rowland 301 mono amps’ power from an AC conditioner, they sound much better (though not as good as they should when they are not connected to a cable). I’ve never heard of a conditioner with unlimited dynamics and no compression in my life, let alone Tripoint Spartan.

They did such a fantastic job with the music, I cannot help but think that it was one of my major upgrades. I don’t want to be in the middle of a powerful thunderstorms and risk plugging an amplifier into the wall I live on. I turned everything off a few days ago after an excessive surge took out my Monster surge protector. The problem was resolved later, and all was well again for a few weeks. The unit was suddenly up and running a few weeks ago, but it died shortly after.

A power conditioner is a device that is designed to improve the quality of the power that is supplied to an electrical device. In the case of a guitar amp, a power conditioner can help to improve the tone of the amp by providing a cleaner and more consistent power supply.

Power conditioners not only improve the frequency range in which hum and buzz are most likely to occur, but they also protect electronic devices from energized mains power. This improves the sound quality and accuracy of the audio.

If your equipment is not working properly under clean power, Arthur recommends upgrading your power supply or using power cords and cables specifically designed for audio and video applications.

A power conditioner is a device that is designed to improve the quality of the power supplied to electrical equipment. It does this by filtering out unwanted noise and providing a stable voltage. A power conditioner is often used in audio and video applications to improve the performance of the equipment.

In the United States, National Electric Code article 210-19 FPN No. 4. suggests a 5% maximum combined voltage drop on the feeder and branch circuits to the furthest outlet "will provide reasonable efficiency of operation." The Canadian electrical code also requires no more than a 5% drop between the meter and outlet. Applying the 5% tolerance gives a nominal 120V range of 114V to 126V.

Yes, a power conditioner will stabilize the voltage from a generator. However, it will not convert the modified sine wave produced by some generators to pure sine wave, making those generators unsuitable for sensitive electronics.

Yes, but not with the printer itself. Printers and copiers use a hot roller called a fuser unit to bind ink toner to the paper as it passes through the printer. Periodically, the printer needs to reheat the fuser unit to the required temperature, and this requires a lot of electricity. To prevent a power sag (under-voltage) from impacting computers and other sensitive equipment on the same circuit as the printer, use a power conditioner with Automatic Voltage Regulation (AVR).

Connecting a printer to a line conditioner may prevent the printer from getting the voltage it needs. A better approach would be to have a qualified electrician check the capacity of the existing line and add a separate circuit for the printer if necessary.

A power or voltage spike is a sudden increase in voltage, ranging from a few hundred volts to tens of thousands and lasting between 1 and 30 microseconds. A power surge is like a spike but lasts longer. Voltage fluctuations are normal and do not typically harm equipment connected to an outlet. Over- or under-voltages occur when the voltage reaching powered devices falls out of the normal service range.

As a power conditioner corrects high or low input voltage, it will make a gentle clicking sound. The frequency of the clicking will depend on the quality of the utility power in your area. The clicking is normal, and no action is required on your part.

A power conditioner can potentially improve sound quality by providing a cleaner and more stable power supply to audio equipment. Power fluctuations and electrical noise can interfere with the performance of audio equipment, leading to degradation in sound quality. By conditioning the power, a power conditioner can reduce the amount of electrical noise and provide a stable voltage, which can result in improved sound quality.

However, it is important to note that the effect of a power conditioner on sound quality can vary depending on the equipment and the specific electrical problems being addressed. In some cases, the improvement in sound quality may be minimal or not noticeable, while in other cases it can be significant.

A power conditioner is an electrical device that improves the quality of the power supplied to an electrical load by regulating voltage, reducing noise, and filtering out electrical disturbances. The goal of a power conditioner is to protect sensitive electronic equipment from damage caused by power fluctuations and electrical noise.

A surge protector, on the other hand, is specifically designed to protect electronic equipment from damage caused by power surges and spikes. It accomplishes this by diverting excess voltage away from connected equipment.

