How does a serge protector protect electrical appliances?

Question

Does it only protect against power serges or fires?. How does a power serge damage appliances? Can a serger be out of date, too old, or inadequate?

Answer 1

A surge protector shuts down your appliance when it detects a surge of electricity in the line. Surges that are allowed to reach your appliance could overload its circuit and damage, ruin, or burn it.

I don't know about obsolescence of a surge protector.

Answer 2

A standard surge protector passes the electrical current along from the outlet to a number of electrical and electronic devices plugged into the power strip. If the voltage from the outlet surges or spikes -- rises above the accepted level -- the surge protector diverts the extra electricity into the outlet's grounding wire.

A power surge can damage electrical appliances. A power surge is an increase in voltage significantly above the designated level in a flow of electricity. In normal household and office wiring in the United States, the standard voltage is 120 volts. If the voltage rises above 120 volts, there is a problem, and a surge protector helps to prevent that problem from destroying your appliance.

A surge protector can be inadequate, depending on the strength of the surge. but different surge protectors merely offer a level of protection. there are various different types and price ranges that offer higher or lower levels of protection.

Answer 3

If you get too much electricity going into an appliance then it can damage some of the components. If an electrical surge goes through a surge protector, it immediately cuts of the power supply to the appliance so that it doesn't get damaged.

Answer 4

Surge protectors are for when a large amount of electricity surges though the lines in your house and into the electronic items plugged into outlets. Usually from lightning striking the house. A surge can damage electronics very easily and a surge protector prevents this from happening up to a certain amount of electricity.  

Answer 5

Of the 2 main types of surge protectors, they do get the job done in most all cases except a direct lightning hit. The more common one is a passive device commonly called a GMOV. This is a passive solid state device that is shunted across the line and is invisible until the incoming voltage rises above it's limiting factor. Then it shorts and prevents the over-voltage from passing on through. With out getting into it's chemical structure it is a Germanium Metal Oxide Voltage regulator. The 2nd type is a much more complicated active system (and far more expensive) that is used in industrial applications. In the case of a typical GMOV, they are in common use in power strips, telephones, etc. They are a small wafer like disk that is rated by it's area and thickness. The larger diameter and thickness, the higher the cut-off point. They do have a max. switch cycle after which they may not be dependable but normally last for several years. Most will shunt any higher voltage surge within nano-secs. A mega-volt lightning strike being the exception. A line voltage surge can "fry" everything that is plugged in, even if it is not turned on! A lightning hit a mile or more away on a utility pole can send a power surge down all the lines on the pole and can be a very high voltage for only a fraction of a second.

Those little GMOV's have been silently doing their job since the late 60's.

Answer 6

The power in your electrical outlets varies at any given time.  Small increases in power, or "surges," can happen many times throughout the day.  Usually the increase is small enough that it doesn't hurt your electrical appliances, but sometimes the surge is powerful enough that it can cause anything plugged into the outlet to overheat and/or fry itself.  

Any power bar, even one that isn't called a surge protector, protects your appliances from overheating, due to the fact that they are not directly plugged into your outlet.  In the case of a powerful surge, the power bar will short out, but the appliance(s) plugged into it will still work.

A surge protector is a type of power bar that can withstand more than one of these powerful surges.  Many brands boast of being able to withstand up to 30 surges or more.  They are more expensive than regular power bars, some believe they are worth the cost.

As for fires, there is nothing that can protect your appliances from a fire that was started from an outside source.  Power bars/surge protectors can prevent an appliance from overheating and starting a fire, but if a fire has already started, it's too late.