Surge protector/battery BU/pure sine Which?

[Charlie98]

For a household/small business system what is a reasonable protection for the computer and peripherals?

Does a 'surge protector' work for anything besides a lightning strike or other such event?

A battery backup/surge protector seems like a reasonable item to have (I have one now, but it's days are numbered...) but I wonder if I would not be better served with a more expensive 'Pure Sine' model. ...or is it all a waste of money?

Where I live we don't really have problems with the power grid, but we have storms/lightining sometimes. I just don't know what I REALLY need... minus marketing hype.

 

[rsutoratosu]

You probably need both..

Take a look at 2 products offered by APC

Battery backup
http://www.apc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=sua1500i

Surge protectors
http://www.apc.com/products/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=NET9RMBLK

http://www.staples.com/Staples-12-Ou...product_764402

If you scroll down to Surge Projection, a battery backup only has 480 compared to the 2 surge projector with 2770 and 4350 (staples). According to the site below, you want 600 and above. So battery backup does not do a good job at surge projection.


If you look at http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/everyday-tech/surge-protector7.htm,

Energy absorption/dissipation - This rating, given in joules, tells you how much energy the surge protector can absorb before it fails. A higher number indicates greater protection. Look for a protector that is at least rated at 200 to 400 joules. For better protection, look for a rating of 600 joules or more.