Some power conditioners include surge protection as part of their functionality, effectively combining the two functions into a single device. In these cases, the power conditioner can improve the quality of the power supply while also providing protection against power surges and spikes.

If improved sound quality is your primary goal, an isolation transformer is the best choice. Microphones, instruments and amplifiers can pick up unwanted hums or buzzes if they are plugged into the same circuit as items such as fluorescent lights, air conditioners and dimmer switches. If your band is playing in a bar, even the bartender"s blender is a potential source of interference!

An isolation transformer uses two coils of copper wire, wound so that the primary coil connected to incoming AC power induces a current in the secondary coil powering connected devices. Since there is no direct connection between the coils, musical instruments and recording equipment attached to the secondary coil are isolated from audio frequency noise on the power line.

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While working on my recordings for my eLearning podcasts, I constantly tried many different ways to improve the quality of my recordings as well as give my equipment the best care.

One of the ways I tried to do this was testing out both power conditioners (also known as line conditioners) and surge protectors. Therefore, I thought it would be a good idea to pass on my learned knowledge to others through this article.

Below, I will explain what a power conditioner is, why you may need one, the main differences between power conditioners vs surge protectors, and help you decide which one to choose for you and your needs.

After many years of experience using these tools as well as conducting lots of research, my goal is to help others out by saving them countless hours of searching for information and providing the knowledge that I have learned.

A power conditioner, also commonly referred to as a line conditioner, is a neat device that was created to improve the overall quality of the power that is going to your electrical equipment.

When the power goes through your home’s electrical system, it needs to travel to your everyday appliances, such as a refrigerator or an air conditioner.

When this happens, you may experience disturbances in your appliances. For example, your lights may flicker or the picture may look distorted on your television.

Most people who experience these situations typically ignore them, which may cause your appliances to work harder than needed. If this happens, they may wear out a lot quicker than expected and need to be replaced more often.

This is useful because it provides the correct voltage level to sensitive electrical equipment, which increases your appliances’ ability to work efficiently and safely at the proper voltage.

A line conditioner will come in and clean up your power, helping it run more effectively. If you would like to ensure that your appliances are reaching the correct voltage, my advice is to purchase a line conditioner.

This device not only helps my podcasts by ensuring that the power reaching my recording devices are the proper voltage limit that it was designed to run at, but a line conditioner also offers excellent filtering.

However, I learned that this was not the case. I then purchased a great power conditioner, which began improving the sound quality of my analog and digital gear as well as extending its life. Now, I cannot imagine ever going without this device.

If you would like more details on the line conditioner and its functions, check out Sweetwater’s YouTube video. In this video, Mitch Gallagher explains what a line conditioner is as well as its many benefits.

A surge protector, sometimes called a surge suppressor, is a device that protects electrical devices from voltage spikes and increases in alternating current circuits.

When a voltage spike occurs, such as during lightning strikes that lead to power surges or even power outages, it can destroy your electronics that are plugged in, such as audio equipment, computers, televisions, modems, and so much more.

The majority of surge protectors send the electrical current from the wall outlet to all of your electronic devices that are plugged into its power strip. If the voltage starts to surge, this neat device will divert the extra power supply to the outlet’s grounding wire.

One of the most important components of surge protection is the Metal Oxide Varistor (MOV), which is responsible for diverting the extra voltage. The MOV can easily burn out with one voltage spike. Therefore, I recommend purchasing a surge protector that is equipped with a light that lets you know if the device is working properly.

Additionally, an important term that you should remember is “clamping voltage.” This term is the maximum amount of power that can go through a surge protector before it restricts further voltage from going to an electrical device or computer. It is very important that you check the clamping voltage when searching for the perfect surge protector. By doing this, your surge protection will last longer as well as protect your gadgets from larger voltage spikes and power surges.

In my opinion, the risk is not worth it, and you should only look at surge protectors with at least a 600 or higher voltage limit. Most computers come with their own clamping voltage, but once that voltage limit is surpassed, the computer will experience damage.

