For the Monday Morning Tech Segment on News13, @techtalkradio decided to focus on the Monsoon Storms and how these storms common to the Southern Arizona Area can affect our electronics.

If you have invested in a big screen television, not connecting it to safe source for electrical power can be a big mistake. As more and more want to enjoy a Large Screen Television with 4k or 8k OLED, Soundbars and Consoles we should be thinking of how it is plugged in. During Monsoon Storms and even other times throughout the year, we get power surges, these surges can take out that 80″ television OLED just as it could a 19 inch tv is you haven’t taken an extra step and purchased a Surge Protector with a High Joule Rating and not just a power strip. It is recommended you use a Joule Rating of 2000-4000 joules to protect your devices and cost wise for these, they can run from 25 to 99 dollars depending on the number of outlets and of course Joule rating. Also important is to remember, these will not last forever. Over time that Joule protecting can deteriorate and a good surge protector can visually let you know when it is time. GE, APC, Monster and CyberPower all produce some fine devices. 

Also, if you are going to a coffee shop or even traveling, a nice device from Philips is the Cube, this give you a minor amount of protectiion which is better then plugging directly into the wall. I would recommend having your devices fully charged so you don’t have to plug into an outlet but if you have to, this can help. You could also carry an extra higher Joule Rated product in your laptop bag.

For the Best protection for your PC’s. Macs and other devices, APC – American Power Conversion from Schneider Electric can be a great source with its Uninterruptible Power Supplies.  In this segment we are sharing a Backup UPS from APC – The BN1500M2 which is a Ten Outlet device designed for Home and Small and Medium Businesses. With this you get 10 total outlets, 6 of those outlets with both surge and battery backup as well as 4 surge-only outlets. Also on board are 2 USB ports (Type-C and Type-A) that allow you to charge mobile devices. This is a great solution for your Computer and Routers, the Joule Rating on this is just under 1100. Another point to remember, it is not recommended to plug a UPS into a Power Strip, this could void a warranty or protection guarantee.

With a UPS In most situations, if your power goes out, You will be able to finish your work and shut down your system. A High End Gaming PC could be given just under half an hour to finish and then Shut down. The BN1500M2 sells for about 215.00 Find out more on the APC Website including how to protect this devices in the Summer Storms! https://www.apc.com