Knowing the clamping voltage and purchasing an excellent surge protector will help ensure that your computer or any other electronic gadget does not experience a higher voltage level than it can handle.

If you are a person who has a lot of devices plugged in like myself, my advice would be to consider buying a surge protector. While recording podcasts, I use a lot of different electronic devices, and I have invested a lot of money into my gear that I use every day. Therefore, I have learned to use a surge protector to protect my equipment and home from any potential voltage surges.

For a brief video on surge protectors and how they work, consider taking a look at GalcoTV’s YouTube video. This video is very informational as Katie Nyberg elaborates on the several duties that a surge protector is responsible for.

If you are interested in watching a more in-depth video explaining the various functions of the surge protector, I suggest watching Techquickie’s YouTube video. This video will teach you all that you need to know about surge protectors in less than six minutes.

A line conditioner and surge protector may seem similar. However, there are several key differences to look at when it comes to these two separate devices. I will point out a few of these differences below.

A line conditioner uses its elements to eliminate any possible damages to electronic gadgets, such as system destructions, operation disruptions, or component degradations.

If you are looking for a way to protect your equipment or electric appliances, line conditioners/power conditioners and surge protectors are both great options to look at. This can be a difficult decision that must be decided based on your overall needs.

My advice is to choose a line conditioner if you are looking to protect equipment that is very important to you. Big businesses use line conditioners to protect their equipment from electric shocks. Therefore, your smaller home studio or office will most likely do really well with a line conditioner.

For someone looking for a cheaper option to the power conditioner, I suggest purchasing a surge protector. This will keep high voltage from being transmitted to your plugged-in electronics. It will also prevent any damages to your equipment.

The only thing that you must keep in mind is that you will need to replace your surge protector every so often, which means this could seem like the cheaper option in the beginning but may end up being more expensive in the long-run than a power conditioner.

Some people choose to use both of these unique devices to give an extra layer of protection. By doing this, you will also give yourself some relief knowing that you are doing all that you can for your electronic gadgets and devices.

I hope that this article was successful in teaching you what a power conditioner is, what a surge protector is, and their main differences. I hope it also was effective in helping you decide which one or if both may work for you and your needs. As a professional who records multiple podcasts a week, both of these devices are essential to my daily needs.

However, you may feel that one has more benefits than the other when it comes to your work. Regardless of what you decide, always do what is best for your equipment.

Hi, I’m Scott Winstead, an e-Learning technology geek with 20 years of experience. Follow this blog for opinions on blended learning and flipped classroom techniques, reviews of home studio equipment, and tips for voice-over actors and digital audio content makers, technology how-tos, and more!

So in this ultimate guide, we’re going to solve that problem once-and-for-all by removing all the jargon and giving you just the straight forward facts.

Quite often, potential buyers fair understand the difference between these two similar tools. Many will even mistake one for the other, and end up buying the wrong one.

Uninterruptible Power Supplies – contain a backup battery that provides several minutes of power in the event of a blackout, and are typically used with computers to protect sensitive data by allowing enough time for proper shutdown.

While this method works well for most of the time, the switching process does cause a momentary power lapse, which is dangerous for highly-sensitive equipment.

So unlike the standby UPS which engages only when there’s a problem…the online UPS continuously filters power through the battery before sending it to your computer.

However…to increase energy efficiency, a similar online method known as delta conversion also exists…which delivers a portion of the power directly to the computer, rather than through the battery.

The standby UPS has trouble handling these sort of interruptions because they must repeatedly switch back and forth between AC and battery power with each dip.

The Online UPS on the other hand, is great at handling brownouts, as they’re able to maintain a consistent voltage by continuously running off battery power. But as you know…they’re expensive.

Using a special type of transformer, it varies output voltage in response to momentary power fluctuations. So when the power dips, the transformer is still able maintain a stable output without switching over to battery power.

However, other factors affect run-time as well, such as the battery condition, and load required to power all connected devices. So actual run times may still stretch far outside that range.

Performance Monitoring – built-in displays that show real-time stats including run-time, battery health, etc. Software versions also exist, some smart enough to shut down your computer automatically when battery reserves drop too low.

If you found this post useful, you might be interested to know that it’s actually an excerpt module from our 6-chapter Home Recording Mastery Blueprint.

An uninterruptible power supply (UPS) offers a simple solution: it’s a battery in a box with enough capacity to run devices plugged in via its AC outlets for minutes to hours, depending on your needs and the mix of hardware. This might let you keep internet service active during an extended power outage, give you the five minutes necessary for your desktop computer with a hard drive to perform an automatic shutdown and avoid lost work (or in a worst case scenario, running disk repair software).

In terms of entertainment, it could give you enough time to save your game after a blackout or—perhaps more importantly—give notice to others in a team-based multiplayer game that you need to exit, so you’re not assessed an early-quit penalty.

A UPS also doubles as a surge protector and aids your equipment and uptime by buoying temporary sags in voltage and other vagaries of electrical power networks, some of which have the potential to damage computer power supplies. For from about $80 to $200 for most systems, a UPS can provide a remarkable amount of peace of mind coupled with additional uptime and less loss.

UPSes aren’t new. They date back decades. But the cost has never been lower and the profusion of options never larger. In this introduction, I help you understand what a UPS can offer, sort out your needs, and make preliminary recommendations for purchase. Later this year, TechHive will offer reviews of UPS models appropriate for home and small offices from which you can make informed choices.

The UPS emerged in an era when electronics were fragile and drives were easily thrown off kilter. They were designed to provide continuous—or “uninterruptible”—power to prevent a host of a problems. They were first found in server racks and used with network equipment until the price and format dropped to make them usable with home and small-office equipment.

Any device you owned that suddenly lost power and had a hard disk inside it might wind up with a corrupted directory or even physical damage from a drive head smashing into another part of the mechanism. Other equipment that loaded its firmware off chips and ran using volatile storage could also wind up losing valuable caches of information and require some time to re-assemble it.

Hard drives evolved to better manage power failures (and acceleration in laptops), and all portable devices and most new computers moved to movement-free solid state drives (SSDs) that don’t have internal spindles and read/write heads. Embedded devices—from modems and routers to smart devices and DVRs—became more resilient and faster at booting. Most devices sold today have an SSD or flash memory or cards.

It’s still possible if your battery-free desktop computer suddenly loses power that it may be left in a state that leaves a document corrupted, loses a spreadsheet’s latest state, or happens at such an inopportune moment you must recover your drive or reinstall the operating system. Avoiding those possibilities, especially if you regularly encounter minor power issues at home, can save you at least the time of re-creating lost work and potentially the cost of drive-rebuilding software, even if your hardware remains intact.

A more common problem can arise from networking equipment that has modest power requirements. Losing power means losing access to the internet, even when your cable, DSL, or fiber line remains powered or active from the ISP’s physical plant or a neighborhood interconnection point, rather than a transformer on your building or block. A UPS can keep your network up and running while the power company restores the juice, even if that takes hours.

When power cuts out, the UPS’s battery kicks in. It delivers expected amounts over all connected devices until the battery’s power is exhausted. A modern UPS can also signal to a computer a number of factors, including remaining time or trigger a shutdown through built-in software (as with Energy Saver in macOS) or installed software.

One of the key differentiators among UPSes intended for homes and individual devices in an office is battery capacity. You can buy units across a huge range of battery sizes, and the higher-capacity the battery, the longer runtime you will get or more equipment you can support with a single UPS. In some cases, it may make sense to purchase two or more UPSes to cover all the necessary equipment you have, each matched to the right capacity.

Batteries do need to be replaced, although it can be after a very long period. A UPS typically has a light or will use a sound to indicate a battery that needs to be replaced, and it might indicate this via software running on the computer to which it’s connected.

UPSes for consumer and small-business purposes come in standby and line interactive versions. Standby units keep their battery ready for on-demand, automatic use, but it’s otherwise on standby, as its name indicates. A line interactive version feeds power through an inverter from the wall to connected devices while also charging the battery. It can condition power, smoothing out highs and lows, and switch over to the battery within a few milliseconds. (Other flavors are much more expensive or intended for critical systems and higher power consumption.)

A few years ago, the price differential was high enough that you had to really balance the need for particular features against cost. Now, you may want to opt for a line interaction UPS because of its advantages, which include less wear and tear of the battery, extending its lifetime. Batteries are relatively expensive to replace, at a good fraction of the original item’s purchase price, so keeping them in fit condition longer reduces your overall cost of ownership.

Surges: Utilities sometimes have brief jumps in electrical power, which can affect electronics, sometimes burning out a power supply or frying the entire device. Surge protection effectively shaves off voltage above a certain safe range.

Sags: Your home or office can have a momentary voltage sag when something with a big motor kicks on, like a clothes dryer or a heat pump—sometimes even in an adjacent apartment, house, or building.

Undervoltage (“brownouts”): In some cases with high electrical usage across an area, a utility might reduce voltage for an extended period to avoid a total blackout. This can mess with motor-driven industrial and home equipment—many appliances have motors, often driving a compressor, as in a refrigerator or freezer. With electronics, extended undervoltage has the potential damage some power supplies.

A standby model typically relies on dealing with excess voltage by having inline metal-oxide varistors (MOVs), just as in standalone surge protectors. These MOVs shift power to ground, but eventually burn out after extensive use. At that point, all the UPS models I checked stop passing power through. (That’s as opposed to most surge protectors, which extinguish a “protected” LED on their front, but continue to pass power.)

For power sags and undervoltage, a standby model will tap the battery. If it happens frequently or in quick succession, your UPS might not be up to the task and provide enough delay that a desktop system or hard drive loses power long enough to halt its operating system or crash.

A line interactive UPS continuously feeds power through a conditioner that charges the battery and regulates power. This automatic voltage regulation, known as AVR, can convert voltage as needed to provide clean power to attached outlets without relying on the battery. With a line interactive model, the battery is used only as a last resort.

There’s one final power characteristic of a UPS that can be found in both standby and line interactive models: the smoothness of the alternating current generation produced by the model from the direct current output by its battery. Alternating current reverses its power flow smoothly 60 times each second, and a UPS must simulate that flow, which can be represented as an undulating sine wave.

A UPS might produce a pure sine wave, which adds to cost, or a stairstepped one, in which power shifts more abruptly up and down as it alternates. A rough simulated sine wave can be a showstopper for certain kinds of computer power supplies, which have components that interact poorly with the voltage changes. It could cause premature wear on components or cause them to outright shut down or cause additional damage.

If your device has active power factor correction (PFC) or incorporates fragile or sensitive electronics, especially for audio recording, you likely need a pure sine wave. It’s not always easy to figure out if your device has active PFC; when in doubt, opt for a pure sine wave—the additional cost has come way down.

Even for equipment that isn’t susceptible to power-supply problems, a stepped sine wave can cause a power supply to emit a high-pitched whine when it’s on battery power.

One final UPS feature that may also be helpful: less-expensive models have one or more LEDs to indicate certain status elements, like working from backup power or the internal battery needing to be replaced. Others have an LCD screen (sometimes backlit) that provides a variety of information, sometimes an excessive amount, which may be viewable through software installed on a connected computer.

Most of us have two main scenarios to plan for: keep the network up, and prevent our AC-powered computers from abruptly shutting down. These involve very different choices in hardware and configuration.

One common element between both, however: having enough outlets spaced correctly to plug all your items directly in. Most UPSes feature both battery-backed outlets and surge-protected outlets that aren’t wired into the battery. You need to study quantity and position, as it is strongly recommended you don’t plug a power strip or other extensions into either kind of UPS outlet, as it increases the risk of electrical fire.

Examine all the devices that make up your network. That may include a broadband modem, a VoIP adapter for phone calls, one or more Wi-Fi routers, one or more ethernet switches, and/or a smart home hub. Because you may have these spread out across your home or office, you might wind up requiring two or more UPSes to keep the network going.

If you have a modem, router, and switch (plus a VoIP adapter if you need it) all in close proximity, you might be able to live without other parts of your networking operating during an outage. It’s also probable that you already have this hardware plugged into a surge protector. (These devices tend to not benefit from a UPS’s sag/undervoltage assistance, as their DC adapters tend to provide power in a larger range of circumstances.)

You might already have a simple battery backup built into or included with one or more pieces of equipment. Many smart home hubs have built-in battery backups. And since government regulators typically require a multi-hour battery backup for VoIP service, your broadband modem or VoIP adapter might include an internal battery for that reason.

To find out the size of UPS you need, check the specs on all your equipment. This is usually molded in plastic in black-on-black 4-point type on the underside of the gear or on a DC converter that you plug directly into a power outlet or that comes in two parts with a block between the adapter to your device and a standard AC outlet cord. The numbers you are looking for are either DC voltage and amperage, like 12 volts and 1.5 amps, or total wattage, like 18 watts.

Add up these quantities, and that can let you use planning tools to find the right unit. For instance, APC offers an extended runtime chart that lists wattage and runtime for each of its units. You can also use a calculator on the site in which you add devices or watts and it provides a guide to which units to purchase and how much time each could operate at that load.

For most combinations of gear and affordable units, you should be able to keep network equipment running for at least an hour entirely on battery power. Spend more or purchase multiple units, and you could boost that to two to eight hours.

Your goal here is to make sure all your devices that need to continue running have enough power to do so across a short outage and to shut down—preferably automatically—during any outage that lasts more than a few minutes.

There are two separate power issues to consider: the electrical load that devices connected to the UPS’s battery-backed outlets add up to, and the capacity of the internal battery on the UPS, which determines how long power can flow at a given attached load. (The outlets only protected against power surges have a far higher power load limit that computer equipment won’t exceed.)

Start by calculating the total wattage for all the equipment you’re going to connect, just like with network gear. Most hardware will show a single number for watts or a maximum watts consumed; if it only shows amperes (or amps), multiple 120 (for volts) times the amps listed to get watts. In my office, I have an iMac, an external display, a USB hub, and two external hard drives. That adds up to about 250W.

With that number, you can examine the maximum load on a UPS, which is often perplexingly listed using either volt-amperes (VA) and watts or both. Although volts times amps and watts should be equal,

In practice, you can still add up all your devices in watts, and use that as a gauge to find a UPS that exceeds that amount by some margin: you can’t exceed the UPS load factor with your equipment, or it won’t function. (If a UPS is rated only in VA, multiply that number by a power factor of 0.6 or 60% to get the bottom level in watts.)

With that number in hand, you can then look over the runtime available on models that can support your total load, consulting the figures, charts, or calculators noted above that manufacturers provide to estimate how many minutes you get on battery-only power.

With my iMac set up above of 250W, I have several options in the $100 to $150 range that have a power load maximum far above that number and which can provide five or more minutes of runtime.

It’s also critical to pick a UPS model that includes a USB connection to your desktop computer, along with compatible software for your operating system. While macOS and Windows have built in power-management options that can automatically recognize compatible UPS hardware, you might want additional software to tweak UPS settings (like alarm sounds) or to provide detailed reports and charts on power quality and incidents.

The OS power-management tools and software from UPS makers give you options to create safe, automatic shutdown conditions. You can define a scenario like, “If the outage lasts more than three minutes or if the battery’s power is less than 50 percent, begin an immediate safe shutdown.”

It’s also important to be sure that all your running apps can exit without losing data and not halt the shutdown. For instance, an unsaved Word file might prevent Windows from completing a shutdown. In macOS, the Terminal app refuses to quit by default if there’s an active remote session, but it can be configured to ignore that.

We’re in the process of reviewing several uninterruptible power supplies and will update this stories with links to those reviews as we finish them. Stay tuned.

For small/medium size televisions, LCD is clearly the choice for those of you with limited power. The other great news is that they are getting cheaper as time goes on. Coles and a number of supermarkets are now selling 38 cm LCD televisions for under AUS$200.

I say "if" because they are designed to run off a 230V-12V regulated power supply. This is not the same as running it direct from a 12V solar system where the battery voltage can easily range from 11 to 15 volts. An even wider variance is possible with flat or failing batteries; a battery system being equalised to 15.5-16 volts etc.

There appears to be a few brands that can definitely be run off a battery and these are marketed to the caravan and yachting market. Majestic LCD televisions will operate between 10.9 and 15.5 volts. Xien sell a range for the marine industry. Sharp televisions are also sold as "12 volts" but come with a $140 special 12 V lead. I suggest this has a power conditioner on it. Dick Smith once sold (and may still do so) an AC/DC 15 inch model.

Most people assume that all the brands would operate satisfactorily but we are unable to recommend this without information from the manufacturers. If any of you have information or experience in this regard, please let me know.

The power "saving" of being able to run it direct is significant. From my observations, the 230 to 12V adapter supplied with the television is only about 50% efficient. By the time you then use an inverter to change your 12V to 230V, I estimate that you could be tripling your power consumption.

For those of you on 24 volts, an efficient 24 to 12V converter is a reasonable option. I tested the 15" Music TV using our 8A voltage reducer (APX-006 - discontinued) and it used a modest 1 amp on 24 volts.

For the "big end of town", a consumer magazine tested 4 popular brands of large LCD and Plasma televisions for power consumption. Interestingly, the 45/ 46 inch Plasma televisions used 260 –286 watts while the 42/43 inch Plasma televisions used significantly less (183- 186 watts). All four used between 0.67 and 1.4 watts on stand by.

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When used in the first case to divert power around a portion of the unit, the bypass may be acting to protect the unit itself from extraordinary conditions or provide power downstream if a portion of the unit malfunctions or is temporarily inoperable. For example, if UPS batteries are drained and cannot provide power to the load, many UPSs go into “bypass mode,” providing raw, unconditioned power to the load so it can remain online. (See electronic bypass.)

When used to isolate a unit (generally used for larger units), a bypass made of circuit breakers or disconnect devices electronically isolate incoming and outgoing “sides” of the voltage regulator/power conditioner from the system. The unit can then be safely isolated for maintenance while downstream devices receive unconditioned power to remain online.

Some voltage regulator/power conditioners are capable of taking incoming power at one voltage level and providing it at a lower voltage level at the output (for example, from 480 volts to 208 volts). This ability to “step down” the voltage can eliminate the need for a separate transformer to change the voltage to the proper level for the downstream devices. In some cases, a “step up” might also be useful.

With five outlets on battery backup and 10 outlets total, this UPS can reliably keep your Wi-Fi network running for up to four hours in a blackout or keep your home-office setup powered long enough for you to save your work and shut down.

The CyberPower CP900AVR will cover the basics for most people during common, short-term blackouts. In our tests, it provided enough power to keep a household broadband modem and Wi-Fi router running for four hours, which means you can stay online while the power is off and get in touch with emergency services, follow news and weather changes, or just pass the time on your favorite websites. It requires no setup aside from plugging it in, and it includes automatic voltage regulation—an important feature that some cheaper models lack. Five of its 10 outlets are backed up by a battery, and its compact shape—about the size of a three-ring binder—and its 6-foot cord make it relatively easy to stow under a desk or nightstand.

This UPS has the highest p